Governance

NOTES PERTINENT TO GOVERNANCE AND POLICY

OPERATION AND GOVERNANCE

1. The Cultural Studies PhD Program operates under all applicable provisions of  the Collective Agreement between TUFA and the Trent University Board of Governors, dated July 1, 2005, and as amended from time to time.
2. The Cultural Studies PhD Program is governed by the framework established for it under the appraisal document submitted to OCGS in November 2006 (“Brief for the Standard Appraisal of the PhD in  Cultural Studies”; hereafter “Appraisal Brief”), as finally approved.  This framework identifies the objectives, fields, faculty, and structure of the PhD Program, and is subject to such amendment as is consistent with OCGS policies and/or as is approved by the Trent University Senate.
3. The Cultural Studies PhD Program is governed by the rules applicable to it under the policies of the Senate of Trent University and the Graduate Studies Committee at Trent University, as amended from time to time.
4. The Cultural Studies PhD Program is bound by such rules and regulations as are adopted for its governance and operation by the Cultural Studies PhD Program Committee, as established under the motion to constitute the PhD Program Committee (see Cultural Studies PhD Program Committee Minutes, October 13, 2006, item 1).  The Cultural Studies PhD Program Committee may amend its own rules and regulations at will, subject to its own procedures and subject to the approval of Senate.

MEMBERSHIP

1. The initial core faculty of the Cultural Studies PhD Program, and also the initial members of the Cultural Studies PhD Program Committee, are the fifteen (15) tenured, tenure-track, and emeritus professors cited in the “Appraisal Brief.” 
2. The ongoing core faculty of the Cultural Studies PhD Program, known as “the core faculty,” will be comprised of the initial core as amended by the Cultural Studies PhD Program Committee on the basis of (i) the withdrawal of faculty members or (ii) the appointment of additional faculty members.
3. The appointment of additional faculty members to the core faculty (and therefore also to the PhD Program Committee) shall require a two-thirds majority vote of those casting votes (including proxy votes) at a regularly scheduled meeting of the PhD Program Committee, following at least two weeks’ notice of the forthcoming vote on a specific nomination.  All members of the PhD Program Committee are eligible to cast their vote by proxy.
4. Consideration for appointment to the Cultural Studies PhD core faculty shall be based upon voluntary application, professional qualifications, and the needs of the PhD Program.  All appointments are made by the Dean of Graduate Studies, on the recommendation of the Cultural Studies PhD Committee, and shall be for the normal fixed term, and shall be renewable.  No appointment or renewal of appointment shall be made to the Cultural Studies PhD core without positive recommendation from the Cultural Studies PhD Committee.  Approval by the Dean of Graduate Studies of the Cultural Studies PhD Committee’s recommendation for appointment or renewal shall not be unreasonably delayed or withheld
5. It is anticipated that faculty appointed to the Cultural Studies undergraduate program in the tenure track or with tenure will normally be invited to apply and will normally be recommended for admission to the Cultural Studies PhD faculty core.
   The Cultural Studies PhD Program Committee, notwithstanding its departmental basis, shall have the power to recommend the appointment of additional members to its core faculty, who are tenured or tenure-track members of the Trent University faculty but not appointed to the Cultural Studies undergraduate Program.  Upon the approval of the recommended appointment by the Dean of Graduate Studies, such faculty hold membership in the Cultural Studies PhD core for the normal fixed term,  renewable.
   All members of the core faculty of the Cultural Studies PhD shall be full members of the Cultural Studies PhD Program Committee.
6. In addition to the provisions of item 9 above, the Cultural Studies PhD Program Committee may recommend to the Dean of Graduate Studies for approval the participation of faculty in the capacity of Adjunct or Visiting faculty, and such faculty may take part in the supervisory, pedagogic, or examining work of the Cultural Studies PhD Program subject to the applicable rules and policies of the Trent Graduate Studies Committee and Senate.  The definition and circumstances of such participation shall be developed by the Cultural Studies PhD Program Committee, on the advice of the PhD Program Coordinator or the PhD Program Director.
7. The Cultural Studies PhD Program Committee may approve the participation of PhD students in the work and Committees of the Program, including membership of one or more students on the PhD Program Committee.

ADMINISTRATION

1. The Cultural Studies PhD Program shall be administered by the Cultural Studies PhD Director, who shall be advised by the Cultural Studies PhD Program’s Executive Committee and its other Standing Committees and Ad Hoc Committees, as these are established over time.
2. The Director shall be appointed by the President of Trent University, following the normal search procedures for Director of a graduate program.
3. The Director shall report to the Dean of Graduate Studies and shall be accountable to the Cultural Studies PhD Program Committee.
4. The Director shall negotiate PhD Program staffing with the Chair of Cultural Studies and the Dean(s); shall organize the Year One and Year Two courses each year, and the Comprehensive and Special Field examinations, subject to the approval of the PhD Program Committee; shall recommend to the PhD Program Committee each year the admission of students into the PhD Program; shall review each student’s progress each year; and shall recommend for the approval of the PhD Program Committee the graduation of students with a Cultural Studies PhD upon their successful completion of all degree requirements.  The Director shall be responsible, under the supervision of the Cultural Studies PhD Program Committee, for the operation and development of the PhD Program, and for the development of the research, professional, and collegial umbrella around and complementary to the teaching program.
5. The Executive Committee, consisting of at least two members of the core faculty elected by the PhD Program Committee annually, in addition to the Director as ex officio (voting) chair of the Executive Committee, shall meet regularly, at the call of the Director, to advise the Director.  The Executive Committee may include a PhD student from the PhD Program Committee.  The Executive Committee shall report regularly to meetings of the PhD Program Committee, at least three times in each academic year.
6. The position of Coordinator for Cultural Studies PhD Program Development shall remain in place until, and only until, a Director of the Cultural Studies PhD Program is appointed; thereafter the Director shall take over the Coordinator’s duties.

AMENDMENT

1. Once these and similar Notes Pertinent to Governance and Policy have been adopted by the Cultural Studies PhD Program Committee, recommendations to the Graduate Studies Committee  for amendment can be made at any regularly scheduled meeting of the PhD Program Committee, following at least two weeks’ notice of the forthcoming amendment, by majority vote of the total membership of the Cultural Studies PhD Program Committee, including proxy votes, or by two-thirds majority vote of those casting votes (including proxy votes) at the meeting.

Adopted by the Cultural Studies PhD Program Committee at its meeting of March 7th, 2007.