Ph.D. in International Conflict Management (INCM) Program Governance Document

Transcription

1 Ph.D. in International Conflict Management (INCM) Program Governance Document Program Vision To become the leading doctoral program preparing scholar-practitioners for the complex challenges of preventing, managing, and transforming international conflict. Purpose This interdisciplinary in-residence program is designed to meet the global demand for scholarpractitioners to address the complex array of international conflict and security challenges. It prepares graduates to compete for tenure-track university faculty appointments as well as a wide range of operational positions in government, non-governmental agencies, and the private sector. The International Conflict Management (INCM) Ph.D. Program adopts this governance document as a guide to its structure and operation. It also serves as a policy document outlining operational responsibilities and duties pertinent to the successful operation of the Program. Democratic Principles and Shared Governance The faculty and staff in the INCM Program are committed to following democratic principles. We believe in open communication, collegiality, and support shared governance that is participatory, equitable, and transparent. The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) argues that faculty should have a meaningful role in decision-making in those areas that have a significant impact on the education and scholarly enterprise. The American Council on Education (ACE) and the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) have endorsed this position with regard to shared governance. The policies and procedures that follow reflect these views in that they are intended to ensure faculty have input on issues that affect students and/or faculty. Academic Freedom The Program is committed to academic freedom. Freedom in research is fundamental to the advancement of truth. Academic freedom in its teaching aspect is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the teacher in teaching and of the student to freedom in learning (KSU Faculty Handbook, , 73). A more detailed definition, rights, and responsibilities are available from the KSU Faculty Handbook. I. Structure and Operation A. Director The Director shall be appointed based on merit to manage the affairs of the Program and handle the duties inherent in its operation. S/he will be jointly appointed with the Ph.D. Program and an appropriate home department. An interdisciplinary search committee populated in consultation with the Program faculty and appointed by the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) shall nominate the Director. The Director reports to the CHSS Dean and receives an administrative stipend deemed appropriate by the Dean. The Director shall serve a five-year term with the possibility of renewal if recommended by a majority vote of the Program faculty and appointment

2 by the CHSS Dean or until the Director leaves the position by choice or is recalled (the Director may serve no more than two consecutive terms). Recall procedures for the Director require that a majority of Program faculty present their votes by secret ballot. A supermajority (67% of those voting) vote is required for the recall measure to pass and the recall is subject to the approval of the Dean of College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Duties of the Director shall include but are not limited to: Academic Responsibilities: Serving as Program faculty Contributing to the program s research profile through research and publication Mentoring junior faculty, particularly in research and publication Recruiting, advising, and mentoring students Developing and approving international field experiences Administrative Responsibilities: Providing strategic leadership and vision for the Program Representing the Program at the college and university level Managing Program accreditation and evaluation (e.g., SACS) Developing strategic partnerships domestically and internationally Preparing and overseeing annual budgets Scheduling and conducting regular Program faculty meetings Supervising Program staff External fundraising Reviewing and approving transfer of graduate credits from other institutions Maintaining alumni relations Creating annual performance reviews for dual-appointed program faculty B. Associate Director The Associate Director shall serve as Program faculty reporting to the Program Director. S/he will be jointly appointed with the Ph.D. Program and an appropriate department. The Associate Director shall be nominated by an interdisciplinary search committee populated in consultation with the Program Director and appointed by the Dean of CHSS. The Associate Director assists the Program Director in the day-to-day operations of the program and is responsible for designing and implementing the new student orientation, helping new students adjust to the academic program and life at KSU and in the United States as needed, advising new and continuing students on program requirements and progress, and other related duties as assigned by the Program Director. Responsibilities, to be carried out in close collaboration with the Program Director, include: coordinating graduate assistantships; monitoring student performance; building college-wide faculty support for the Program; recruiting faculty to teach in the program and serve on program committees; recruiting additional faculty to fill newly created lines; coordinating faculty teaching assignments; and scheduling classes. C. Program Coordinator The Program Coordinator shall provide administrative support for the Ph.D. Program under direct supervision of the Program Director. The duties include: maintaining student records; coordinating

3 communication between Program Administration, Program students, and university departments, including the offices of admissions, financial aid, registrar, and the Graduate College; tracking graduate placement; assisting with marketing materials, presentations, and other documents needed to promote and operate the Ph.D. Program; scheduling and securing space for Program meetings; completing projects and assisting with events as assigned by the Director and/or Associate Director; preparing travel forms for the Ph.D. Program administrators, faculty, and staff; assisting Ph.D. students with daily Program needs; maintaining Program resources, equipment, and offices; assisting with student and faculty orientation, doctoral student application and admission procedures; maintaining Program files, answering phones, processing mail, copying, and staffing front desk area; providing overall administrative support to the Director and/or Associate Director; and other related tasks as required. D. INCM Program Faculty Program faculty will consist of the following three categories: 1. Dual appointed faculty. Dual appointed faculty members shall have Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) formally appointing them to the INCM program and a home department. Specific requirements and responsibilities shall be as specified in each faculty member s MOU. Faculty in this category must meet INCM promotion and tenure standards in order to retain their INCM appointment. Additional details are specified in the INCM Promotion and Tenure Guidelines. (Guidelines are currently in development and once completed, these standards will apply) 2. Teaching faculty. Teaching faculty shall teach a minimum of three credit hours in the INCM program every two years. Courses offered in other programs (e.g., MSCM) on a cross-listed basis (i.e., for which INCM students can register and receive credit) will be counted towards this requirement. Doctoral advising formalized via INCM 9900 credits will also be counted as teaching credit, with each semester unit of INCM 9900 counting as one credit hour. 3. Affiliated faculty. Affiliated faculty shall include other faculty interested in being involved in the INCM program. To become an affiliated faculty member, one must submit a Request for Affiliation, consisting of a short statement of interest and qualifications specific to the INCM program including ongoing mentorship, service, research, and teaching. The INCM Governance Committee will consider new Requests for Affiliation each August. Existing affiliated faculty must request the renewal of their affiliation on a biannual basis. All tenured and tenure-track faculty involved in the Program must be appointed as Graduate Faculty at the provisional or full graduate status level by the KSU Graduate College. All other individuals outside of tenure or tenure-track recommended for formal involvement in graduate level activity, such as teaching a graduate course, supervising research of a graduate student, membership on a graduate committee, graduate student academic advising, or otherwise involved in graduate affairs within the department would be appointed at the Clinical Professor of Practice level by the KSU Graduate College with the advice and recommendation by the Program Director and Dean of the College.

4 II. Program Committees A. INCM Admissions Committee 1. The Committee consists of 7 Program faculty. A term of service is two years (staggered). A majority (4 members) must come from Dual appointed and/or Teaching faculty. The Associate Director serves as the ex-officio Chair of the Admissions Committee. In case of a tie, the Associate Director shall cast the deciding vote. The Admissions Committee shall include a student representative selected by majority vote of the INCM graduate students and approved by the Dean of CHSS. 2. Selection for the committee is carried out by voice vote at the final faculty meeting of the year (50% +1; only faculty present can vote). Those interested must submit their names for consideration by the penultimate faculty meeting of the academic year. All committee representatives are certified by the Program Director. 3. Responsibilities: a. Reviewing student applications and selecting students to be admitted to the Program. The target number of admissions will be determined in consultation with the Program Director and the Program faculty. b. Assigning research and teaching assistantships for incoming students. B. INCM Curriculum and Standards Committee 1. The Committee consists of 7 Program faculty. A term of service is two years (staggered). A majority (4 members) must come from Dual appointed and/or Teaching faculty. 2. Selection is carried out by voice vote at the final faculty meeting of the academic year (50% +1; only faculty present can vote). Those interested must submit their names for consideration by the penultimate faculty meeting of the academic year. All committee representatives are certified by the Program Director. 3. Overseeing the design and implementation of the overall Program curriculum. 4. Approving new courses for the Program and submitting through the College and University process for approval and finalization. 5. Other activities related to the Program curriculum. C. INCM Governance Committee 1. The Governance Committee consists of 5 members. A term of service is two years (staggered). A majority (3 members) must come from Dual appointed and/or Teaching faculty. 2. Selection is carried out by voice vote at the final faculty meeting of the academic year (50% +1; only faculty present can vote). Those interested must submit their names for consideration by the penultimate faculty meeting of the academic year. All committee representatives are certified by the Program Director. 3. Responsibilities: a. Determining and reviewing Program faculty status. b. Developing the Program governance document to be ratified by the program faculty. c. Reviewing and modifying the governance document as needed. d. Serve as Program Faculty Council (PFC).

5 D. INCM First Year Progress and Funding Committee 1. The First Year Progress and Funding Committee consists of up to 7 members. A term of service is two years (staggered). All members must come from Dual appointed and/or Teaching faculty. 2. Selection is carried out by voice vote at the final faculty meeting of the academic year (50% +1; only faculty present can vote). Those interested must submit their names for consideration by the penultimate faculty meeting of the academic year. All committee representatives are approved by the Program Director. 3. Responsibilities are to determine first-year student progress in the program, including a. Assessing students eligibility to continue to the second year and b. Generating a ranked list of students to be used in funding decisions. E. INCM Tenure and Promotion 1. Faculty with a dual appointment with the Program must notify the Director no later than March 31 of the year that they will undergo third-year, tenure, or promotion reviews so as to allow the Director time to identify two INCM faculty members who will serve on the review committee. (The selection of the two members of the review committee will take place in April.) 2. A term of service is up to two years. 3. Responsibilities include reviewing third-year, tenure, and promotion candidates who are Dual appointed in INCM as voting members of the home department s T&P committee. These INCM representatives review the portfolios based on the INCM T&P guidelines. 4. Selection: a. Tenured INCM faculty with preference for Dual appointed faculty, then Teaching faculty, and then Affiliated faculty. b. Cannot be going through the review process in the same cycle. c. Representatives shall be nominated by a vote of the dual-appointed faculty and confirmed by the CHSS Dean in consultation with the Director. F. Search Committees 1. Director Search Procedures Cognizant of standing University policy, the Ph.D. Program recognizes that a director search will be initiated by the CHSS Dean and is dependent upon resources. The director shall be selected based upon a national search. Internal candidates shall also be considered. Appointment is upon the recommendation of the Program faculty and approval by the CHSS Dean. The search committee works on behalf of the Program in that it is responsible for screening applications for the position in question and implementing the various stages of the search process. However, Program faculty shall be invited and encouraged to participate in search activities and deliberations where specified. The search committee shall ensure that searches are conducted in a transparent manner and that input from the department is encouraged and facilitated.

6 The search committee shall follow the University policy on search procedures published on the Academic Affairs Web site. The Director Search Committee shall consist of 5 Program faculty members, a majority of whom must come from Teaching or Dual-appointed faculty, nominated from among all eligible Program faculty (that represent each faculty rank), an outside chair, an outside program director, a representative from the CHSS Dean s Office (non-voting member) and an INCM student representative that has advanced to ABD status (non-voting member). Elections to the search committee shall be administered by the Governance Committee. The search committee shall endeavor to include in its membership faculty from a diversity of ranks and status who are broadly representative of the Program. The committee shall select up to three candidates to invite to campus. After all final candidates have completed on-campus interviews and the search committee has reviewed feedback from faculty, staff, and students about the candidates, the search committee shall rank the candidates the committee deems acceptable to hire. It shall then make its recommendation to Program faculty and staff. The search committee, after considering written and verbal feedback provided by Program faculty about the finalists, shall present its recommendation to the Program at a regularly scheduled or special Program meeting. After discussing the acceptability and merits of each candidate, the program faculty shall vote to ratify or reject the search committee recommendations. In the event that the program faculty rejects the search committee recommendations, the Governance Committee (or substitute in the event that the Associate Director is a candidate) shall organize a vote to determine the faculty s preferred ranking. In addition, the Governance Committee, or substitute, should send the results of the vote and a letter summarizing the faculty s point of views on the candidates to the CHSS Dean. The CHSS Dean shall consider all information provided by the search committee, the results of the faculty vote, as well as her/his meetings with the candidates when making a decision on who shall be offered the position of Program Director. After completing her/his service, the Program Director becomes a faculty member with a nine-month contract in her/his home department, unless offered a different administrative post. Removal of Director Faculty may register their dissatisfaction on leadership issues as follows: First, address the issues involved directly with the Director. Second, if issues remain unsolved, the faculty involved may seek the intervention of the CHSS Dean. If the issues still remain unresolved, the Program faculty shall coordinate a faculty forum, after which an anonymous ballot vote of no-confidence in the Director may be taken. If the vote of no-confidence is supported by at least two-thirds of the program faculty, the Governance Committee shall draft a letter to the CHSS Dean reporting the results. The CHSS Dean must then meet with the Program Director within 10 business days, and determine a course of further action.

7 2. Faculty Searches a. Search committees are chaired by the Program Director or a Program faculty member selected by the Program Director. The committees shall fairly represent a range of humanities and social science disciplines in CHSS with the majority of members being INCM faculty. b. Committee members are selected by the Program Director in consultation with the CHSS Dean. c. Faculty Search Committees shall include a student representative selected by majority vote of the INCM graduate students and approved by the Dean of CHSS. d. Search committees review and rank faculty applications, develop a short-list of candidates, check references, conduct interviews, rank the candidates, and recommend a course of action to the CHSS Dean. e. Since all Program faculty are assigned to a discipline-specific department, the Search Committee shall consult all possible home departments through their Chairs and Tenure and Promotion Committees before finalizing the short-list of candidates and before making hiring recommendations to the Dean of CHSS. 2. Staff Searches Search committees are chaired by the Program Director and consist of no more than two CHSS faculty and two university staff. III. Decision-Making and Procedures A. Procedures for Decision-Making All INCM committees shall seek to make decisions through a consensus process, unless specified otherwise. In cases where a formal vote is called for, a simple majority of the committee members of Program faculty shall suffice. Voting can occur electronically in some instances unless otherwise specified. In case of a tie, the Program Director will cast the deciding vote. B. Program Meetings and Votes The Program shall schedule one formal Program faculty meeting each month of the academic year (August through May). All program faculty (see I.C) are expected to attend these meetings unless they receive an excused absence from the Director. The majority (50%+1) of the voting body shall be present to constitute a quorum for conducting Program meetings. Approved affiliated faculty are members of the voting body. Other meetings may be called under special circumstances. Such meetings may be called by the Director and constitute official business if there is at least 50% + 1 of the voting body present. C. Dispute Resolution When conflicts arise between INCM faculty members, Director included, all reasonable attempts to reach consensus shall be made through interest-based negotiations or other appropriate methods. IV. Ratification and Amendment This Governance Document shall be recommended by at least 67% of Program faculty and approved by the CHSS Dean. Amendments may be proposed by majority vote of any Committee (except search committees) and such amendments must be ratified by 67% of the

8 INCM faculty within 90 calendar days, or said amendment shall be considered to have lapsed. The final document is subject to approval by the CHSS Dean before taking effect.