Policy & Committee

School of Music Governance

Printable PDF

NAME and mission

  • The name of this organization shall be 鈥淭he School of Music at the University of South Florida.鈥� The mission of the School of Music is to advance the art of music globally while generating new knowledge in existing and emerging fields. The School of Music is not currently a multi-campus unit. If music faculty are hired at branch campuses we will modify our governance and T&P documents to ensure that those faculty are included in matters of faculty governance and Tenure & Promotion to ensure they have voice in departmental issues. We recognize the principles of equity of assignment, resources and opportunities of faculty across a multi-campus university.

PURPOSE

  • The purposes of these bylaws are:
    • To assure the faculty of the School of Music has a voice in matters most central to their roles within the university, and
    • To promote the orderly conduct of the business of the School of Music.
  • These bylaws are intended to supplement the rules, policies, and laws of the College of Design, Art & Performance, the 哔咔漫画, and the State of Florida. In any case where there is conflict between these bylaws and institutional/state rules, policies, or laws, the college, university, and/or state policies will prevail.

SCHOOL OF MUSIC MEMBERSHIP

  • For governance, and voting purposes, the term faculty as used in these By-Laws refers to those persons holding a full-time (100%) appointment within the School of Music, to include both permanent full-time faculty (tenure-earning, tenured and instructors). Instructors may not vote on issues related to tenure or promotion.
  • The School of Music leadership will include the Unit Director (also a voting faculty). The responsibilities of the Director are listed in the Academic Director Duties document approved by the College of Design, Art & Performance Directors Council, 10/15/03, and reviewed in spring 2005. The areas listed include: Instruction related activities; University, College, and Unit Governance; Faculty, Staff and Students; Administrative; Development; Marketing; PR; Outreach; Budget and Facilities. The Director will serve as an advocate for faculty, staff and students and work to address the needs and concerns of the School. The Director can appoint, at their discretion, other School leadership positions, including Associate and/or Assistant Directors, etc. Specific duties and responsibilities for these positions will be determined at the time of appointment.
  • Faculty shall have two avenues for sharing the governance responsibilities within the School of Music:
    • Each faculty member, as part of an area, shall have the opportunity to participate in the creation of policies that govern and guide that area. 
    • Each faculty member shall be represented by (s)elected disciplinary colleagues at the School of Music level council that shall be known as the Faculty Advisory Council (for a comprehensive description of this Council see Section VII. Constituency Structures).

SCHOOL OF MUSIC MEETINGS

  • School of Music faculty shall meet at least once each month of the regular academic year. Meetings may be held face-to-face or remotely. The Director, or designee, will schedule the meetings, develop the agenda, and chair the meetings. Additional School of Music faculty meetings may be called by the Director as needed. Each area (see Section VII, Constituency Structures) shall also meet at least once each month of the regular academic year. The area coordinators will be responsible for scheduling, developing agenda, and chairing the meetings. A quorum of faculty (more than 50% of the membership for a given meeting) is required before business can be conducted at any faculty meeting or committee meeting.

VOTING PROCEDURES

  • Whenever possible, faculty voting will take place during faculty meetings, except in the case of meetings held remotely.
  • All faculty voting will be done by secret ballot which will be counted and recorded by the School of Music Office Manager or their designee. When votes are taken during faculty meetings, the ballots are to be counted during the meeting if possible. Except in cases when voting ends in a tie (see F below), voting during faculty meetings will be finalized before the conclusion of the meeting.
  • Faculty who know they will be absent from a meeting must submit their absentee ballot in writing ahead of time to the School of Music Office Manager or their designee.
  • Items for vote coming from committees will be presented in one faculty meeting and voted upon in a subsequent meeting. Exceptions to this rule may be made by the Director if deemed an emergency, or when time is of the essence. In those cases, information should be distributed to faculty via email at least three full business days before the faculty meeting if possible.
  • Voting that must take place outside of faculty meetings will be done through secret ballot, turned in to the School of Music Office Manager or their designee. The ballot will be distributed by the Director through email and they will set a deadline at which time voting shall cease.
  • In cases when voting ends in a tie, a re-vote will be taken after a brief discussion. All re-votes will be done outside of faculty meetings as described above, allowing all faculty the chance to take part in the re-vote.
  • In the case of more than one item (or vacancy) on any one ballot (e.g., three or more people nominated for two positions) multiple votes will be held, one for each item or position. All items or nominees will be on the first ballot. The winner of that vote will be removed from the second ballot and a second vote will be held. This process will continue until all decisions are made.
  • In the case that one item (or vacancy) is on the ballot and no candidate receives more than 50% of the votes, a runoff vote will be held between the two candidates who receive the most votes.

Organizational Structure

  • School of Music faculty will be organized into six areas for purposes of shared governance, committee membership assignments, and future planning. These areas are (including adjuncts):
    1. Performance Studies;
    2. Ensemble Directors;
    3. Composition and Jazz Studies;
    4. Music Education; and
    5. Academic Studies.
  • Faculty will retain voting membership in the area of their primary assignment. Those faculty members whose responsibilities fall in two areas (for example, performance studies and ensemble directors) will have voting membership in their primary area of assignment and ex-officio membership in the secondary area.

CONSTITUENCY STRUCTURES

  • Committee membership is a vital component of full-time faculty members with a service assignment.
  • Committees will meet as necessary at times determined by each committee. The chair of each committee will issue a call to meeting and establish the agenda. Each committee will appoint a recorder who will maintain a record of each meeting and recommended actions and will file an approved copy of the minutes for each meeting with the School of Music Office Manager or their designee.
  • The School of Music will have six standing committees as follows:
    1. Faculty Advisory Council (FAC)
      1. The roles of FAC shall be:
        1. To provide representation to advise the Director on issues related to program, vision and budget (scholarships, TA/GA/RA assignments, area monies, faculty load assignments, etc.);
        2. To dispense information and enhance communication, between the Director and the faculty (both full and part time); and
        3. To advise the Director on issues related to hiring of faculty.
      2. The voting makeup of the FAC shall consist of six full-time faculty members with more than two years of service at USF. The adjunct faculty representative will not vote. Members will represent each area within the School of Music according to the following:
        1. Performance Studies (2 members),
        2. Ensemble Directors (1),
        3. Composition and Jazz Studies (1),
        4. Academic Studies (1),
        5. Music Education (1), and
        6. Adjunct Faculty (1, ex-officio).
      3.  Each area represented by the FAC will be responsible for electing its own
        representative(s). Two-year terms are encouraged and rotation of representation is strongly recommended. Individual faculty members may be part of more than one area, as appropriate, but can only represent one area at a time as a member of the FAC. The FAC will elect a chair at the first meeting in the fall semester.
      4. The FAC shall meet as needed throughout the regular academic year. In coordination with the Director, the chair will be responsible for scheduling meetings and developing the agenda. The Director will coordinate the first meeting each fall semester. After the first meeting, the chair and Director will communicate before each subsequent meeting, and the chair of the FAC may invite the Director and/or Associate/Assistant Director to attend as needed.
      5. Replacements for council members who resign, go on sabbatical leave, leave of absence, extended sick leave, etc., are to be (s)elected by the area represented. The replacement faculty will serve the remainder of the vacated term, or in the case of a temporary leave, until the original member returns.
  • Tenure, Promotion and Personnel (TPP) Committee
    1. The TPP committee shall be responsible for:
      1. Tenure and promotion actions for the School of Music,
      2. Instructor promotion actions for the School of Music,
      3. Mid-term review actions for the School of Music,
      4. Faculty annual evaluations for the School of Music,
      5. Coordinating evaluations of the Director, and
      6. Advising the Director on issues related to evaluation of faculty.
    2. The makeup of the TPP committee shall be five School of Music faculty who have received tenure at USF and have been appointed at the university for at least two years. Area members will be elected by a vote of the area faculty at the last area meeting in the spring semester. Terms will begin the following fall semester. Terms of committee members will be two years and will be staggered with three members beginning terms in the fall of odd-numbered years and two members beginning terms in the fall of even numbered years. At all times there will be at least one member from each area of the School of Music faculty (performance studies, ensemble directors, composition/jazz studies, music education, academic studies). When possible, no member should serve more than two consecutive terms. The TPP committee will elect a chair at the first meeting in the fall semester.
    3. In cases of applications for promotion to Full Professor, the application will be considered by a Full Professor Committee of the Whole, consisting of Full Professors within the School of Music. The timeline for consideration will be the same as applications for tenure and promotion to Associate Processor. Tenure and promotion to Associate Professor will also involve a Committee of the Whole which consists of all tenured faculty, both Associate and Full Professors. The TPP Committee will meet with the Committee of the Whole, summarize the opinions and votes by secret ballot of all tenured faculty, and submit a letter to the Director.
    4. Faculty annual evaluations are to be submitted by all full-time faculty (tenure-earning, tenured, and instructors) usually no later than early February (exact dates will be established by the Director each year). The TPP committee will submit their reviews by early March, and the Director will complete their review normally no later than mid-April.
    5. Under special circumstances, temporary replacement members may be elected by a vote of the area faculty. Such circumstances include, but are not limited to, TPP committee decisions involving a conflict of interest for a committee member (e.g., spousal candidates).
    6. Replacements for committee members who resign, go on sabbatical, leave of absence, extended sick leave, etc., are to be elected by a vote of the area faculty. The replacement faculty member will serve the remainder of the vacated term or, in the case of a temporary leave, until the original member returns.

  •  Curriculum Committee (CC)
    1. The role of the CC shall be to review, suggest changes and improvements, and approve or reject all proposals for new curriculum and changes to existing curriculum within the School of Music. Recommendations from the committee will be forwarded for discussion and vote of the School of Music faculty as a motion with a second.
    2. The make-up of the CC will be five full-time faculty that have been appointed at the university for at least two years. Committee members will be appointed by the Director after a nomination/self-nomination process near the end of the spring semester and will begin one-year terms in the fall semester. There will be no limit on serving consecutive terms. The Director will appoint a committee chair by the beginning of the fall semester.
    3. Replacements for committee members who resign, go on sabbatical, leave of absence, extended sick leave, etc., are to be appointed by the Director after a (self) nomination process. The replacement faculty will serve the remainder of the vacated term, or in the case of a temporary leave, until the original member returns.

  • Honors Committee (HC)
    1. The role of the HC shall be:
      1. To set standards for awards presented by the School of Music to graduate and undergraduate students and alumni;
      2. To select recipients for external awards including, but not limited to, the Outstanding Graduate for the College of Design, Art & Performance, the Presser Award, and the John L. Smith Award;
      3. To coordinate and oversee considerations for Pi Kappa Lambda membership; and
      4. To plan and implement the annual Honors Convocation for the School of Music.
    2. The make-up of the HC will be three to four full-time faculty in addition to the undergraduate advisor as an ex officio member. Committee members will be appointed by the Director after a (self) nomination process near the end of the spring semester and will begin one-year terms in the fall semester. There will be no limit on serving consecutive terms. The director will appoint a committee chair by the beginning of the fall semester.
    3. Replacements for committee members who resign, go on sabbatical, leave of absence, extended sick leave, etc., are to be appointed by the director after a (self) nomination process. The replacement faculty will serve the remainder of the vacated term, or in the case of a temporary leave, until the original member returns.
  • Scholarship Committee (SC)
    1. The role of the SC shall be:
      1. To determine allocation of scholarship monies based on the recommendation of the faculty and the results of the yearly audition process,
      2. To monitor compliance of all scholarship recipients by meeting early in the fall semester,
      3. To set the requirements for awarding scholarships in consultation with the Director,
      4. To consider scholarship recommendations concerning continuing students, and
      5. To determine students who are no longer be eligible for scholarship consideration and to reassign the scholarship funds.
    2. Members of the SC will be appointed by the Director of the School of Music and shall include the following representatives from School of Music areas:
      1. Performance Studies (1),
      2. Ensemble (1),
      3. Music Education (1),
      4. Composition/Jazz Studies (1), and
      5. School of Music Office Manager (ex-officio). The representatives are responsible for communicating with all members in their area to determine best practices for scholarship allocation.
    3. There will be no limit on serving consecutive terms. The Director will appoint a committee chair by the beginning of the fall semester.
    4. Replacements for committee members who resign, go on sabbatical, leave of absence, extended sick leave, etc., are to be appointed by the Director after a (self) nomination process from the represented area. The replacement faculty will serve the remainder of the vacated term or, in the case of a temporary leave, until the original member returns.

  • Credentialling Committee
    1. All School of Music tenured faculty, including the Director, are members of this committee.
    2. This committee serves in accordance with the policies set forth by the Office of Graduate Studies.

  • Other Committees
    1. The Director will appoint other committees/task forces on an ad hoc basis as needed.
    2. Replacements for committee members who resign, go on sabbatical, leave of absence, extended sick leave, etc., are to be appointed by the Director after a (self) nomination process from the represented area. The replacement faculty will serve the remainder of the vacated term or, in the case of a temporary leave, until the original member returns.

  • The School of Music will hold elections whenever the USF Faculty Senate seat for the School is vacant; the result will be forwarded to the Faculty Senate Office.

AMENDMENTS OR ADDITIONS TO BYLAWS

  • Proposals for amendments or additions may be made by any faculty member of the School of Music by submitting the proposed change to the Faculty Advisory Council.
  • Amendments of these bylaws shall occur utilizing the following procedure:
    1) The Faculty Advisory Council shall, by a majority vote of its membership, initiate a request for a change in bylaws through a ballot. This ballot shall be submitted to the faculty of the School of Music. If at least 2/3 of the faculty vote, approval shall be granted by a simple majority of the votes cast.

Final adoption by a vote of the faculty February 7, 2007
Amended by a vote of the faculty April 11, 2007 (VII. 4)
Amended by a vote of the faculty November 20, 2008 (III.)
Amended by a vote of the faculty March 24, 2009 (V. 2, and VI.)
Amended by advice of General Council August 12, 2009 (V. 2 returned to previous version)
Amended by a vote of the faculty February 17, 2012 (VII. 2)
Amended by a vote of the faculty September 4, 2015 (complete)
Amended by a vote of the faculty
Approved by the Provost鈥檚 office 1-21-2021