SPS Bylaws
BYLAWS approved as of April 24 , 2009
Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, The University of Florida
Preamble
The Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies (SPS) operates in compliance with the constitution of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Sunshine Laws of the State of Florida, and the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the University and United Faculty of Florida. SPS is committed to the principles of open government, affirmative action, and equal opportunity. These by-laws comprise three parts: operational measures, procedures for tenure and promotion, and a plan for merit pay.
Mission Statement
The Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies (SPS) endeavors to achieve excellence in research, teaching, and public service related to the languages, literatures, and cultures of the countries where Spanish and Portuguese are spoken. Associated languages and cultures-- such as Catalan, Galician, or any other that the faculty may determine-- also fall under departmental purview. Research, teaching, and service are mutually enriching activities through which the faculty attain their shared goals. SPS strives to maintain effective undergraduate and graduate programs of instruction whose quality is sustained by the constant intellectual and professional development of the faculty. Consistent with the mission statement of the University of Florida, SPS affirms a belief that research should contribute "to the international public conversation about the advancement of knowledge."
The courses offered by SPS in language, linguistics, literature, film, civilization, and cultural studies enrich such related fields as Anthropology, Art History, Business, Health Sciences, History, International Relations, Journalism, Law, Linguistics, Music, Political Science, Sociology, and other languages and literatures, especially Romance. With the expansion of dynamic minority populations in the United States, and the prospect of closer and more complex relationships between the U.S. and Spanish / Portuguese-speaking countries around the world, such courses will increasingly have intellectual and practical value as part of the University of Florida's curricular opportunities. SPS will maintain the quality and breadth of instructional and degree programs at all levels: lower division, including beginning and intermediate language instruction; upper division, including classes for undergraduate majors, minors, and electives; and graduate studies, master's and doctoral alike. The activities of SPS include: (a) research in language pedagogy; linguistics; literary history, criticism, and theory; film, cultural studies, and civilization; (b) courses, programs, and training leading to BA, MA and Ph D degrees; (c) sponsorship of study and research abroad; (d) fostering interdisciplinary initiatives that foreground the importance of knowing another language and culture; (e) utilizing faculty expertise to attend to the linguistic and cultural interests of UF's Latino populations; (f) internationalizing the university by inviting well-known scholars to engage in intellectual exchange with the university community; (g) sponsorship of scholarly and cultural events that promote interest in these areas of concern.
Operations
I. Membership
A. The members of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies (SPS) are those who are budgeted to the Department and hold the rank of Lecturer or above, as well as those in the Phased Retirement Program.
B. Tenured members of SPS are those who have been granted tenure by procedures established by the Department, the College, the University, and the Board of Regents or Board of Trustees. Within the Department, it is required that the names and qualifications of those candidates eligible for tenure be presented for action to the tenured members of the Department; the presentation shall be made by the Chair after consultation with the Tenure and Promotion Committee of the Department.
C. Academic ranks of Department members are determined by procedures established by the Department, the College, the University, and the Board of Trustees. Within the Department, it is required that names and qualifications of members requesting promotion, or nominated for promotion, be presented for action to the appropriate Department bodies--those members of the Department of the rank sought or above--by the Chair, after consultation with the Departmental Tenure and Promotion Committee.
II. Authority
A. Within the Department, the ultimate authority resides in its voting members except in those instances when the College or University has vested authority in the Chair.
B. Operations of the Department are conducted by the Chair, the appointed and elected Administrative Officers, and the Advisory Committee.
C. Voting members of the Department are those holding the rank of Lecturer or above except where precluded by other articles in these By-Laws. Absentee voting is allowed via written proxy provided to the Elections Officer or other member of the Faculty designated by the Chair. According to the Faculty Handbook, those "who are participants in the Phased Retirement Program are not eligible to vote on tenure nominations. However, they may vote on promotion nominations in accordance with university procedures. Faculty participating in the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) may vote on both tenure and promotion nominations in accordance with university procedures."
III. Meetings
A. The Department will normally meet monthly, with at least two regular departmental meetings per Fall and Spring semesters. Agendas, reports, and other relevant materials will be distributed in advance via e-mail or hard copy. The agenda is determined by the Chair in consultation with the Advisory Committee and committee chairs, circumstances warranting. The agenda should include old and new departmental business, items proposed by faculty members or by the elected representative of the graduate students, and material presented from outside the Department.
B. At the request of any voting member, new business (not listed on the agenda) shall not be voted on at the meeting at which it is brought up. At the request of any voting member, votes will be held by paper ballot.
C. Additional meetings are called by the Chair (1) on his or her own initiative, (2) at the request of the Advisory Committee, or (3) upon written request by one-third of the voting members of the Department.
D. The Chair presides at Department meetings; in the Chair's absence, the Associate Chair or another member of the faculty designated by the Chair, shall preside.
E. Fifty percent plus one of the voting members of the Department, excluding those on leave, shall constitute a quorum.
F. Meetings are conducted in accordance with the latest revision of Robert's Rules of Order, except where the ByLaws specify otherwise. A designee from the Department will record the minutes of the meeting, assist the Chair in determining the presence of a quorum, and oversee the subsequent circulation of the minutes.
IV. The Chair
A. The Chair is the chief administrative officer of the Department. As such, s/he: (1) appoints the Administrative Officers of the Department and selects the members of standing nonelected Department Committees: (2) calls, supervises the preparation of the agenda for, and presides over Department meetings as specified in III above; (3) on a routine basis supervises all the daytoday activities of the Department; and 4) assures that all provisions of the By-Laws are carried out.
B. The Chair is the chief financial officer of the Department. S/he supervises all receipts of money and expenditures and, with the advice of the Advisory Committee, prepares the annual academic program review and budget proposal for the Dean. At the first departmental meeting in the Fall semester, s/he will present a report on the previous AY's finances as well as the proposed budget for the AY in course. Current budget documents shall be available to any voting member of the Department upon request.
C. In conjunction with the Administrative Officers and Chairs of the appropriate committees, and the Department at large where appropriate, the Chair coordinates all aspects of the academic program, such as degree requirements, curricular offerings, catalog announcements, class scheduling, and faculty teaching assignments.
D. The Chair coordinates the recruiting of new faculty members in conjunction with the appointed search committees. During the first year of appointment of a new junior faculty member, the Chair shall appoint a tenured faculty member to serve as a mentor during the tenure-accruing years. The Department will follow any guidelines posted on the College website.
E. The Chair, or the Chair's designate, represents the Department to university officers and bodies and acts as general spokesperson for the Department.
F. The Chair's term of service is set by the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The Department may suggest the length of the term. Normally the Chair should not serve more than eight consecutive years.
G. The Chair's performance may be evaluated internally during any Spring semester. Such evaluation can occur at the initiative of the Advisory Committee, as indicated by a three-fourths vote of that body, or at the request of one-third of the voting members of the Department. Should an evaluation be requested, the Advisory Committee shall devise and submit a questionnaire to members of the Department. The results of the questionnaire will be conveyed to the Chair and will be available to any member of the Department upon request.
H. If the position of Department Chair is to become vacant, the Dean, after any consultation with members or bodies of the department s/he deems advisable, authorizes a search for a new Chair. If necessary the Dean appoints an Acting Chair. Upon receiving authorization from the Dean to initiate a search for a new Chair, from within the Department or from another university, the Department proceeds with the election of a three-member Search Committee. Said committee shall report to the Dean, making a recommendation that includes the results of a departmental vote taken in accordance with the voting modalities stipulated in II (C).
V. The Department Advisory Committee
A. The Department Advisory Committee is a group of faculty who advise the Chair on departmental matters. It is not a policy-making or legislative body. Policy questions subject to a vote shall be remanded to the Department as a whole. The Advisory Committee consists of four members. The ideal make-up of this committee would be one Professor, one Associate Professor, one Assistant Professor, and one NTTF (Non Tenure-Track Faculty, including Associate in Spanish / Portuguese, Assistant in Spanish / Portuguese, Master Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, or Lecturer), with one member from Portuguese. Faculty will endeavor to achieve appropriate balance in such areas as rank, discipline, and gender. The NTTF representative shall be elected by all NTTF. All others shall be elected by the faculty as a whole minus NTTF. Members of the Advisory Committee shall be elected for two-year terms. Elections shall take place before or during the first meeting of the Fall term. At the first election measures will be taken to achieve staggered two-year terms.
B. The Advisory Committee advises the Chair on matters of policy and procedure of concern to the Department, such as: (1) issues related to departmental programs; (2) the work of, and relations between, the various committees in the Department; (3) faculty loads and schedules; (4) relations with other departments and programs; (5) holding of institutes, workshops, and conferences, etc.; and (6) concerns of individual faculty members, including response to outside offers.
C. The Advisory Committee meets at least two times each Fall and Spring semesters. Meetings are called at the request of the Chair, or of any other two members of the Committee or of any three members of the faculty. The Chair normally presides at these meetings; in his/her absence, the Associate Chair or the most senior member presides. The Chair shall distribute an agenda to the Advisory Committee prior to each meeting.
D. The Advisory Committee consults with the Chair on the Annual Program Review for the College and on the budget proposal before s/he submits it to the Dean.
E. The Advisory Committee may mediate informally when an individual faculty member wishes to appeal a judgment of the Chair.
VI. The Appointed Administrative Officers
A. The Chair shall appoint a Graduate Coordinator, Undergraduate Coordinators for Spanish and Portuguese, a Coordinator of Spanish Language Programs, and a Lower-Division Coordinator for Portuguese. The Chair may appoint an Associate Chair and/or an Assistant to the Chair at his/her discretion. When necessary, the Chair shall designate another of the Administrative Officers or other faculty member to preside over meetings.
B. The Graduate Coordinator chairs the Graduate Studies Committee, and is responsible for the administration of graduate programs.
C. Each Undergraduate Coordinator is responsible for upperdivision undergraduate programs and undergraduate advising.
D. The Coordinator of each language program supervises and coordinates the activities of all instructional personnel involved in the program. S/he sets the academic goals and pedagogical approach for the program.
E. In the absence of the Chair, the Associate Chair or other designee will substitute for him/her at Department, University, or public functions. S/he may perform other administrative functions as agreed upon with the Chair.
VII. Department Committees
A. Ad Hoc Committees. The Chair may establish committees of specified duration as needed to deal with specific matters of importance to the Department. The Department shall be notified as soon as possible of the purpose and makeup of all such committees.
B. Elected Committees. The Department has two standing committees whose members are elected: the Advisory Committee (see V. A above), and the Merit Pay Committee, which assists the Chair in determining distribution of merit pay, or other performance-based premiums the University might provide on an ad hoc basis. The Merit Pay Committee consists of three professors. Two will be tenured; the third will be a tenure-accruing assistant professor, representing the untenured faculty. In addition, one NTTF member will be elected to assist the committee on recommendations for merit pay to NTTF. Ideally, a term limit of two consecutive academic years should be respected.
C. Major Appointed Committees. The Department shall have a Graduate Studies Committee and an NTTF Evaluation Committee. An Undergraduate Awards Committee and a Graduate Awards and Placement Committee shall be convened as needed.
D. Mixed Committees. The Departmental Tenure and Promotion Committee assists the Chair in the preparation of the annual letters of evaluation for tenure-track faculty members, visits their classes, and makes an oral report to the Chair reviewing teaching, research, and service. This committee will consist of three tenured professors. Two will be elected by ranked faculty in the Fall at the first SPS plenary. The third shall be appointed by the Chair following these elections. Faculty will endeavor to achieve appropriate balance in such areas as rank, discipline, and gender. Members will serve staggered two-year terms.
VIII. Committee Elections
A. The Chair will appoint an Elections Officer to coordinate all scheduled and ad hoc elections and/or any other ad hoc ballot.
B. Elections for Merit Pay Committee, Tenure and Promotion Committee, and Advisory Committee shall be held no later than the third week of September of each academic year. The newly elected committees will start to function immediately.
C. If a vacancy occurs in any elected committee, another election will be held promptly.
D. If no eligible candidate is found the Chair is authorized to appoint an ad hoc replacement.
IX. Amendments
Any three voting members of the Department may propose in writing to the Chair an amendment to these ByLaws. Said amendment shall be circulated to the Department at least two weeks prior to the meeting at which it is to be voted on. Any two voting members may also introduce an amendment at a Department meeting, with the vote to be taken not sooner than one week following the meeting nor later than three weeks, by mail, poll or at a subsequent Departmental meeting. The vote shall be by written secret ballot; a twothirds majority of voting members of the Department is required to pass the amendment.
Tenure & Promotion Procedures
As part of the state-mandated annual evaluation of each faculty member, the Department Tenure and Promotion Committee (T & P) assists the Department Chair in the assessment of all tenure-track faculty members. T & P will prepare a peer-evaluation of the teaching of each of the tenure-track faculty. Normally during the spring semester of each academic year, two members of T & P will visit, on separate occasions, a class taught by the professor and prepare reports. On the basis of these reports, of student evaluation scores, and of the Annual Activities Report and the over-all CV (the tenure-track faculty member is requested to provide the latter two documents), the T & P Chair will draw up a review of the tenure-track faculty member's performance in teaching, research, and service. This review will be discussed and modified by the T & P committee, who will make an oral report to the Department Chair and is included in the tenure track faculty member's permanent file. The Department Chair takes it into account in writing the annual letter of evaluation and while discussing that year's performance with the faculty member. The Chair's letter indicates, in general terms, the progress made towards tenure and/or promotion. One copy of the annual letter of evaluation is placed in the faculty member's file, another is sent to the Dean's office. At the time when a faculty member is being considered for tenure and promotion, all annual letters of evaluation, together with the annual Tenure and Promotion assessments, will be part of the file examined by the tenured members of the Department, the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences T & P Committee, the Dean of the College, and the University Personnel Board.
In the case of Assistant Professors coming up for tenure and promotion, the Department Chair is responsible for initiating the actual decision process, although the individual faculty member may request consideration for tenure and/or promotion on his/her own. Assistant Professors will normally be considered for tenure and promotion during their sixth year of employment. This process should commence during the Spring semester before the Fall of the academic year in which the candidate's case is to be decided. The Department Chair will solicit names of appropriate external referees from the candidate and from other sources, and will then request letters from a number (generally, three to six) of the suggested referees, half from the faculty member's list, half from other sources. Internal referees (usually three) will generally be chosen by the candidate. When the candidate's entire packet is complete, early in the Fall semester, it is reviewed by T & P, which reports on the facts of the case to the tenured faculty in a meeting called by the Chair for this purpose. Faculty, who will have perused the file before the meeting, then indicate their recommendations by secret ballot. The Chair does participate in this vote. The department's recommendation, positive or negative, is forwarded to the College for further consideration. The packet includes the Chair's letter of transmission to the College, justifying and discussing the candidate's achievements and the department recommendation.
In the case of promotion from Associate Professor to Professor the same guidelines generally apply. In the Spring semester the Department Chair consults with the Full Professors to decide whether or not the case ought to proceed the following Fall. If the recommendation is positive, the case proceeds as stated above. If not, the Associate Professor will be advised to withdraw his or her candidacy. The candidate may elect to proceed no matter the recommendation. In the subsequent Fall semester, when the candidate's packet is complete, T & P will review it and present the facts of the case to the Chair and the Full Professors. Once again, if a straw vote is negative, the candidate will be advised to withdraw his or her candidacy. Whether the straw vote be positive or negative, the candidate has the right to proceed, and, at a meeting called by the Chair for this purpose, the Full Professors and the Chair will discuss the facts on the candidate presented by T & P and in the candidate's file. The faculty will then vote as stated above.
The faculty of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies accepts a two-track tenure policy for its Hispanic linguists, recognizing that the norm in some subfields of linguistics (e.g., sociolinguistics, technology in the classroom, second-language acquisition, syntax) is publication of articles rather than books. Accordingly, candidates for tenure and promotion in Hispanic linguistics may opt to submit, as evidence of their scholarly contribution to their fields, a substantial number of peer-reviewed articles appearing in first-rate journals.
Note: as of 4/24/09 all the foregoing was agreed upon by vote in SPS plenary; what follows is a proposal that will be discussed at the next departmental meeting.
Tenure & Promotion Criteria
The Department's policies and guidelines for tenure and promotion conform to those set forth in the Florida Administrative Code, the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the University Constitution, and at the college level, the Tenure and Promotion Guidelines for Department Chairs.
Candidates for tenure and/or promotion are judged upon their contributions to the department, college, university, and profession in three areas: research, teaching and service. Many of the activities that are considered meritorious in these areas are listed below under the following categories: "most meritorious," "very meritorious," and "meritorious." The listing does not exclude other evidence as may be deemed appropriate.
Merit Criteria for Research
The following items shall stand as evidence of research activity. Under the research category, determinations of quality will be made by the eligible faculty on the basis of (1) comments by internal and external referees, (2) the eligible faculty's reading of the candidate's research, and (3) the nature and relative quality of the press, journal or the conference through which contribution was made. Additionally, judgments as to the relevance of each contribution to the fields that comprise Spanish and Portuguese Studies will be made.
Certain other honors and activities which are not in themselves publications, but which may lead to publications, also represent meritorious performance in the area of research.
A. Most meritorious
- A sole-authored book, book-length monograph, major critical edition, or other comparable published project that makes a significant contribution to one's field.
- A book prize or other professional award or distinction
- Receipt of a major outside research grant or fellowship
B. Very meritorious
- Co-authored book-length monograph or major critical edition
- A brief monograph or book-length edition or annotated translation
- Substantial articles in refereed and/or highly selective outlets: journals, edited books or proceedings
- Editor of collections, anthologies, acts
- Review articles
- Plenary or keynote addresses
C. Meritorious
- Co-editor of collections, anthologies, acts, including journals
- Receipt of a college or university research grant
- Reprints or translations of articles previously published
- Conference papers and non-published invited lectures
- Other published items, including notes, reviews, and translations
- Public recognition of scholarly achievement, as shown by Humanities Citation Index; nomination for book or other scholarly prize; other printed mentions in a scholarly context; interviews in media, etc.
- Non-refereed publications
- Active leadership roles in professional organizations
- Organization of meetings/symposia/workshops/sessions at local, national or international conferences
- Active participation in local, national or international meetings, symposia, conferences, workshops (other than giving a prepared paper)
- Active membership on advisory or editorial boards
- Assistance to public schools, government, or other state/national agencies or boards
- Receipt of a departmental research grant
Merit Criteria for Teaching and Advising
A. Most Meritorious
- College, University or other award for excellence in teaching
- Distinguished teaching as determined by student evaluation scores consistently above department norms
- A College / University / professional award for advising
- Excellence as undergraduate coordinator or graduate coordinator or as program coordinator
- Excellence as language-program coordinator or director
B. Very Meritorious
- Effective direction of graduate theses and dissertations
- Very positive peer evaluations forwarded by departmental or affiliated groups / committees, or individuals
- Effective direction or coordination of study-abroad programs.
- Chairing pedagogically-oriented committees such as Adjunct Faculty Evaluation, Graduate Awards and Placement, Undergraduate Curriculum, or other ad hoc instances
- Serving as committee member for MA, Ph.D thesis or non-thesis; study abroad advisor; FLAC coordinator; member of committees as in item 5 above
- Direction of honors theses and undergraduate research projects
C. Meritorious
- Nominations for College, University or other award for excellence in teaching
- Nomination for a CLAS or other award for advising
- Pre-professional development activities (workshops, mock interviews, etc.)
- Organization of lectures, exhibits, and other teaching or culturally related events
Merit Criteria for Service
Merit is recognized in this category for particular efficacy and productivity; mere service on a committee is deemed the norm
- Significant contribution to organizing and directing a major conference
- Chairship of an active standing or ad-hoc departmental, center, college or university committee
- Membership on a departmental, center, college or university committee
- Promotion of student extra-curricular activities (clubs, organizations, events, etc.)
- Any other activity, not specified here, judged to be worthy by the Chair and/or Merit Pay Committee (see next section)
PROMOTION OF NON TENURE TRACK FACULTY: SPS shall follow the dictates of the document "2008-2009 Guidelines for Promotion of Lecturers" published by the of Liberal Arts and Sciences and posted on the official website.
Merit Pay Plan
This section of the present SPS By-Laws document sets forth procedures and guidelines by which recommendations for merit salary increases will be made in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies. Awards of merit increments are designed to recognize outstanding overall performance in the department in teaching, research, publication, and service. "Outstanding" signifies superior performance in relation to departmental norms and averages. The content of this section will orient both the considerations of the Chair and of the elected Merit Pay Committee (MPC), which will assist the Chair in an advisory capacity in this process. To the degree possible, judgments should be made on the basis of assigned duties, as specified in the semester faculty assignment form.
Procedures
Barring administrative stipulations to the contrary, merit pay deliberations will consider all the annual activity reports (AAR) since the last time faculty were eligible for merit pay, or for the previous three years, whichever is less. The three-year limit may be waived to ensure consideration of a major accomplishment never before considered for a merit increase.
When general merit money is allocated or anticipated, the Chair will consider the AAR of each faculty person for the applicable year(s), as well as additional documentation submitted by individual faculty. After evaluating this material according to the guidelines set forth herein, and taking into account the advice and rankings of the MPC, the Chair will recommend merit increases. Individuals may request a conference with the Chair at any point in this procedure.
Merit Pay Committee
Each eligible faculty member will submit the following to the Chair, who will make it available to the MPC: 1) a CV containing items from the pertinent year(s) only; 2) documentation of teaching, advising, or other instructional activities; of service, and of historical situation, if applicable.
The MPC will score and rank all submissions according to guidelines, and present the Chair with an annotated version of these rankings. Consultation and discussion may follow. The Chair and MPC should agree on methods of division or distribution of amounts or increments of merit money, when practicable.
A faculty member may consult those sections of the annotated rankings and Chair's recommendation that pertain to him/her. Once recommendations are made, individuals may appeal to the Chair and/or request an audience with the MPC to request reconsideration. If changes are deemed advisable too late for a change to be effected that year, the case will be given priority in the next merit period.
Merit Pay Criteria
Guidelines for Ranked Faculty The chair and the MPC will score and rank individuals in four categories for a possible total of 100 points. Within the categories, the committee will maintain consistency in scoring methods. For the benefit of future committees, each year's methods should be recorded. Point distributions for faculty will normally adhere to the following formula: 30 for teaching; 20 advising/other instructional activities; 40 for research and publication; 10 for service.
Criteria will be detailed and listed in order of descending importance in a document to be available (to all eligible faculty) both in hard copy and electronically on the SPS share drive.
Guidelines for Non Tenure Track Faculty
Criteria will be detailed and listed in order of descending importance in a document to be available (to all eligible faculty) both in hard copy and electronically on the SPS share drive.
The present document shall be posted in its entirety on the college webspace of the Department.
Market Equity Process
The market equity process entails a ranking by the Chair in consultation with the SPS Merit Pay Committee.
Download these Bylaws as a PDF File
Images: Eneas De Troya, Flickr
