Adopted by vote by the A&S faculty on April 4, 2001

I. Name
The name of this organization shall be the College of Arts and Sciences, University of Oklahoma.

II. Mission
The State's preeminent comprehensive research institution of higher education is the University of Oklahoma; the College of Arts and Sciences is the intellectual core of the University. As the largest and most diverse unit within the University, the College of Arts and Sciences educates students through undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the humanities, the social sciences, the sciences, and through its professional schools and interdisciplinary programs. The College also provides educational opportunities for students enrolled in other colleges of the University.

In accomplishing its broad mission, the College has two primary purposes: 1) to foster scholarly inquiry and the generation of knowledge, and to see that knowledge generated in the course of research and instruction is made available to enhance the quality of life in our society; and 2) to help students attain an understanding of the complex world in which we live: its physical and biological structure; its political, economic and social institutions; its intellectual and spiritual inheritance; and its philosophy and literature.

The College also strives to foster free inquiry and thought, to engender in students the ability to think critically and to communicate effectively, to prepare students for careers and professions, and to encourage students to accept public service and civic responsibilities within their communities.

In addition to enriching the lives of students both as individuals and as active, useful and productive members of society, the College also seeks to serve the State of Oklahoma, the region, the country and the world. This is accomplished primarily through making available its facilities, its faculty and staff, and the end products of both its research and teaching to enhance economic, technological and social development.

III. Membership and voting rights
The voting membership of the College consists of those members of the academic staff with the rank or title in the College of Professor, Associate Professor, and Assistant Professor, except those who hold visiting or adjunct appointments. Administrative staff are voting members only if they also hold such appointments. Questions concerning the voting membership of any individual or of the members of any unit of the College shall be decided by a vote of the CAS faculty, acting on a recommendation submitted by the Executive Committee of the College.

IV. Board of Visitors
The College of Arts and Sciences Board of Visitors is made up of alumni and friends of the College nominated by the Dean and appointed by the President. The purpose of the Board is to advise and assist the Dean on matters pertaining to relationships with alumni and on other matters relating to financial development in support of the College's research and teaching programs.

V. Powers and Duties
Within the limits established by the Bylaws and Rules of the Board of Regents of The University of Oklahoma, the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences shall:

A. Establish rules for the conduct of its business and approve or disapprove proposals for changes in the bylaws;
B. Establish committees for the conduct of faculty business and assign functions and responsibilities to them;
C. Set entrance requirements to the College and requirements for degrees; approve or disapprove the establishment of programs for majors and minors and of courses to be offered for credit in the College; determine scholastic standards to be met by students in the College; establish procedures for probation, dismissal, reinstatement, and other measures related to the maintenance of academic standards; and establish other rules concerning curricula, instructional programs and grading regulations;
D. Consider other business brought before it by the Dean, the Executive Committee, the Faculty, or other authorized persons according to procedures outlined in these bylaws;
E. Consider other items of broad interest to the welfare of the Faculty.

VI. Meetings of the College

A. There will be a minimum of one meeting each year, during the Spring Semester. The Chair of the Executive Committee of the College of Arts and Sciences will preside at meetings of the Faculty, except that, in her/his absence, another member of that committee will be designated by her/him to serve. The presiding officer will appoint a parliamentarian and a secretary to take minutes during the meeting. These individuals will serve in that capacity only for meetings of the Faculty in the semester in which they are appointed
B. A meeting may be called in any one of the following ways:

1. by the Dean
2. by the Executive Committee
3. by written request of at least 20 members.

C. Notifications of the meetings and copies of the agenda shall normally be mailed to the Faculty ten days in advance of the meeting.
D. Items shall be placed on the agenda in any one of the following ways:

1. by the Dean
2. by the Executive Committee
3. by 10 or more members of the Faculty who shall submit the item in writing to the Executive Committee
4. by action from the floor, provided that no substantive matter so proposed is voted on during the same meeting.

E. A quorum shall consist of 45 members of the Faculty.
F. All elections shall be decided by majority vote of all members voting. If a majority is not reached on the first ballot, a second balloting of the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be held.
G. A motion to refer to a mail ballot of the Faculty shall be in order after the call for the question but before the vote is taken on any substantive matter before the Faculty, and it shall be adopted providing 25 percent of the members present or 25 members, whichever is larger, favor such a motion. A substantive matter shall be taken as being confined to main motions. A summary of the arguments on the motion, pro and con, which were presented at the Faculty meeting and which are germane to the issue, shall be prepared by the secretary and sent, along with the ballot to each member of the Faculty.
H. The agenda of each meeting of the Faculty will be sent to the Arts and Sciences Student Advisory Board and that body may designate representatives from its membership to participate in the meeting, without voting privileges.
I. Robert's Rules of Order will apply, subject to exceptions and modifications made by action of the faculty.

VII. Standing Committees
The following standing committees (committee size in parentheses) are named for the purpose of carrying out the business of the faculty:

Executive Committee (9 members)
Information Technology Committee(9 members)
Course and Curriculum Committee (6 members)
Support of Teaching and Research Committee (11 members)
Student Misconduct and Appeals Committee (7 members)
Scholarship and Awards Committee (7 members)
Nominations Committee (6 members)
Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committee (9 members)

The objective of these committees is to provide broad faculty input into the operation of the College, including planning and setting of college goals, policies, and procedures. Along with the established standing committees, temporary ad hoc committees also may be created as necessary either by the Dean or by the standing committees.
Except as otherwise noted, faculty members on all standing committees are to be elected at large or by area from the four areas of the college -- Humanities, Professional Programs, Sciences, and Social Sciences -- as described in the procedures for the Nominating Committee below. Student members for each committee will be selected by the Dean from nominations from the Chairs and Directors.

Terms of office for faculty members will be two years staggered as follows: a) on those committees that have two members from each area of the college, one member shall be elected each year; b) on those committees that have one member from each area of the college, the science and social science representatives shall be elected in the same year, and the humanities, professional and the at-large representatives shall be elected the following year. The student members will be chosen annually.

Except as otherwise noted, at the beginning of each academic year each committee will elect a chairperson to preside over the committee for that year.

In the event that a duly elected member of the faculty is not able to function as a committee member for whatever reason, an alternate will be chosen from the list of those faculty nominated but not elected in the previous election. If this procedure fails to provide a replacement, a faculty member will be appointed by the Dean from a unit in the appropriate area.
All committees will make written reports to the Dean at least annually.

The standing committees with a brief description of their composition and charge are:

A. Executive
The Executive Committee shall consist of nine members, two from each of the four areas, elected by the faculty, and one student member. The Dean and/or her/his representative will sit as ex-officio members of the committee and will provide staff support.
The committee will advise the Dean on policy, planning and budget issues in ways that will include but not be limited to the following:

1. Redrafting and monitoring proposed legislation of the faculty in order to define and keep current the charge to each of the standing committees.
2. Providing an oversight function for the other standing committees.
3. Establishing the agenda for and the conduct of the CAS general faculty meetings.
4. Proposing policy statements and recommendations on all matters of concern to the faculty.
5. Assisting on matters of budget planning and priorities, on the evaluation of departments/schools for the purpose of budget allocations, and on strategic planning.
The Executive Committee shall have the final decision on any Academic Appeals that arise in the College.
Each year the chairperson will appoint a subcommittee of the Executive Committee to assist in the annual evaluation of the Dean conducted by the Senior Vice President and Provost. The subcommittee will consist of one member from each of the four areas of the college and the student member.
The Executive Committee normally will meet at least once each month, with other meetings scheduled by the committee as needed.

B. Information Technology
The Information Technology Committee shall consist of nine members, one from each of the four areas and two at large, elected by the faculty, two students, and a chairperson appointed by the Dean. A representative of the Dean will sit with the committee as an ex-officio member and will provide staff support for the committee.

The Information Technology Committee will advise the Dean and the Chairs and Directors on all issues related to the use of computing, networking, and information technology in the instructional, research, and service efforts of the College. Because of the strong ties between the technological aspects of these three missions of the College, all should be considered in the work of this committee. Among the issues that this committee will address are the support and use of technology in the college (workshops, computer lab management, etc.); the support of faculty, students, and staff through grants and other funding; the promotion of the use of state-of-the-art technology in education, research, and service; partnership of groups within the College and across the University for increasing the effective use of technology; and the creation and revision of long-range goals for technology in the College. In addition, the committee will, as needed, consider concerns and problems relating to the University Libraries, in particular issues that affect the College as a whole.

The Information Technology Committee will meet periodically, as determined by the committee, to review proposals for funding, and otherwise as necessary to consider other matters.

C. Course and Curriculum
The Course and Curriculum Committee shall consist of six members, one from each of the four areas and one at large, elected by the faculty, and one student member. A representative of the Dean will sit with the committee as an ex-officio member and will provide staff support for the committee.

The committee will be charged with reviewing proposals for course changes, new courses, program changes, new degrees, and any other curricular or program matters submitted to the CAS for approval. Upon review, the committee will have the power on behalf of the faculty of the CAS to reject, request changes in, or approve the submitted proposals. Approved proposals still will go to the faculty for protest as has been traditionally done. This committee also will serve as liaison with the university-wide general education committee and may be asked upon occasion by the Dean to consider and advise on course and curricular matters of a more general nature.

The Course and Curriculum Committee normally will meet several times each semester, in September- October and January-February. Other meetings may be scheduled by the committee as needed.

D. Teaching and Research Support
The Teaching and Research Support Committee shall consist of eleven members, two from each of the four areas and one at large, elected by the faculty, and two student members. A representative of the Dean will sit with the committee as an ex-officio member.

The committee will be charged with examining ways to enhance the teaching and research functions in the college. Activities will include, but not be limited to, collecting and making decisions on proposals for faculty enrichment grants and summer fellowship grants funded by the CAS.

The Teaching and Research Support Committee normally will meet twice each semester, with other meetings scheduled by the committee as needed.

E. Student Misconduct and Appeals
The Student Misconduct and Appeals Committee shall consist of seven members, one from each of the four areas and one at large, elected by the faculty, and two student members. A representative of the Dean will sit with the committee as an ex-officio member.

The committee will be charged with overseeing the academic misconduct and grade appeal processes. Duties will include a regular review of pending cases and periodic review of misconduct and appeals policies. This committee also may be asked upon occasion by the Dean to consider and advise on student misconduct and appeals matters of a more general nature.

The Student Misconduct and Appeals Committee normally will meet twice each semester, with other meetings scheduled by the committee as needed.

F. Student Scholarships and Awards
The Student Scholarships and Awards Committee shall consist of seven members, one from each of the four areas and one at-large member, elected by the faculty, and two student members. A representative of the Dean will sit with the committee as an ex-officio member.

The committee will be charged with overseeing the awarding of all CAS student scholarships and awards. The committee will work with the CAS staff in soliciting nominations for scholarships/awards, in formulating faculty selection committees for these scholarships/awards, and in determining scholarships/awards recipients.
The Student Scholarships and Awards Committee normally will meet three times each year, mostly in the spring semester. Other meetings may be scheduled by the committee as needed.

G. Nominations
The Nominations Committee shall consist of six members, one from each of the four areas and one at large, elected by the faculty, and one student member. A representative of the Dean will sit with the committee as an ex-officio member and will provide staff support for the committee.

The committee will be charged with providing a slate of qualified faculty members for all standing committees of the CAS for elections to be held annually in the spring of each academic year. The committee will also be responsible for organizing all college-wide elections.

The Nominations Committee normally will meet once each year, with other meetings scheduled by the committee as needed.

H. Tenure and Promotion Advisory
The Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committee shall consist of nine members, two from each of the four areas and one at large, all appointed by the Dean. A representative of the Dean will sit with the committee as an ex-officio member and will provide staff support for the committee.

The committee will be charged with reviewing, on behalf of the Dean, the recommendations of academic units regarding tenure and promotion and recommending to the Dean whether to support or not to support the recommendations of the units.

The Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committee will meet as needed (see section IX).

VIII. Evaluation of the Dean
The faculty of the College will participate in a comprehensive evaluation of the Dean's performance at least once every five years. Methods of collecting relevant information from faculty will be established by the Executive Committee during the year preceding the evaluation.

IX. Tenure, Promotion, and Faculty Evaluation
Tenure and promotion recommendations are among the most important judgments made in the University. The College follows the policies and procedures for tenure and promotion listed in the Norman Campus Faculty Handbook. Initial recommendations are made by the academic unit (department or school) and each unit establishes its own criteria for the evaluation of teaching, research, and service, subject to Dean and Provost approval and the general standards and limits enacted by the Regents. Once the recommendation is forwarded from the unit to the College of Arts and Sciences, it is reviewed by the Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committee, which makes a recommendation to the Dean to support or not support the unit's recommendations. The Dean then attaches his/her recommendation to the tenure and promotion materials and forwards them to the Senior Vice President and Provost and, in the case of tenure, to the Campus Tenure Committee.

Annual evaluation of faculty is the responsibility of the units, and is to be done according to criteria developed by the unit and approved by the Dean and Provost. At the end of each annual evaluation cycle, as a matter of College practice the Dean will meet with Committee A of each unit to review the evaluations prior to forwarding them to the Senior Vice President and Provost.

X. Amendments to the bylaws
The CAS Bylaws may be amended by a majority of members voting in a mail ballot. Proposals to amend the Bylaws may be made by the CAS Executive Committee or introduced at the written request of any of the CAS standing Committees or any 20 members of the CAS faculty or from the floor of any CAS faculty meeting.

The text of the proposed amendment(s) must be made available to all voting members of the College at least two weeks before a vote to amend is taken.

On their adoption, the previous Bylaw or Bylaws shall be superseded.