Bylaws of the Department of History

The University of Memphis

Effective Date of Last Revision: October 7, 2009

I. HISTORY FACULTY

The History Faculty is comprised of all Faculty members on full-time appointment. All members are entitled to attend Faculty meetings, vote, and serve on committees except as excluded below. Members of the Faculty on leave retain full rights of membership.

II. CHAIR

A. The Chair of the Department of History shall be responsible for the administration of departmental affairs as outlined in the Faculty Handbook. The Chair serves in the position at the discretion of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The term for the Chair of the History Department shall be three years, with the understanding that a Chair may subsequently serve additional three-year terms at the pleasure of the department.

B. The Chair may appoint an Assistant Chair to share some of the administrative duties of the Department, but the Chair retains full responsibility.

C. When the Faculty is asked to participate in the Dean’s five-year review of the Chair’s tenure in the position, the Tenure and Promotion Committee shall make recommendations to the Faculty for discussion and final disposition.

D. When the Dean undertakes a search for a new Chair, the tenured and tenure-track Faculty shall designate a five-member search committee made up from its members as follows: Two shall be chosen by the Faculty members in the United States field; two, by the Faculty members in the other fields; and one, by the whole Faculty. In addition to the five members who come from the History Faculty, the committee shall include a History graduate student and a faculty member from outside the department. At the time the search committee is formed, the Faculty may prescribe guidelines for its part in the search. To the extent practicable, Chair’s searches should be conducted during the Fall semester prior to the year when the new Chair’s tenure would begin, thereby allowing the person chosen as Chair to serve a semester as Chair Elect.

III. PROGRAM COORDINATORS

The Chair shall appoint Coordinators to assist in administering the varied programs of the Department. The Coordinators shall serve on those committees in the Department relevant to their areas of responsibility.

IV. COMMITTEES

A. The composition and responsibilities of the Tenure and Promotion Committee are determined by University policy on tenure and promotion and will be explained in the following section. The Chair shall appoint committees to deal with other matters bearing directly upon the mission of the Department. In appointing members of these other committees, the Chair shall take into consideration the expressed interests of Faculty members and their expertise, and the appointments should reflect the three major geographic "divisions" of the department. The chair of any committee which has student members may request that the student member refrain from participating in matters where such participation would be inappropriate.

B. The Tenure and Promotion Committee shall consist of all tenured Professors and Associate Professors. Voting on promotion to the rank of Professor shall be the responsibility of Professors only. In addition to its role in the review of the Chair’s tenure in the position, the committee shall act upon applications from Faculty members for tenure and/or promotion. In this process, the committee shall make the applications available to all tenured Faculty members and shall seek their views before making its recommendations. Any decision to dismiss or not renew a probationary faculty member shall be made only after the department Tenure and Promotion Committee has been given an opportunity, in a timely fashion, to review the case and make a recommendation to the Chair. The committee may designate such sub-committees as deemed necessary to carry out specific functions.

C. The Undergraduate Studies Committee shall consist of five or six faculty members, and an undergraduate student, all appointed by the Chair. The committee should be chaired by the Coordinator for Undergraduate Studies. The responsibilities of the committee shall include, but not be limited to: (1) overseeing the undergraduate program, (2) overseeing the Honors Program, (3) determining the winner of the undergraduate paper prize, and (4) receiving reports from the two General Education sub-committees. Each sub-committee, one for the World Civilization sequence and one for the U.S. History sequence, shall consist of all department Faculty who teach that sequence. The chair of each sub-committee shall be appointed by the Chair. The sub-committees shall report directly to the Undergraduate Studies Committee.

D. The Graduate Studies Committee shall consist of five or six Faculty members, and a graduate student, all appointed by the Chair. The committee should be chaired by the Coordinator for Graduate Studies. The responsibilities of the committee shall include, but not be limited to (1) overseeing the graduate program, (2) selecting graduate assistants, (3) determining the winner of the graduate paper prize, and (4) handling the placement of graduate degree recipients.

E. The Committee on Extra-Curricular Programs shall consist of six to eight Faculty members, and a graduate student, all appointed by the Chair. Its members should include the coordinators for the internships, lecture series, Library, computing, History Day, the High School Scholars Seminar, and the Director of the Oral History Research Office. The responsibilities of the committee shall include, but not be limited to (1) overseeing the endowment funds, (2) selecting Belle McWilliams Scholars and interns, (3) overseeing the lecture series, (4) overseeing library development, (5) overseeing computing activities, (6) overseeing History Day and the High School Scholars Seminars, (7) overseeing media and community relations, and (8) advising the Director of the Oral History Research Office.

F. The Advisory Committee shall consist of the chairs of the committees on Undergraduate Studies, Graduate Studies, and Extra-Curricular Programs, and one or two additional Faculty members elected by the department. The responsibility of the committee shall be to advise the Chair on any matters that he or she may bring to it. The Advisory Committee shall meet when requested by the Chair and when a meeting is requested by one of its members. The Advisory Committee shall meet regularly, at least twice each semester, excluding Summer.

G. Ad hoc committees shall be appointed by the Chair as the need arises. They shall be comprised of no more than five members, but a smaller number may be designated. In appointing members of the ad hoc committees, the Chair shall consider the interests and expertise of the faculty.

H. Search committees for new Faculty members shall be appointed by the Chair from the tenured and tenure-track Faculty. The Chair shall appoint a graduate student member to each search committee. Non-tenure track faculty members may be appointed if needed to comply with affirmative action guidelines. In making these appointments, the Chair shall consider the relevant fields and expertise of the Faculty.

V. FACULTY MEETINGS

A. The Department of History will normally have a regular Faculty meeting each month from August through April. Special meetings may be called by the Chair and must be called by the Chair upon the petition of one-fourth of the Faculty.

B. An agenda for the regular meeting shall be circulated at least one week before the meeting is to be held. In the case of special meetings, an agenda shall be announced as soon as possible.

C. Except for some new matter requiring an immediate decision by the Faculty, only agenda items shall come up in the meeting for a final vote. All other issues raised at the meeting shall be placed on the agenda for the next meeting.

D. Any member unable to attend a Faculty meeting may exercise the right to vote by proxy under the following conditions: The proxy must be conferred in writing; it must be specifically limited to items on the announced agenda; and it must be registered with the Chair and announced to the Faculty before the meeting begins.

E. A quorum requires that three-fifths of the Faculty members shall be present. Proxy votes may not count for determining a quorum.

F. Faculty on temporary appointment may not vote on issues concerning faculty staffing and recruitment.

G. The Graduate History Association may elect one representative to attend all regular and specially-called meetings of the Faculty of the Department of History. The representative may participate in the discussions of the meeting and may vote on any matter on which non-tenure-track faculty members may vote.

VI. PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the department in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws and any special rules of order the Department may adopt.

VII. AMENDMENT

Amendments to these Bylaws shall be approved by a majority of the Faculty. Proposed amendments must be formally submitted to the Faculty at least one month before the vote is taken. The vote shall be taken by written ballot.

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