Policy & Committee
School of Theatre & Dance Governance
Mission Statement
The University of South Florida School of Theatre and Dance is committed to facilitating creative and academic artists and scholars through rigorous training in the studio, the classroom, and performance.
This School is not currently a multi-campus unit. If departmental faculty are hired at branch campuses, we will modify our governance and T&P documents to ensure that those faculty are included in matters of faculty governance and Tenure & Promotion to ensure they have voice in departmental issues. We recognize the principles of equity of assignment, resources and opportunities of faculty across a multi-campus university.
Director
Duties and Responsibilities include:
- The responsibilities are listed in the Academic Director Duties document approved by the Directors Council, 10/15/03, and reviewed in spring 2005.
- The areas listed are: Instruction-related activities; University, College, and Unit Governance, Faculty, Staff and Students; Administrative; Development; Marketing; PR; Outreach; Budget; and Facilities.
- The Director shall serve as an advocate for faculty, staff and students and work to address the needs and concerns of the School.
- The Director shall seek the advice and consent of the faculty on the hiring of adjuncts, visiting artists and staff; assignment of curricular and production responsibilities; and allocation of budget and other resources.
- The Director will annually review tenured and non-tenured faculty, including adjuncts, visiting instructors, instructors, and tenure-earning faculty, based on an annual class visitation. All full-time faculty shall submit an annual self-narrative. The Director may authorize the senior faculty in the faculty's area of concentration to perform the visitation in his or her place.
- The Director shall serve as Artistic Director and Producer for Theatre USF and Dance USF. The Director will allocate the budget for each production, attend production meetings when designs are being presented and approved as well as any additional meetings where their presence is requested, attend rehearsals when requested, be available to arbitrate conflicts.
Assistant Directors
- Appointed by the Director one from Dance and one from Theatre
- Duties and Responsibilities include:
- Organizational liaison between the Director and faculty, staff and students
- Oversee school scholarships
- Course scheduling
- Signatory for the Director as assigned
- Special projects as assigned
Faculty
- Voting member composition:
- Full-time faculty on regular (non-visiting) lines (tenure-earning and non-tenure earning)
- Non-voting members:
- Adjunct faculty, F/T visiting artists/faculty, and any joint appointment, affiliate or courtesy faculty with less than a 1.0 FTE assignment in the School of Theatre and Dance.
- All faculty members who have 1.00 FTE will attend faculty meetings of their specific unit and of the School of Theatre & Dance. Non-voting faculty may also request or be requested to attend on occasion.
- Faculty meetings of School of Theatre & Dance will take place once a month and the individual units of theatre and dance will meet at least once a month or more, when necessary.
- The Director of the School shall serve as the chair of faculty meetings.
- All full-time faculty shall submit an annual self-narrative.
- Functions of Faculty meetings:
- The function of the faculty meetings is to discuss and decide with the Director all matters pertaining to the purpose and function of the academic unit. These matters include but are not limited to: curriculum, scholarship allocation, direction and strategic goals of the unit, student progress, student disciplinary problems, budget allocations, tenure and promotion (tenured Faculty only), performance seasons, hiring of adjuncts, hiring of visiting artists and visiting professors, scheduling of courses and selection of professors for each course.
- The faculty is responsible for the election of representatives to each School, College, Senate or University committee that requires election from the School.
SOTAD Advisory
- Member composition: This committee shall consist of two members elected from each unit (Theatre and Dance) and include a minimum of one tenured faculty. The membership of the committee will elect one member to serve as chair.
- Advise the Director on departmental issues including tenure and promotion review; budgetary allocations; faculty, staff and student grievances; departmental goals and mission; student enrollment and recruitment.
- Develop and maintain the mission of the School of Theatre and Dance.
Peer Review Committee
- Member composition: Member composition: Two members elected from each unit including a minimum of one tenured faculty and one instructor. The membership of the committee will elect one member to serve as chair.
- Annually the Peer Review committee will prepare a narrative statement of the progress that tenure-earning faculty members are making. It will also include suggestions that will help the candidate successfully receive tenure. This statement will be provided to the Director.
- The committee will review the annual self-narrative and student evaluations of teaching for all full-time regular faculty (tenured, tenure-eligible, non-tenure earning) and may be requested to do the same for full-time visiting faculty. They shall complete an evaluation through the Faculty Information System in Archivum which rates teaching, research and creative activity, and service for each faculty member. This evaluation along with the Director’s evaluation will comprise the annual evaluation. The criteria for the annual review appear as an addendum to this document.
- The committee will also review applications for promotion in the instructor ranks. These are also submitted through the Faculty Information System in Archivum, according to the schedule and procedure established by the university and the College of The Arts.
Tenure and Promotion
- Member composition: The committee shall consist of all tenured faculty in the school, with the exception of the Director. The membership of the committee will elect one member to serve as chair.
- The committee will evaluate the mid-point review packets and applications for tenure and promotion to associate professor prepared by the tenure-eligible faculty and write statements for the College T&P Committee.
- After review of the T&P packet of materials necessary for evaluation for tenure and promotion, the T&P committee will discuss, vote, and write a summary to be included in the tenure packet.
- The application and all evaluations are submitted through the Faculty Information System in Archivum and are done in accordance with procedures and schedules provided by the University and the College of The Arts.
- The Director of School of Theatre and Dance will appoint a tenured professor to each tenure-earning faculty from within their concentration, to serve as a mentor in their tenure process.
Promotion to Full Professor
- Member composition: Three full professors from within the school, with the exception of the Director. In the event that three full professors cannot be found within the school, the Director shall appoint a full professor from another program within the university in consultation with the Dean of the College of The Arts. The membership of the committee will elect one member to serve as chair.
- The committee will review the materials of any candidate for full professor and make a recommendation to the College committee for promotion to full professor.
- The application and all evaluations are submitted through the Faculty Information System in Archivum and are done in accordance with procedures and schedules provided by the University and the College of The Arts.
- Criteria for promotion and tenure appear as an addendum to this document.
Curriculum
- Member composition: The committee shall consist of two faculty from each unit area with the Assistant Director and the academic advisor of each program serving ex officio. The membership of the committee will elect one member to serve as chair.
- The Curriculum Committee initiates, reviews and approves new course proposals, and other matters that affect the curricula of the School of Theatre and Dance. Matters approved by the committee will go before the faculty as a whole for final school approval. When necessary, issues approved by the School will go to the college Curriculum committee for review.
- In addition, the School of Theatre and Dance Curriculum Committee will assess on a continuing basis all theatre and dance courses included in the University's Foundations of Knowledge and Learning Core Curriculum (FKL) (including Capstone Learning Experience Courses) to ensure that they achieve the outcomes and objectives as approved by the General Education Council.
Recruitment Committee
Each unit within the School of Theatre and Dance will operate their own recruitment committee
- Member composition (per unit): Two faculty members and the academic advisor. The membership of the committee will elect one member to serve as chair. Each Recruitment Committee will meet once a semester to discuss issues pertaining to recruitment and retention at USF.
- Each Recruitment Committee will create an annual recruitment plan and coordinate recruitment activities with other faculty members in the School of Theatre and Dance.
- Each Recruitment Committee will participate in recruitment efforts and will report outcomes of the recruitment efforts at faculty meetings.
- Each Recruitment Committee will be in charge of coordinating a recruitment budget with the Director of the School of Theatre and Dance.
Curriculum Appeals Committee
- Member composition: Each concentration area in both units shall elect a representative to advise the academic advisor on the approval of appeals and waivers. The representatives from each unit will meet separately.
Search Committees
- Member composition: The committee shall follow University and CoTA guidelines for committee structure. The core of the committee should be well represented by the unit and/or area for which the search is designed to fulfill. The membership of the committee will elect one member to serve as chair.
Season Selection
- Member Composition: The committee shall consist of two dance faculty and three theatre faculty (one from each concentration area of theatre). The committee as a whole will advise on the structure of the performance calendar; subcommittees from each unit will decide their performance and production needs. The membership of the committee will elect one member to serve as chair.
- Advise the Director on all matters regarding the selection of the School's performance season.
- Propose a performance season to the whole faculty that will meet the goals and mission of the School.
Concentration Areas
- Member Composition: Faculty in each area shall meet to discuss items of procedure
pertinent to its area:
- Theatre: Design and Production, Theatre Performance, Theatre Studies.
- Dance: Dance Studies, Dance Performance.
Meeting Schedules and Attendance
- Meetings of the full faculty and the unit faculty are scheduled by the Director, and meetings of the various committees are scheduled by the chairs of each of the committees.
- While it is assumed that all meetings are in person and on campus, the School permits virtual attendance when circumstances prevent in-person attendance.
Governance Amendment
- This document may be amended by a 2/3 vote of the faculty of the University of South Florida School of Theatre and Dance.