Steering Committee Bylaws

downloadable Word document of the Bylaws (as of January 17 2024)

Function

The steering committee is the principal body which coordinates the operation of the Center for the Humanities. Its responsibilities extend to all matters affecting the mission of the Center. It is through the committee that proposals to the Center are made, evaluated, and funded.

Those resolutions that affect policy must be approved by the LCAS dean. These resolutions shall be deemed to have been accepted favorably unless the LCAS dean expresses disapproval with reasons for disapproval and proposed modifications forwarded to the committee in writing within fifteen days of the formal notification. If the LCAS dean and the steering committee cannot reconcile their disagreements, the steering committee may enact the policy change with a three-quarters majority vote of the total voting membership. Approved resolutions become the mandates by which the Center operates and are to be implemented by the Center's director.

As well as matters of program and policy, the committee is also required to manage the budget. The Center is funded by income from the endowment raised and maintained for that purpose. The committee must approve the annual operating budget and review expenditures monthly. From time to time the committee will be expected to act on resolutions involving the transfer of funds or requests for supplemental monies.

Membership of the Steering Committee

• The dean of the Loyola College of Arts & Sciences, chair, ex officio;
• The director of the Center for the Humanities, ex officio;
• Chairs of the departments of the humanities which shall include Classics, Communication, English, History, Modern Languages and Literatures, Philosophy, Theology, Visual and Performing Arts, and Writing;
• An associate vice president for academic affairs;
• The director or a co-director of the Honors Program; 
• The director of the Humanities Symposium; and
• One other director of a major project or program funded by the Center, if applicable. A maximum of three such directors, including the director or co-director of the Honors Program and the director of the Humanities Symposium, may be members at any one time.

Terms and Procedures 

For Department Chairs

• Appointment to the committee becomes automatic with appointment as chair of the appropriate department. The chair may appoint a tenured faulty representative to serve as a proxy for a semester.
• The term will normally be considered to be from July I to June 30, the dates associated with concurrent appointment as a department chair.
• In the event that the position of chair of an applicable department is vacant, the LCAS dean may appoint a member of that department to serve on the committee. In that case, the term will last until such time as a department chair is appointed.

For the Directors

• The Center for the Humanities director will be appointed to a three-year term by the LCAS dean upon the advice of a subcommittee of the steering committee.
• The Honors Program director(s) will be appointed by the LCAS dean to a four-year term upon the advice of a subcommittee of the steering committee.
• The Honors Program assistant director will be appointed by the LCAS dean to a three-year term upon the advice of a subcommittee of the steering committee.
• The Humanities Symposium director will be appointed to a three-year term by the Center for the Humanities director upon the advice of a subcommittee of the steering committee.
• Other project directors will be appointed by the Center for the Humanities director for a specified term upon the advice of a subcommittee of the steering committee.
• Ordinarily, the directors listed in this article will serve for no more than two consecutive terms.

Voting

• All members of the steering committee, except for the LCAS dean, ordinarily vote on proposals brought before the committee.
• The LCAS dean casts the deciding vote in case of a tie.
• Directors of major projects funded by the Center who have been elected to serve on the steering committee may not vote on proposals that involve funding the projects they direct.
• Ordinarily, issues will be decided by a voice vote. However, any member of the Center may request a roll-call vote on any matter; the motion is not debatable.

Proposals

• Any department, tenured, tenured-track, affiliate or adjunct faculty members, or administrators may submit a proposal to the committee. All proposals must be concerned with projects in keeping with the mission and purpose of the Center for the Humanities. Membership on the committee excludes the person from submitting any proposal in which funds are involved that will be to the member's personal, financial benefit. Because of the important role of mentoring students—and, in some cases, the unique qualifications a member may have for advising a particular project—members of the steering committee are permitted to serve as advisors for Summer Student Fellowships and to receive the nominal stipend for advisors. If a member of the steering committee is the advisor for a student applicant, the member must recuse himself or herself from the consideration of that year's applications, and a proxy will be asked to serve in the member's place.
•  Any faculty member, administrator, academic program, or department may propose a new program to the steering committee, granted that the proposal is in line with the mission and purpose of the Center. In order for a new program proposal to be reviewed by the steering committee, the proposal must be sponsored by at least one member of the committee. A new program proposal should include a description of the program (including, as applicable, eligibility requirements, application process, outcomes, and a timeline for any involved processes), a rationale for why the Center should commit money to this program on an ongoing basis, and a detailed budget. The deadline for new program proposals is four weeks before the last meeting of the academic year, and new program proposals will be reviewed by the steering committee at the same meeting when the budget for the following year is reviewed and approved. New program proposals will be evaluated according to the same criteria for large grants with higher expectations for the impact and enduring value of the program. If approved, the proposer(s) must compose the program description and guidelines for the Center website, subject to editing by the director. All approved proposals will be piloted for 2 or 3 years, as determined by the steering committee. At the end of this pilot period, the steering committee will review the program to determine if it will be continued and if so, in what manner, at the same meeting when the budget for the following year is reviewed and approved.
• The proposal and supporting documentation, including budget, are to be submitted by the stated deadline to the director of the Center for the Humanities.
• The proposal must follow all the guidelines established by the Center.
• The director of the Center is authorized to approve requests of a maximum of $250 without bringing them before the steering committee. Such approval must be reported at the next meeting of the steering committee.
• Ordinarily, proposals that follow the guidelines are to be placed on the committee's agenda in the order in which they are received in the office of the Center. Proposals which are being returned from a subcommittee with a final report have precedence over other matters.

Conduct of Meetings

• The steering committee meets monthly during the academic year according to a schedule drawn up by the director.
• An agenda and all relevant attachments are to be distributed by the director at least seven calendar days in advance of each meeting to the members of the steering committee, and to persons other than the above who are presenting agenda materials to the steering committee.
• Special meetings are held at the call of the LCAS dean or the Center for the Humanities director. Upon receipt of a written request for a special meeting signed by three steering committee members and stating the business to be discussed, the Center for the Humanities director must call a special meeting within seven days.
• Meetings shall end no later than 90 minutes after the call to order, unless a motion to extend the meeting for a specified period of time is passed before the deadline by a simple majority of those members present and voting. Only one such motion to extend the meeting may be entertained.
• The meetings of the steering committee are to be conducted in accordance with Roberts Rules of Order, as modified by these bylaws.
• The LCAS dean or proxy, the director, and a majority of the members constitute a quorum of the committee.
• Approval of the minutes of the previous meeting is the first item of business at each regular meeting.
• No action may be taken on any substantive resolution which has not been included on the agenda and circulated, along with the appropriate supporting documentation, at least seven calendar days in advance of the meeting at which it is to be discussed.
• Any proposal to amend the bylaws of the steering committee or to change the policies of the Center may not be voted on until the regularly scheduled monthly meeting that follows the meeting at which the proposal is made.
• A motion to consider any proposal out of the order established on the agenda requires adoption by a majority of the members present.
• Any member of the Center may request that the committee go into executive session on any matter; the motion is not debatable. If a majority of the members present approve the motion, nonmembers will be excluded from that discussion.
• Any member of the steering committee may designate a proxy for one meeting, who must be a member of the constituency to be represented.
• All members of the University community have the right to attend meetings of the steering committee. They may not address the committee without recognition by the director. Recognition at any point does not grant nor imply a general right to participate.
• Should the director be unable to attend a meeting of the council, the LCAS dean must appoint a presiding officer for that meeting.
• The bylaws of the committee as described in the present section, numbered six and entitled "Conduct of Meeting," may be suspended by a vote of two-thirds of the members present.

Subcommittees

• The steering committee may create subcommittees as it deems necessary and appropriate.
• Subcommittees thus created will report to the steering committee through their chair. Any chair desiring to make a report should request a place on the agenda according to the procedure outlined in section four above.
• The Center for the Humanities director is a non-voting, ex-officio member of all subcommittees and, while not necessarily attending meetings, the director must be apprised of all subcommittees’ deliberations and decisions.

Amendment of the Bylaws

The precise wording of all amendments to these bylaws must be included as attachments to agenda. Passage is by two-thirds majority of the total voting membership. The amendment does not come into force until after the adjournment of the meeting at which it was adopted and subsequent approval by the LCAS dean. These amendments shall be deemed to have accepted favorably unless the LCAS dean expresses disapproval with reasons for disapproval and proposed modifications forwarded to the steering committee in writing within fifteen days of the formal notification. If the LCAS dean and the steering committee cannot reconcile their disagreements, the steering committee may enact the bylaw change with a unanimous vote of the total voting membership.