The Director of the School (also known as the DEO) is appointed by the dean of the college, with the advice of the regular faculty and the approval of the Provost. 

1. he Director shall be the principal link between the school and the administration of the college and university. In this capacity, the Director explains the school’s needs to the collegiate and university administration and communicates collegiate and university policies to faculty, staff and students in the school.
2. In consultation with appropriate faculty, the Director shall have primary administrative responsibilities for recommending faculty appointments, promotions and salary raises; making teaching, service and assistantship appointments; evaluating faculty according to the school’s written procedures; implementing the school’s curriculum; monitoring the work of undergraduate and graduate students; procuring and overseeing use of equipment; managing the budget; and supervising staff according to CLAS guidelines.
3. The Director shall make an annual written report to the faculty on the school’s budget at the start of the academic year.
4. In the event of the DEO’s absence, the DEO will recommend, subject to approval by the dean, an individual to whom administrative responsibility will be delegated and who will attend DEO meetings.

Other officers of the school shall be appointed by the Director in consultation with regular faculty. Each officer should have their duties specified in writing by the Director at the time of appointment. Appointments for the Associate Director of Graduate Studies and the Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies generally will be made for three-year terms. Except on rare occasions, individuals may not serve for more than two consecutive terms in these positions without consultation with the regular faculty.

1. The Associate Director for Graduate Studies bears primary responsibility for the PhD and MA in Mass Communication programs, including recruiting, retention, curriculum planning and program policies.
2. The Associate Director for Undergraduate Studies bears primary responsibility for undergraduate programs (majors and minors), including recruiting, retention, curriculum planning, program policies and assisting the Director of the school with matters related to maintaining compliance with ACEJMC accreditation standards.
3. The Associate Director for the Master’s Degree in Strategic Communication bears primary responsibility for recruitment, retention, curriculum planning, and policies associated with this program.
4. The coordinators of the certificate programs associated with the school bear primary responsibility for recruitment, retention, curriculum planning and program policies associated with their programs.

The Director shall schedule regular monthly meetings of the school during fall and spring semesters, and shall call other school meetings as needed to conduct school business.

The Director shall call additional school meetings in a timely manner in response to a faculty petition, provided the petition bears the signatures of at least one-third of regular faculty members of the school. If a specific issue is involved, no action will be taken on that issue before the meeting scheduled to discuss it.

Notice of school meetings shall be sent to all regular faculty members of the school at least five working days before the meeting, except in emergencies. A detailed agenda shall be provided at least 48 hours prior to any meeting. To assure appropriate deliberations on proposed measures on which votes shall be taken or consensus solicited, drafts of all materials on which action is proposed shall also be distributed at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.

Adjunct and visiting instructors as well as school staff may attend school meetings but may not vote. Undergraduate and graduate students and other guests may attend school meetings by invitation only. If confidential subjects are to be discussed by faculty, such individuals may be asked to leave a meeting. These subjects will be clearly identified on meeting agendas.

The Director or a person designated by the Director shall chair a school meeting. The duties of the chair include the following:

1. Opening the meeting at the required time and calling the meeting to order.
2. Announcing business in the appropriate order.
3. Calling for review and approval of minutes of previous meetings.
4. Stating and putting to a vote any proper motions made.
5. Announcing the results of votes.
6. Enforcing the rules of order on all occasions.
7. Deciding all questions of order according to the parliamentary authority.
8. Adjourning the meeting.

A quorum to hold a school meeting shall be 50 percent of the number of regular faculty members who, at the time of the meeting, are not on leave, part-time status, terminal appointment and/or phased retirement. A minimum of 50 percent of the votes cast is required to pass a motion related to an agenda item. A two-thirds majority is required to pass a motion introduced in the new business section of a meeting.

A member of the school’s staff or faculty appointed by the Director shall record and prepare minutes for each school meeting. These minutes shall include precise wordings of motions voted on, the outcomes of the votes and the main points of discussion. The minutes shall be uploaded to the JMC server after the meeting. The minutes shall be kept on file on the JMC server along with related official documents, such as this Manual of Operations and Procedures, rules of order, and college and university operations guidelines.

A secret ballot shall be used to vote on a motion made at a meeting with a quorum present if a motion to have a secret ballot receives affirmative votes by at least two of the eligible voters present.

A mail/electronic ballot shall be used to vote on a motion made at a meeting with a quorum present if a motion to have a mail/electronic ballot following the meeting (rather than an immediate vote during the meeting) receives affirmative votes by at least one-half of the eligible voters present.

For mail balloting, a paper ballot and an envelope shall be distributed to the mailboxes of all eligible voters. Mail ballots are to be returned in a sealed and signed envelope within a specified time period. Electronic ballots shall be considered the same as mail ballots. All mail or electronic ballots shall be returned to a member of the office staff designated by the Director. Results of a mail/electronic ballot shall be provided to all the eligible voters.

If a school meeting does not have a quorum, the wording of a proposal on an issue appearing explicitly on that meeting’s agenda may be determined by a majority vote of the regular faculty members present and the proposal may be submitted by the Director to a vote by mail/electronic ballot.

There shall be the following standing committees: Executive Committee, Undergraduate Committee, Graduate Committee, MASC Committee, Merit Advisory Committee, Lectures and Visitors Committee and Access, Opportunity and Diversity Committee. The Director is an ex-officio member of all committees. All regular faculty serve as committee members on either the Undgraduate or Graduate Committee. The composition and duties of each committee shall be as follows:

1. Executive Committee: This committee advises the Director on issues relating to the operation and governance of the school. It also makes recommendations to the Director concerning course offerings and scheduling, instructor assignments, academic/professional visitors to the school, adjunct appointments, and matters related to ACEJMC accreditation, particularly related to Standard 1: Mission, Governance and Administration, Standard 4: Diversity and Inclusiveness, and Standard 5: Faculty. The committee consists of the Director, the Associate Directors, and at least one additional regular faculty member appointed by the Director. The Director chairs the committee. There are no student members on this committee.
2. Undergraduate Committee: This committee makes recommendations to the faculty concerning the undergraduate program, including admissions and program requirements. The committee consists of the Associate Director for Undergraduate Studies, who serves as chair, and members of the regular faculty. The Undergraduate Committee assists in ensuring that the school is in compliance with ACEJMC accreditation standards. The committee can have student, visiting faculty, and staff members. The Undergraduate Committee consists of several sub-committees, aligned with accreditation standards including but not limited to Curriculum (Standard 2), Assessment of Learning Outcomes (Standard 3), Academic Support/Student Success (Standard 4 and 6), Scholarships (Standard 6) and Technology (Standard 7).
3. Graduate Committee: This committee makes recommendations to the faculty concerning the Ph.D. and M.A. in Mass Communication programs. This includes admissions, program requirements, and recommendations to advance doctoral students to candidacy (according to the Graduate Studies Handbook). The committee consists of the Associate Director of Graduate Studies, who serves as chair, and members of the graduate faculty. The committee can have student, visiting faculty, and staff members. The Graduate Committee consists of several sub-committees, including by not limited to Curriculum, Recruitment, and Student Experience. Members of the Graduate Committee review applications for the Ph.D. and M.A. in Mass Communication programs and make recommendations for admission to the Associate Director of Graduate Studies.
4. MASC Committee: This committee makes recommendations to the faculty regarding the MASC program. This includes admissions, program requirements, and policies. The committee consists of the Associate Director of the MASC, who serves as chair, and at least one faculty member and the graduate program coordinator. Adjunct and visiting faculty are eligible to serve on the committee.
5. Merit Advisory Committee: This committee reviews faculty dossiers each spring and advises the Director regarding faculty merit salary rankings. The committee comprises at least two regular faculty members elected by the faculty. All members of the committee must be regular faculty members and at least one member must be tenured, who serve two-year terms on a rolling basis. It is preferable but not required that members of the committee reflect the expertise of the faculty.
6. Access, Opportunity, and Diversity (AOD) Committee: To ensure compliance with ACEJMC accreditation Standard 4: Diversity and Inclusiveness, this committee reviews the School’s values and goals as reflected in the School’s strategic plan and diversty plan. The committee also undertakes long-term planning and advises the Director regarding AOD issues. The committee consists of a faculty chair as well as faculty, staff, and student representatives.
7. Lectures and Visitors Committees: These committees manage the Professional-in-Residence program, the Hearst lecture series, the Li Chen and McGranahan lectures, and other opportunities and programs of this kind as they arise. This work includes soliciting ideas from faculty about potential visitors, establishing a roster of visitors each year, and working with school staff to organize the logistics of events. These committees shall be composed of regular faculty members and school staff.

The Director shall appoint members of all standing committees except the Merit Advisory Committee, taking into consideration the advice of faculty. Members of these committees shall be appointed to a three-year term. Chairs will be nominated and voted for by members of each committee. The faculty shall vote for members of the Merit Advisory Committee and members serve terms as described above in Article IV, Section A, number 5.

Special or Ad Hoc committees may be appointed by the Director to consider School business or initiatives not covered by one of the standing committees. The responsibilities and composition of a Faculty Search Committee and Faculty Review Committees appear in the School’s Procedures and Criteria for Faculty Appointment, Review, Promotion and Tenure.

A quorum for committee meetings shall be at least 50 percent of the membership of the committee. A majority vote of the committee members present at a meeting is required before a recommendation is brought to the whole faculty. All committee members, including staff and student members, have voting privileges; ex-officio members do not.

All committees shall announce meetings at least three working days beforehand and provide an agenda to regular faculty on request. Discussions involving electronic communication directed to all committee members or involving a conversation of fewer than three committee members do not constitute a meeting.

All committees except the Executive Committee shall present reports to the faculty at least once a semester orally, in writing or electronically. Discussions of the Executive Committee shall remain confidential so as to ensure confidentiality with respect to issues discussed.

The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the school in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these Manual of Operations and Procedures and any special rules of order the school may adopt.

The school shall consider amendments to the Manual of Operations and Procedures proposed in a petition signed by at least five regular faculty members of the school and submitted to the Director. The proposed amendment shall state the precise article, section and sentences to be amended. The proposed amendments shall specify the words to be added, deleted or replaced. Moreover, the proposal shall give a complete statement of the wording of the section in the amended form.

A notice of the proposed amendments shall be distributed to regular faculty by the Director. The proposed amendments shall appear as an agenda item on the notice of the next faculty meeting.

A proposed amendment is voted upon at a faculty meeting. If a two-thirds majority of the regular faculty present at the meeting vote to approve the amendment, the Director will submit the amended Manual of Operations and Procedures to the college for approval. The amended manual becomes effective immediately upon approval by the college.