Arabic & Islamic Studies

Departmental By-Laws

Academic Mission Statement

The most important goals of this department have been to produce highly proficient Arabic linguists, foster knowledge and understanding of the Arab world, Islam and Eastern Mediterranean cultures and literatures. Through intensive proficiency-based teaching of Arabic language and culture at the undergraduate level, and Arabic linguistics and Arabic and Islamic literature at the graduate level, we develop graduates who can take their place as professional scholars, linguists, diplomats, translators, interpreters, consultants and businesspeople.

I. Faculty Academic ranks within the department are defined in accordance with those outlined in the relevant pages in the most recent Faculty Handbook.

II. Departmental Administration

A. Department Chair

In accordance with the regulations outlined in the relevant pages of the most recent Faculty Handbook the Chair of the department shall be recommended to the Dean of the College, the Provost and the President in the following manner. The nomination of the Chair of the Department of Arabic Language, Literature and Linguistics is the result of a vote of the ordinary faculty every three years. Unless otherwise arranged, the Department Chair serves in this capacity during the summer. The President ordinarily appoints the Chair for a term of three years. The President may offer reappointment based on the recommendations of the ordinary faculty, the Dean of the College and the University Provost. This appointment should not exceed two three years terms. The responsibilities of the Chair shall include those enumerated in the relevant pages of the most recent Faculty Handbook. In addition to his/her responsibilities toward the Department of Arabic, the Chair is also the chief administrator of the Division of Eastern Mediterranean Languages, and in this capacity supervises the academic programs in Modern Greek, Modern Hebrew and Turkish.

B. Director of Undergraduate Studies

The Director of Undergraduate Studies fulfills the function of coordinating the academic advising of Arabic majors and Arabic students. The Director is also the coordinator of the undergraduate language program. The Director of Undergraduate Studies is also responsible for the coordination and administering of proficiency tests, including placement tests, SFS proficiency tests and proficiency tests for graduate students. The Director of Undergraduate Studies shall be appointed by the Chair among the ordinary or non-ordinary Faculty and shall serve a term of 3 years, and is subject to reappointment.

C. Director of Graduate Studies

The Director of Graduate Studies shall fulfill the following functions:

The Director of Graduate Studies shall be appointed by the Chair among the ordinary or non-ordinary Faculty and shall serve a term of 2 years, and is subject to reappointment.


D. Other Regular Departmental Officers

III. Committees

A. Search Committee

This committee is responsible for advertising and conducting searches for new tenure-track and non-ordinary Faculty. It is comprised of all ordinary Faculty and at least one external member in searches for an ordinary Faculty. It includes three full-time Faculty members from the Department in searches for a non-ordinary Faculty. The Committee is appointed by the Chair whenever a search is conducted.

B. Graduate Admissions Committee

This committee shall be comprised of the Department Chair, the Director of Graduate Studies and at least one other ordinary Faculty appointed by the Chair on an annual basis. This committee is responsible for reviewing applications for graduate studies in Arabic and selecting qualified candidates. It also selects scholarship and assistantship recipients from among current and incoming graduate students.

C. Tenure and Promotion Committee

This committee is comprised of all ordinary Faculty and at least one Faculty member from another academic department. The Chair of the Committee is appointed by the Chair in consultation with the Dean. The Chair of the Committee is responsible for the mentoring of the candidate in the process of gathering the dossier for tenure and/or promotion, the selection and contact of external evaluators in consultation with at least two other members of the Committee. The Chair is also responsible for writing a report on the deliberations of the committee and forwarding it to the Dean and the University Committee on Rank and Tenure.

IV. Representation in Governing Bodies

In accordance with the rules set out in the relevant pages of the most recent Faculty Handbook, all Faculty have the right to participate in the governance of the University. The election of Main Campus representatives to the Faculty Senate shall occur in accordance with the Faculty Senate's constitution. The selection of members to the Main Campus Executive Faculty shall occur in accordance with its constitution. The representative of the Department to the Main Campus Executive Faculty is appointed by the Department Chair. The selection of members to the College Executive Council shall occur in accordance with its constitution. The representative of the Department to the College Executive Council is appointed by the Department Chair.

V. Faculty Meetings

A. Scheduled Meetings

The department shall hold a scheduled meeting seven to nine times every academic year. The first scheduled meeting of the academic year shall take place no later than the first month of class, and subsequent scheduled meetings will be convened by the chair. The schedule of meetings shall be distributed to all department faculty no later than the date of the first scheduled meeting of the academic year. A quorum shall be comprised by two-thirds of the ordinary faculty in the Department --including the Division of Eastern Mediterranean Languages. All ordinary and joint Faculty shall enjoy voting privileges at scheduled department meetings, in accordance with the most recent Guidelines on Joint Appointments. Roberts' Rules of Order will govern parliamentary procedure, except in cases countermanded by this constitution. At its discretion, the department shall allow non-ordinary faculty members to vote on curricular matters and all other matters left to the discretion of the Chair, except on matters of tenure and promotion. The chair will set the agenda for all regular meetings in consultation with ordinary faculty.

B. Special Meetings

Special meetings of the faculty may be convened as needed, either at the Chair's initiative or by the request of faculty members to the Chair. These include language coordination meetings that will be summoned by the Director of Undergraduate Studies at least once a semester.

VI. Tenure and Promotion

The department shall be governed by the rules and policies regarding tenure and promotion contained in the relevant pages of the most recent Faculty Handbook.

VII. Merit

The merit review procedures are on file in the department.

VIII. Ratification and Amendment

All ordinary and non-ordinary full-time faculty will be eligible to vote on the ratification and amendment of by-laws. The quorum will be 3/4 of the entire faculty (Arabic Department and Division of Eastern Mediterranean Languages). The by-laws will be ratified by at least 2/3 of the faculty votes being in favor, these 2/3 including all full-time ordinary faculty members from the Arabic Department and Division of Eastern Mediterranean Languages. Final approval of the department by-laws rests with the College Dean. The by-laws may be amended by a 2/3 majority vote of the faculty quorum. An amendment may be proposed in writing by any ordinary faculty member at a regular or called meeting and must be discussed and put to a vote at a subsequent meeting to be held no earlier than two weeks after the first one.

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