Bylaws

ARTICLE I: PERSONNEL AND MEETINGS

Section 1. The Faculty

The faculty of the Women’s Studies Program shall consist of the Director, the Associate Director (or Assistant Director, depending upon appointment), and all Core faculty.

Core Faculty include the following: 1) faculty with line items in the Institute for Women's Studies' budget, 2) faculty with lines budgeted outside of Women's Studies whose regular teaching of Women's Studies courses is budgeted through their departments, and 3) the Assistant or Associate Director (if holding a faculty appointment), subject to approval by vote of the Steering Committee. Core Faculty will serve on the Women's Studies Steering Committee and will be listed in Women's Studies publications.

Regarding categories #1 and #2, official titles will be governed by Board of Regents' policy, but for internal purposes such persons will carry both the departmental and Women's Studies designations in their titles (e.g., Assistant Professor, Women's Studies and Sociology). Regarding category #1, although these individuals will have separate departmental homes, their teaching loads, committee assignments, and all evaluations will be determined jointly with Women's Studies. Teaching, research and service are essential. If a tenure-track faculty member is appointed jointly and the home department does wish to recommend tenure but the Institute for Women's Studies does not wish to continue the appointment, then it will be the responsibility of the home department, if tenure is approved in the university review process, to fund the position. If the home department does not wish to tenure a person, even though the Institute for Women's Studies favors tenure, then tenure will not be awarded (other than through a successful appeal based principally, as our Guidelines now provide, on process).

Affiliated Faculty are tenured or tenure-track faculty, or others by petition, whose lines and departmental homes are outside of Women's Studies, but whose teaching, research and service are vital to the program. Affiliated Faculty status is granted upon positive review of an application in which evidence of relevant teaching, research and/or service is demonstrated. This application will be reviewed by the Women's Studies Steering Committee or its designate. The application comprises a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and, if requested, appropriate supporting documents, e.g., syllabi, copies of publications. These faculty will be officially listed in Women's Studies publications.

The Institute for Women's Studies may offer consultation to home departments of Affiliated Faculty in the determination of teaching load, committee assignments, evaluations, and awards for Affiliated Faculty. Affiliated Faculty are expected to contribute actively to the administrative, academic and service components of the Institute for Women's Studies, and commitment will be reviewed every five years. Affiliates will have two elected representatives on the Women's Studies Steering Committee; at least one shall have the rank of Professor.

Section 2. Associates of the Institute for Women's Studies

At the discretion of the Women's Studies Steering Committee, individuals from inside or outside the University may be granted associate status for their research, service, or contributions to the Institute for Women's Studies. Associates of the Institute for Women's Studies are expected to support or participate in the program in a selective way. Associates may be listed in Institute publications as "Associates of the Institute for Women's Studies." Associates are not voting members of the Institute for Women's Studies and will not be represented on the Women's Studies Steering Committee.

Section 3. Administration

The administration of the Institute for Women's Studies shall consist of the Director and Associate (Assistant) Director. The Director will be guided by the advice of the Steering Committee and the Core Faculty Executive Committee.

Section 4. Regular Meetings of the Faculty

The Faculty of the Institute for Women's Studies shall meet with the Director and Associate (Assistant) Director at least once each academic year, at a time and place to be determined by the Director. Notices of regular meetings shall be sent to each member of the Faculty by the Director at least one month in advance. Faculty members may submit agenda items to the Director. The agenda for a regular meeting shall be provided to members of the Faculty one week before the meeting, and shall constitute the total business of the meeting. The Director shall preside and shall present a report on matters of interest to the Faculty.

Section 5. Special Meetings

Special meetings of the Faculty may be called by the Director. The Director must convene a special meeting within fourteen days of receiving a petition signed by twenty-five percent of the Women' Studies Faculty. The Steering Committee may also call special meetings of the Faculty, for which it may set the agenda.

Section 6. The Director

Appointment. The Director, who must hold the rank of associate or full professor, shall be appointed by the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences after recommendation of the Steering Committee and shall serve at the discretion of the Dean. In the event the Director is not a faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Dean of the College of Ails and Sciences will negotiate with the dean of the appropriate college.

In the event a vacancy occurs in the position of Director, the Steering Committee will recommend a search committee of five or more members (which shall include a representative from outside the Institute for Women's Studies) to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Duties. The duties of the Director shall include:

• acting as chief administrative officer for the Institute for Women's Studies;
• serving as presiding officer for Women's Studies Steering Committee meetings;
• coordinating and promoting feminist scholarship at UGA;
• informing faculty, students and the university community on feminist academic affairs;
• preparing the Women's Studies budget for submission to the Dean;
• providing systematic yearly written performance evaluations of Women's Studies staff and Core Faculty budgeted in Women's Studies, including the opportunity for review of the evaluation by the evaluatee and the opportunity for the evaluatee to provide response to the written evaluation. If the evaluatee is not satisfied with the evaluation after discussion with the Director, the evaluatee may appeal the evaluation to the Women's Studies Grievance Committee (i.e., the Core Faculty Executive Committee);
• submitting an annual report on the Institute for Women's Studies to the Steering Committee and to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences;
• representing the Institute for Women's Studies at internal and external functions;
• coordinating the recruitment and hiring of Women's Studies Core Faculty; and
• handling promotion and tenure matters for Core Faculty, and upon request, for Affiliated Faculty.

Review and Removal. Review and removal of the Director shall be made by the Dean in accordance with the policies and procedures of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Section 7. The Associate (Assistant) Director

The Associate Director (Assistant Director) is appointed by the Director. In the event that the Associate (Assistant) Director does not hold a University Faculty appointment, voting privileges on Women's Studies committees shall be extended. The Associate (Assistant) Director will assist the Director in all administrative duties. In particular, the Associate (Assistant) Director shall oversee the implementation of Institute policies in the areas of student advisement and services; curriculum management; and community outreach. The Associate (Assistant) Director shall assist in budget development, grant writing, and fundraising. The Associate (Assistant) Director shall have primary responsibility for office and personnel management. The Associate (Assistant) Director shall assist in the Women's Studies Faculty with administrative matters and shall represent the institute in the Director's absence. S/he will serve as chair of the Service and Outreach Committee. The Associate (Assistant) Director will also be assigned teaching responsibilities.

Section 8. TA Supervisor & Coordinator of Graduate Certificate Program

Appointment. Appointment will be made by the Director in consultation with the Steering Committee for a term of two years.

Duties:

• To supervise the interviewing, selection, and appointment of teaching graduate students.
• To direct the teaching of women's studies courses in conjunction with the Assistant/Associate Director. Responsibilities would include assuring that there is proper orientation, supervision of courses taught by graduate students.
• To provide mentoring to graduate students for their professional development and advancement.
• To administer the Graduate Certificate program in conjunction with the Assistant/Associate Director.

Section 9. Grievances

The Core Faculty Executive Committee will constitute a Grievance Committee as needed, and grievances within the Institute for Women's Studies shall be handled in accordance with the grievance procedures of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and the University's unified grievance procedure.

ARTICLE II: COMMITTEES

Section 1. Steering Committee

Purpose and Composition. The Women's Studies Steering Committee, in conjunction with the Director, shall set policy on matters of curriculum, faculty appointments, programs, fiscal matters, fund raising, and long range planning. The committee shall comprise all Core Faculty; two elected members of the Affiliated Faculty, including at least one Professor; the Director; the Associate (Assistant) Director; the head of the Curriculum Committee; one elected graduate student; and one elected undergraduate student.

Meetings. The Institute for Women's Studies Steering Committee shall meet at least once each semester during the academic year, at a time and place to be determined by the Director. Notices of regular meetings shall be sent to each member of the Steering Committee and other Core Faculty by the Director at least one week in advance. Agenda items may be submitted to the Director. The agenda for a regular meeting shall be provided to members of the Steering Committee and Core Faculty at least one week before the meeting, and shall constitute the total business of the meeting. The Director shall preside and shall present a report on matters of interest to the Committee. A quorum shall be a simple majority of the Steering Committee members.

Section 2. The Core Faculty Executive Committee

Purpose and Composition. The Core Faculty Executive Committee shall advise the Director in all matters concerning salaries, budget, resources, and grievances and will serve as the Grievance Committee as needed. The committee shall comprise three members of the Core Faculty budgeted in Women's Studies, excluding the Director and Associate (Assistant ) Director, elected by the Core Faculty by secret ballot.

Meetings. The Core Faculty Executive Committee shall meet at least once a semester. Meetings on grievances will be called as needed.

Section 3. Other Standing Committees

In addition to any ad hoc committees the Director shall deem it appropriate to appoint, the Institute for Women's Studies shall have the following standing committees:

• Curriculum Committee
• Promotion and Tenure Committee

New committee chairs and members shall be appointed by the Director in consultation with the committee in question for two-year staggered terms. Each committee chair is responsible for reporting directly to the Director on committee matters. Committees shall meet on a regular basis as necessary for the business of the committee. The chairs of all committees except the Promotion and Tenure Committee shall make necessary reports at each meeting of the regularly scheduled Women's Studies Steering Committee.

Curriculum Committee.

The Director and Associate Director shall serve as non-voting members ex officio of the Curriculum Committee. At least two members other than the chair must be core faculty. There shall be no more than seven members of the Curriculum Committee including the chair. The duties of the Committee shall be:

• approving course proposals;
• determining in what categories courses in the Institute for Women's Studies curriculum should be placed, i.e., required, core or related;
• providing periodic scholarly reviews of the Women's Studies curriculum for currency and quality;
• working with school and college curriculum committees to obtain approval for Women's Studies courses;
• hearing student petitions to include transferred or UGA departmental courses in their programs of study; and
• working with the Steering Committee on issues of a sensitive nature.

Promotion and Tenure Committee.

Members of this committee shall be responsible for:

• reviewing jointly-appointed candidates for promotion and/or tenure and anticipating with departments in third-year review evaluations;
• making recommendations on promotion and/or tenure to the Director of the Institute for Women's Studies;
• considering matters of promotion and tenure and how they affect the Institute for Women's Studies;
• providing an evaluation for affiliated faculty of their contributions to the research, teaching and service of the Institute for Women's Studies for promotion and tenure or other departmental evaluations, upon request of the faculty member; and
• reporting to the Steering Committee on such matters.

Composition. The Promotion and Tenure Committee shall consist of all members of the Steering Committee of the appropriate rank.

Procedures for Voting on Core Faculty. The committee will report its recommendation to the Director, and the Director and the committee will then vote on the candidate. The Director will prepare a report for the candidate's home department, which will include (a) a transmittal letter prepared by the Director; (b) the Promotion and Tenure Committee's report; and (c) the vote of the committee and the Director.

All other procedures will conform to the University Promotion and Tenure Guidelines.

ARTICLE III: ELECTIONS

Section 1. The Steering Committee

Members and Terms

(i) The Affiliated Faculty shall elect two representatives to serve two-year staggered terms. Affiliates will elect one representative at the rank of Professor and one representative of any rank. An Affiliate may  not serve two consecutive terms, but can be reelected at a later time.

(ii) There shall be two elected student representatives. Graduate and Undergraduate Students associated with the Institute for Women’s Studies as majors, minors, or certificate candidates shall each elect one representative to serve a one-year term.

Terms will commence at the beginning of the academic year.

Nominations shall be solicited by current representatives from the Affiliated Faculty, the Graduate Students, and the Undergraduate Students, no later than April 15 of each year.

Elections shall be held no later than the last day of Spring term.

Section 2. The Core Faculty Executive Committee

Members and Terms. The Core Faculty will elect one representative from each of the three faculty ranks (Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor). In the event that one of the ranks has no members, the Core Faculty will elect an additional member from the remaining ranks to constitute a committee of three members. In the event that a rank has only one member, that person normally will be expected to serve on the committee. Terms will commence at the beginning of the academic year and will be for two years. Initially (fall 2000), one committee member will be elected for one year and two members for two years. Thereafter, terms will be staggered.

Elections shall be held by secret ballot and will occur no later than the last day of Spring term.

ARTICLE IV: AMENDING THE BYLAWS

The bylaws may be amended by majority vote from two-thirds of the Steering Committee members present at the meeting at which the bylaw amendment is voted upon. Bylaw changes must be considered at least one meeting before being voted upon at a subsequent meeting.

Adopted 3-29-06

Pat Bell-Scott
Roxanne Eberle  
Juanita Johnson-Bailey
Doris Kadish
Chana Kai Lee
Patricia Miller
Robina Mohammad
Blaise Parker
Patricia Richards
Susan Thomas
Lynda Walters