Case Western Reserve University
College of Arts and Sciences
By-Laws of the Department of English

December 13, 2022

Approved: A&S Executive Committee September 9, 2016
Approved: Dean of the College September 9, 2016

Article I. Purpose
To assure effective and democratic procedures in all affairs of the department.
Article II. Membership
1. Part time or visiting faculty shall be invited to all regular meetings as non-voting members.
2. Voting members of the faculty shall be all those who hold at least a half-time appointment at
the rank of Instructor or above. For those eligible to vote, the rules governing voting in the
Faculty Handbook will apply. Therefore, in decisions about tenure and promotion, faculty
members can only vote on the candidacy for positions at or below their rank. Similarly, when
hiring decisions are made, only tenure track faculty can vote to recommend candidates for
tenure track positions.
3. Lecturers shall be invited to all regular meetings, and will be eligible to vote, as appropriate,
on those department decisions related to curriculum for the courses and programs in
which they teach. Otherwise, the rules governing voting in the Faculty Handbook will apply.
The Chair shall identify agenda items for which Lecturers are eligible to vote at the point at
which the meeting agenda is circulated.
4. Two representatives of the graduate students selected by the appropriate student groups shall
be invited to attend all regular meetings as voting members and will be eligible to vote, as
appropriate, on those department decisions related to curriculum and programs involving
graduate student participation. The rules governing voting in the Faculty Handbook will
apply. The Chair shall identify agenda items for which graduate representatives are
eligible to vote at the point at which the meeting agenda is circulated.
Article III. Meetings
1. Meetings of the department shall be held, at least once a semester, in accordance with the By-
Laws of the College of Arts & Sciences. Additional meetings shall be called by the
department chair or at the request of three members of the department.
2. A quorum shall consist of a majority of the voting faculty members, not counting those on
sabbatical or other leave of absence.
3. Special meetings or special sessions of a meeting may be called to which student
representatives and/or non-voting members are not invited, for discussion of personnel
matters or other sensitive or confidential topics.
4. Minutes shall be kept and circulated to the membership.
5. Meetings shall be conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order, latest edition.

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Article IV. Officers
1. The department chair shall be appointed as provided by the By-Laws of the College of Arts
& Sciences.
2. The department chair may appoint other officers for duties to be specified by the chair.
Article V. Committees
1. Executive Committee
a. The Executive Committee shall include, ex officio, the chair of Undergraduate
Committee, the chair of the Graduate Committee, and the chair of the Writing
Program Committee. In addition, each spring, the voting members of the department
shall elect one at-large representative from the voting faculty, who will serve a one-
year term.
b. The executive committee advises the chair on all matters, including committee
appointments and the agenda for department meetings.
c. During the summer term, if or when a meeting of the entire department cannot be
held, the executive committee may act on behalf of the department on hiring and
personnel issues and other matters requiring immediate attention. In particular, in the
case of emergency, visiting, or short-term appointments the committee may act on
behalf of the department when it is not feasible to conduct a full or normal search.
d. Meetings of the executive committee may be called by any of its members. Normally
they are called by the chair.
2. Undergraduate Committee
a. In consultation with the members of the department, the department chair shall each
year appoint a chair of the undergraduate committee. Appointment is renewable.
b. Additional faculty members are appointed by the department chair in consultation
with the executive committee and the chair of the undergraduate committee.
c. Two undergraduate students, selected by or in consultation with appropriate student
organizations, shall be voting members of this committee.
d. The committee shall have the responsibility to review current programs and policies
and to propose changes. It shall have charge of the department’s activities in
undergraduate recruitment, advising, and recognition. Recommendations from the
committee shall go to the department for approval.

3. Graduate Committee
a. In consultation with the members of the department, including graduate student
representatives, the department chair shall each year appoint a chair of the graduate
committee. The appointment is renewable.
b. Additional faculty members are appointed by the department chair in consultation
with the executive committee and the chair of the graduate committee.
c. Two graduate student members of the committee shall be selected annually by the
graduate students. These representatives consult and vote on all matters except
examinations, admission to candidacy for degrees and the selection of graduate
students for honors, awards, assistantships, and fellowships.
d. The committee shall review current programs and policies and propose new ones.
Recommendations from the committee shall go to the department for approval.

4. Writing Program Committee

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a. In consultation with the members of the department, the department chair shall each
year appoint a chair of the Writing Program Committee. Appointment is renewable.
b. Additional faculty members are appointed by the department chair in consultation
with the executive committee and the chair of the Writing Program committee.
c. Two representatives, selected by or in consultation with the Writing Program
Lecturers, shall be voting members of this committee.
d. Two graduate student members of the committee shall be selected annually by the
graduate students. These representatives consult and vote on all matters except
personnel and other confidential matters.
e. The committee shall have the responsibility to review Writing Program curricula,
programs, and policies, and to propose changes. It shall have charge of the
department’s obligations with respect to university-wide writing and communication
programs and curricula. Recommendations from the committee that have implications
for departmental programs and activities shall go to the department for approval.

5. Personnel Committee(s)
a. Personnel committee(s) shall be appointed by the chair, in consultation with the
executive committee, in years when hiring is anticipated. Multiple committees may
be appointed if more than one search is to be conducted.
b. The department chair is ex officio the chair of all personnel committees.
c. At least three additional faculty members shall be appointed to any personnel
committee, one of whom may be appointed by the department chair to serve as the de
facto chair of the committee.
d. Upon the advice of the department, the committee undertakes the search, places
advertisements, carries out affirmative action and other procedures, secures and
makes available to the department dossiers of appropriate candidates, conducts
intermediate candidate interviews at such off-campus venues as the annual
convention of the Modern Language association, and arranges on-campus candidate
interviews with the department as a whole.
e. The committee recommends candidates to the department, which then votes on any
appointments as provided in the By-Laws of the College of Arts and Sciences.
f. Instructors and lecturers in the department shall be invited to participate in search
processes at ranks higher than their own and shall be allowed to provide input at the
meeting that precedes the vote. However, as they do not vote for candidates being
considered for positions above their own rank, they will be excused for the final
discussion and vote.
6. Ad Hoc Committees
Ad hoc committees may be appointed as necessary by the chair in consultation with the
executive committee. They shall have a specific charge and they shall report to the department as
directed.
Article VI. Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure
1. The department shall be guided by the procedures established in the Faculty Handbook and
the By-Laws of the College of Arts & Sciences.

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2. The department shall approve and make available to all candidates for tenure and promotion
a set of procedural guidelines, reviewed from time to time for accuracy.
Article VII. Amendments
These by-laws may be amended by a majority vote of any meeting of the department.
Article VIII. Ratification
After approval by the department according to its previous by-laws, these by-laws shall be in effect
immediately.
December 13, 2022