Acknowledgement of America’s
First Peoples

Washington State University acknowledges that its locations statewide are on the homelands of Native peoples, who have lived in this region from time immemorial. Currently, there are 42 tribes, 35 of which are federally recognized that share traditional homelands and waterways in what is now Washington State. Some of these are nations and confederacies that represents multiple tribes and bands. The University expresses its deepest respect for and gratitude towards these original and current caretakers of the region. As an academic community, we acknowledge our responsibility to establish and maintain relationships with these tribes and Native peoples, in support of tribal sovereignty and the inclusion of their voices in teaching, research and programming. Washington State University established the Office of Tribal Relations and Native American Programs to guide us in our relationship with tribes and service to Native American students and communities. We also pledge that these relationships will consist of mutual trust, respect, and reciprocity.

As a land grant institution, we also recognize that the Morrill Act of 1862 established land-grant institutions by providing each state with “public” and federal lands, which are traced back to the disposition of Indigenous lands. In 1890, Washington State received 90,081 acres of Indigenous Lands designated to establish Washington State University (see data). Washington State University retains the majority of these lands to this day. We acknowledge that the disposition of Indigenous lands was often taken by coercive and violent acts, and the disregard of treaties. For that, we extend our deepest apologies. We owe our deepest gratitude to the Native peoples of this region and maintain our commitment towards reconciliation.

These bylaws form an outline of operating procedures for the WSU Department of Mathematics and Statistics. While final authority in internal department matters is held by the voting membership of the department, certain powers and responsibilities are herein delegated to officers and standing committees. The bylaws cannot cover all situations that may arise in departmental operation. A department can function harmoniously and efficiently only with mutual trust, respect, and responsibility among its members; contingencies not specifically covered in these bylaws should be dealt with by the department, using the spirit of these bylaws as a guide. In the case of any discrepancies between the WSU Faculty Manual and this document, the WSU Faculty Manual supersedes this one.

1. Faculty Status
   1. Membership
      Membership in the WSU Department of Mathematics and Statistics shall include all faculty members who have any portion of their appointment for research, teaching, service in mathematics and/or statistics.
   
   
   2. Voting rights
      All members of the Department have the right to vote on matters that may come before the Department, except that (i) only members of the Department who are also members of the Graduate Faculty may vote on matters that concern the Department’s graduate programs and (ii) in matters of promotion and tenure. In matters regarding promotion and tenure, all eligible individuals should submit recommendations in accordance with the Department of Mathematics and Statistics tenure and promotion policy, the WSU Faculty Manual, and the instructions for promotion and tenure distributed by the Office of the Provost.
2. Meetings
   1. Frequency
      Meetings shall be held when considered appropriate by the Chair. At least one Department meeting shall occur per semester. The Chair must call a meeting of the Department if they receive a written request signed by a simple majority of the members of the Department.
   
   
   2. Quorum
      A quorum for conducting business at meetings shall consist of greater than or equal to 50% of the members of the Department. If the presiding officer determines that quorum has not been established, then those in attendance may vote to declare themselves a committee of the whole by a majority vote of those present. In this instance, the committee may vote to have items placed on an email ballot to be voted on by the entire Department. Any such item will be approved if it receives a majority of the votes cast in the email ballot election.
   
   
   3. Presiding Officer
      The presiding officer for meetings of the Department shall be the Chair. In the absence of the Chair, the Associate Chair will preside over the meeting, unless a member of the Department is otherwise designated by the Chair.
   
   
   4. Recording Secretary
      The administrative assistant to the Chair, or another member of the staff or the Department designated by the Chair, shall serve as the Recording Secretary at meetings of the Department. Minutes shall be made available via email to all members of the Department in a timely manner.
   
   
   5. Voting Procedures
      Normally, voting on motions made at a Department meeting is by show of hands. Pursuant to a motion approved by a majority of those present at the meeting, voting may be by email ballot of the membership of the Department (except where prohibited by law or by University policies.)
   
   
   6. Student Representatives
      A graduate student and undergraduate student representative shall be invited to the faculty meetings of the Department but will not have voting rights on issues discussed during the meetings.
3. Departmental Leadership
   1. Chair
      The Chair is the chief administrative officer of the department and serves 4-year terms. The Chair is appointed by the Provost as recommended by the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences with input from the faculty of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. When the dean is soliciting faculty input for whether a new Chair shall be selected from within the department or outside the department, all members of the department may contribute. Specific duties of the Chair include, but are not limited to the following: serving as primary liaison with higher administration and other units on campus, overseeing and negotiating the departmental budget, overseeing faculty hiring, conducting annual reviews and providing final copies to the faculty and staff on all campuses, tenure and promotion cases, facilitating long term planning for the department, scheduling and leading regular departmental meetings, appointing members to departmental committees, and collaborating with the Associate Chair on class offerings, scheduling, and teaching assignments.
   
   
   2. Associate Chair
      The Associate Chair is appointed by the Chair. Specific duties of the Associate Chair include, but are not limited to, the following: scheduling classes each semester, monitoring enrollment to guide decisions related to adding or cancelling sections, scheduling faculty teaching assignments (in collaboration with the Chair), determining graduate student assignments (in collaboration with the Chair), hiring undergraduate teaching assistants (UTAs) to assist with grading or to serve in the Math Learning Center, hearing and investigating student complaints, and collecting and reviewing graduate student and UTA course reviews by faculty.
   
   
   3. Director of Graduate Studies
      The Director of Graduate Studies is elected by the Graduate Faculty for 2-year terms. The duties of the Director of Graduate Studies include, but are not limited to, the following: providing leadership to the graduate program, representing the department to the Graduate School and other administrative units on campus, presiding over all Graduate Studies Committee work and Graduate Faculty functions, overseeing publicity related to the graduate program including brochures, webpages, catalog copy, and any other information, coordinating assessment of the graduate program, maintaining and communicating to the Graduate School a list of Graduate Faculty, and giving input on graduate assistant assignments.
   
   
   4. Vancouver Director
      The Vancouver Director is appointed by the Chair to serve as a liaison with Pullman and to coordinate the scheduling of classes and instructors for mathematics and statistics courses on the Vancouver campus. This individual also coordinates with other departments on the Vancouver campus.
   
   
   5. Tri-Cities Director
      The Tri-Cities Director is appointed by the Chair to serve as a liaison with Pullman and to coordinate the scheduling of classes and instructors for mathematics and statistics courses on the Tri-Cities campus. This individual also coordinates with other departments on the Tri-Cities campus.
   
   
   6. Director of Foundational Courses
      The Director of Foundational Courses is selected by the Chair to assist with ongoing improvements to foundational level courses including Math 100, 103, 105, 106, 108, 201, and participation in faculty development initiatives, and facilitates an on-going exchange of ideas on improving teaching and learning in these courses.
   
   
   7. Math Learning Center Director
      The Math Learning Center (MLC) Director is a career track faculty member whose appointment is 60% teaching and 40% director of the MLC. The duties of the MLC director include, but are not limited to: planning and oversight of the day-to-day MLC activities and operations, scheduling and training MLC tutors, evaluating the effectiveness of the tutors, preparing an annual report on the MLC, interfacing with units across campus on all issues related to the MLC, promoting the MLC to incoming students and their parents/guardians, participating in and contributing to professional organizations and conferences devoted to learning centers, and seeking funding to support initiatives and activities related to the mission of the MLC.
   
   
   8. Course Coordinators
      Course Coordinators are appointed by the Associate Chair with input from the Chair (and possibly the Director of Foundational Courses) and will typically serve as Course Coordinator for a specific course for at least two full academic years to allow time to initiate and assess ongoing improvements to the course. The Course Coordinator is responsible for creating a common syllabus, training of instructors and teaching assistants, holding regular meetings of the teaching staff for the course, scheduling common exams, overseeing the creation of exams, grading rubrics for the exams, and common grading of exams, review of final grades before they are submitted, hearing student complaints related to the course in consultation with the Associate Chair and Chair when necessary, and review of any graduate students and UTAs working with the course.
4. Committees
   The Chair will appoint committee members to oversee much of the work of the Department. Committee assignments will be for one year unless specifically noted otherwise by the Chair or by committee membership descriptions indicated herein. The Chair will distribute to the faculty a list of committee assignments for the academic year prior to the start of the Fall Semester. Committee assignments will include any committee leadership roles deemed appropriate by the Chair.


1. Executive Committee
   The Executive Committee serves as the primary advisory body to the Chair on all aspects of the Department's business. The committee is tasked with providing the Chair with advice and information concerning strategic planning, budgetary matters, committee assignments, faculty workload and salaries, recruitment, promotions, awards, and any other aspects of Department functions and oversight.
   
   The Department Chair serves as the chair of the committee. The other members of the committee consist of the Associate Chair, the Director of Graduate Studies, the Vancouver Director, the Tri-Cities Director, the Director of Foundational Courses, the Chair of the Faculty Affairs Committee, the Chair of the Undergraduate Studies Committee, the Finance Manager, and any other members appointed by the Chair. Meetings of the committee shall occur at least once per semester and may be called by the Chair, by any two members, or at the request of five or more members of the faculty.


2. Faculty Affairs Committee
   The Faculty Affairs Committee serves the dual purpose of providing guidance on faculty issues to the Executive Committee and assisting in faculty development. The committee is tasked with assisting and representing the faculty in the areas of tenure and promotion, performance reviews, opportunities for professional leaves, appropriate conduct, and academic freedom.
   
   The Committee consists of four or more tenure-track faculty and two or more career track faculty appointed by the Department Chair. Members should be selected to represent a reasonable cross section of the faculty in terms of promotion, tenure, academic interests, and campus location. If no committee chair has been specifically appointed by the Department Chair, then the committee will select a chair during the first meeting of the year. Meetings of the committee may be called by the committee chair or by any two members. The committee should meet at least once per semester and as often as necessary.


3. Graduate Studies Committee
   The Graduate Studies Committee oversees all aspects of policies, procedures and guidance of graduation education. Specific duties include, review of graduate applicants, making admissions and/or appointment offers, administration of the Graduate Qualifying Exam, curriculum and program development and approval, periodic review and update of the Graduate Student Handbook, and hearing student petitions for exceptions to policy. Further details on the Graduate Studies Committee can be found in the Graduate Studies bylaws.
   
   The Committee consists of five Graduate Faculty members appointed by the Department Chair. The Director of Graduate Studies serves as chair and member of the committee. Members should be selected to represent a reasonable cross section of the graduate faculty in terms of campus location and research interests. The Administrative Graduate Coordinator serves as a non-voting ex-officio member of the committee. Meetings are arranged by the Director. The committee should meet as often as necessary in order to complete committee business in a timely manner.


1. Graduate Qualifying Exam Subcommittee
   The Graduate Qualifying Exam Subcommittee is tasked with composing and grading the Graduate Qualifying Exam. The committee reports directly to the Director of Graduate Studies. Members of the subcommittee are appointed by the Department Chair and selected among the Graduate Faculty; three are statistics faculty and three are mathematics faculty. The three faculty in each subdivision serve on a rotating schedule so that each year, one new statistics faculty and one new mathematics faculty are appointed to begin three-year terms.


4. Undergraduate Studies Committee
   The Undergraduate Studies Committee oversees all aspects of policies, procedures, and guidance of undergraduate education. The Committee maintains oversight of recruitment, policy, academic requirements, curriculum, transfer credit, math placement, dual-majors, and other aspects of the undergraduate experience such as math competitions and the math club. The Committee communicates the activities of its subcommittees to the Department Chair. The committee chair and its members are appointed by the Department Chair and consists of six or more faculty members including both tenure-track and career-track faculty. Because of the variety of responsibilities of the committee, the Department Chair, in cooperation with the Committee, can create or disband subcommittees and appoint membership as needed for efficient operations. Such subcommittees may have one or more acting members and answer directly to the Undergraduate Studies Committee. Subcommittee members are appointed by the Department Chair and consist of members of the department and/or students as deemed appropriate. Subcommittees may consist of one or more members. All aspects of undergraduate education not specifically within the duties of a subcommittee fall under purview of the Committee. Subcommittees and their duties can include, but are not limited to, the following.


1. Curriculum
   The Curriculum Subcommittee is responsible for updating the Undergraduate Guide, preparing and submitting curricular change forms when deemed necessary, and periodically reviewing and amending prerequisites and course descriptions that appear in the Course Catalog. The subcommittee also reviews and revises the undergraduate options, descriptions, and requirements every five years.


2. Recruiting
   The Undergraduate Recruiting Subcommittee is responsible for the organization and staging of campus, regional and national recruiting events. The Subcommittee members are appointed by the Department Chair.


3. Math Placement
   The Math Placement Subcommittee is responsible for administering and assessing Department placement tests.


4. Transfer Credit
   The Subcommittee on transfer credit is responsible for assessing transfer credit equivalency, providing necessary documentation, and coordinating decisions with the Registrar.


5. Assessment Committee
   The Assessment Committee consists of six faculty members and is responsible for annual assessment of the undergraduate majors offered by the Department. At least one member should be from WSU Vancouver since Mathematics majors are supported on both the Pullman and Vancouver campuses. The Chair of the Assessment Committee represents the Department on the College of Arts and Sciences Assessment Committee. At the end of each academic year, the Committee prepares an assessment report that is submitted to the WSU Office of Assessment of Teaching and Learning.


6. Colloquium Committee
   The Colloquium Committee is responsible for organizing regular department colloquia focused on topics of relevance and interest to the research faculty. Colloquia include the Spring Ostrom Lecture, the Fall Long Lecture, and the regular Department Colloquium series.


7. Nominations Committee
   The Nominations Committee identifies colleagues each year to be nominated for national, University-wide, and College of Arts and Sciences awards. They recruit faculty members to take the lead on preparing each nomination packet.


8. Scholarship Committee
   Each Spring the Scholarship Committee meets to select undergraduate and graduate recipients for departmental scholarships.


9. Social Committee
   The Social Committee sponsors and/or arranges activities for the Department that enhance community and cohesiveness with a primarily non-academic focus. The Committee consists of three or more Department members (faculty, staff, or students) appointed by the Department Chair.


10. Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee
    The Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee serves to expand the Department’s knowledge and awareness on issues related to social justice, equity, inclusion, diversity, systems of oppression, the roles that we as individuals, as a Department and as a University play in maintaining and/or challenging these systems and stands as a voice for marginalized, oppressed and historically excluded groups within Mathematics and Statistics. To meet these aims, the Committee will:


1. Create, and update as necessary, the Department’s commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.


2. Support students, staff, and faculty from historically excluded groups through actions such as advocacy, development workshops, training, etc.


3. Provide a safe space where individuals can raise issues of discrimination and/or harassment that they have experienced within the Department or the University and be provided with aid, support, and advice on reporting.


4. Work with the Undergraduate Studies and Graduate Studies Committees to examine our curriculum to ensure that it reflects the diversity of individuals who have contributed to the fields of Mathematics and Statistics and is inclusive and equitable to all individuals who want to study these subjects.


5. Review hiring practices and work with the Faculty Affairs Committee to support the retention of black, indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) and other under-represented faculty and staff.


6. Collaborate with the Graduate Studies Committee to review graduate student selection and retention.


7. Foster connections with organizations within the University (e.g., President’s Commission on Gender Expression/Identity and Sexual Expression and on the Status of Women) and nationally (e.g., Math Alliance, Society for Advancements of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native American’s in Science, Association for Women in Mathematics) that share the aims of the Committee.


8. Participate in the organization of seminars to help suggest speakers that reflect the diversity of individuals studying and doing research in the fields of Mathematics and Statistics.


5. Amendments to the Bylaws
   Amendments to the bylaws may be initiated by any Mathematics and Statistics faculty member. Proposed amendments must be presented to the Executive Committee at least three (3) days prior to the faculty meeting at which the amendments will be discussed. After discussion at the faculty meeting, the faculty may choose to table the amendment for a future meeting or vote. Amendments to the bylaws will pass upon a two-thirds vote of approval from members who voted.