December 16, 2020
These bylaws form an outline of operating procedures for the WSU Department of Mathematics and Statistics. While final authority in internal department matters is held by the voting membership of the department, certain powers and responsibilities are herein delegated to officers and standing committees. The bylaws cannot cover all situations that may arise in departmental operation. A department can function harmoniously and efficiently only with mutual trust, respect, and responsibility among its members; contingencies not specifically covered in these bylaws should be dealt with by the department, using the spirit of these bylaws as a guide. In the case of any discrepancies between the WSU Faculty Manual and this document, the WSU Faculty Manual supersedes this one.
- Faculty Status
- Membership
Membership in the WSU Department of Mathematics and Statistics shall include all faculty members who have any portion of their appointment for research, teaching, service in mathematics and/or statistics. - Voting rights
All members of the Department have the right to vote on matters that may come before the Department, except that (i) only members of the Department who are also members of the Graduate Faculty may vote on matters that concern the Department’s graduate programs and (ii) in matters of promotion and tenure. In matters regarding promotion and tenure, all eligible individuals should submit recommendations in accordance with the Department of Mathematics and Statistics tenure and promotion policy, the WSU Faculty Manual, and the instructions for promotion and tenure distributed by the Office of the Provost.
- Membership
- Meetings
- Frequency
Meetings shall be held when considered appropriate by the Chair. At least one Department meeting shall occur per semester. The Chair must call a meeting of the Department if they receive a written request signed by a simple majority of the members of the Department. - Quorum
A quorum for conducting business at meetings shall consist of greater than or equal to 50% of the members of the Department. If the presiding officer determines that quorum has not been established, then those in attendance may vote to declare themselves a committee of the whole by a majority vote of those present. In this instance, the committee may vote to have items placed on an email ballot to be voted on by the entire Department. Any such item will be approved if it receives a majority of the votes cast in the email ballot election. - Presiding Officer
The presiding officer for meetings of the Department shall be the Chair. In the absence of the Chair, the Associate Chair will preside over the meeting, unless a member of the Department is otherwise designated by the Chair. - Recording Secretary
The administrative assistant to the Chair, or another member of the staff or the Department designated by the Chair, shall serve as the Recording Secretary at meetings of the Department. Minutes shall be made available via email to all members of the Department in a timely manner. - Voting Procedures
Normally, voting on motions made at a Department meeting is by show of hands. Pursuant to a motion approved by a majority of those present at the meeting, voting may be by email ballot of the membership of the Department (except where prohibited by law or by University policies.) - Student Representatives
A graduate student and undergraduate student representative shall be invited to the faculty meetings of the Department but will not have voting rights on issues discussed during the meetings.
- Frequency
- Departmental Leadership
- Chair
The Chair is the chief administrative officer of the department and serves 4-year terms. The Chair is appointed by the Provost as recommended by the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences with input from the faculty of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. When the dean is soliciting faculty input for whether a new Chair shall be selected from within the department or outside the department, all members of the department may contribute. Specific duties of the Chair include, but are not limited to the following: serving as primary liaison with higher administration and other units on campus, overseeing and negotiating the departmental budget, overseeing faculty hiring, conducting annual reviews and providing final copies to the faculty and staff on all campuses, tenure and promotion cases, facilitating long term planning for the department, scheduling and leading regular departmental meetings, appointing members to departmental committees, and collaborating with the Associate Chair on class offerings, scheduling, and teaching assignments. - Associate Chair
The Associate Chair is appointed by the Chair. Specific duties of the Associate Chair include, but are not limited to, the following: scheduling classes each semester, monitoring enrollment to guide decisions related to adding or cancelling sections, scheduling faculty teaching assignments (in collaboration with the Chair), determining graduate student assignments (in collaboration with the Chair), hiring undergraduate teaching assistants (UTAs) to assist with grading or to serve in the Math Learning Center, hearing and investigating student complaints, and collecting and reviewing graduate student and UTA course reviews by faculty. - Director of Graduate Studies
The Director of Graduate Studies is elected by the Graduate Faculty for 2-year terms. The duties of the Director of Graduate Studies include, but are not limited to, the following: providing leadership to the graduate program, representing the department to the Graduate School and other administrative units on campus, presiding over all Graduate Studies Committee work and Graduate Faculty functions, overseeing publicity related to the graduate program including brochures, webpages, catalog copy, and any other information, coordinating assessment of the graduate program, maintaining and communicating to the Graduate School a list of Graduate Faculty, and giving input on graduate assistant assignments. - Vancouver Director
The Vancouver Director is appointed by the Chair to serve as a liaison with Pullman and to coordinate the scheduling of classes and instructors for mathematics and statistics courses on the Vancouver campus. This individual also coordinates with other departments on the Vancouver campus. - Tri-Cities Director
The Tri-Cities Director is appointed by the Chair to serve as a liaison with Pullman and to coordinate the scheduling of classes and instructors for mathematics and statistics courses on the Tri-Cities campus. This individual also coordinates with other departments on the Tri-Cities campus. - Director of Foundational Courses
The Director of Foundational Courses is selected by the Chair to assist with ongoing improvements to foundational level courses including Math 100, 103, 105, 106, 108, 201, and participation in faculty development initiatives, and facilitates an on-going exchange of ideas on improving teaching and learning in these courses. - Math Learning Center Director
The Math Learning Center (MLC) Director is a career track faculty member whose appointment is 60% teaching and 40% director of the MLC. The duties of the MLC director include, but are not limited to: planning and oversight of the day-to-day MLC activities and operations, scheduling and training MLC tutors, evaluating the effectiveness of the tutors, preparing an annual report on the MLC, interfacing with units across campus on all issues related to the MLC, promoting the MLC to incoming students and their parents/guardians, participating in and contributing to professional organizations and conferences devoted to learning centers, and seeking funding to support initiatives and activities related to the mission of the MLC. - Course Coordinators
Course Coordinators are appointed by the Associate Chair with input from the Chair (and possibly the Director of Foundational Courses) and will typically serve as Course Coordinator for a specific course for at least two full academic years to allow time to initiate and assess ongoing improvements to the course. The Course Coordinator is responsible for creating a common syllabus, training of instructors and teaching assistants, holding regular meetings of the teaching staff for the course, scheduling common exams, overseeing the creation of exams, grading rubrics for the exams, and common grading of exams, review of final grades before they are submitted, hearing student complaints related to the course in consultation with the Associate Chair and Chair when necessary, and review of any graduate students and UTAs working with the course.
- Chair
- Committees
The Chair will appoint committee members to oversee much of the work of the Department. Committee assignments will be for one year unless specifically noted otherwise by the Chair or by committee membership descriptions indicated herein. The Chair will distribute to the faculty a list of committee assignments for the academic year prior to the start of the Fall Semester. Committee assignments will include any committee leadership roles deemed appropriate by the Chair. - Amendments to the Bylaws
Amendments to the bylaws may be initiated by any Mathematics and Statistics faculty member. Proposed amendments must be presented to the Executive Committee at least three (3) days prior to the faculty meeting at which the amendments will be discussed. After discussion at the faculty meeting, the faculty may choose to table the amendment for a future meeting or vote. Amendments to the bylaws will pass upon a two-thirds vote of approval from members who voted.