School of Arts and Sciences
Rutgers University
Department of Art History
By-Laws 2026
ARTICLE I. ORGANIZATION
Section 1.
The Department of Art History is responsible for undergraduate and graduate education in art history in New Brunswick and acknowledges its responsibility to provide a full and diverse curriculum. The Department is headed by a Chairperson, who also chairs meetings of the Department.
ARTICLE II. MEMBERSHIP
Section 1.
Membership
For the purposes of these bylaws, faculty shall include all individuals holding more than a 50% full-time academic appointment in the department, including both tenure-track (TT) and non-tenure-track (NTT) faculty.1 By full-time academic appointment, these bylaws refer to TT and NTT faculty, not Lecturers.
The Department may extend voting membership to other individuals by applying to and seeking approval from the Humanities Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences.
Section 2.
Voting Eligibility
All faculty members, regardless of tenure status, rank, or title, shall have the right to vote in departmental meetings on all matters brought before the full-time faculty, except those explicitly restricted by school and university policy to tenure-track faculty (e.g., promotion and tenure decisions).
Non-tenure track faculty must have a minimum of one year of service to the department before voting eligibility begins.
Section 3.
Scope of Voting for NTTs
NTT faculty may vote on issues including, but not limited to:
• Hiring of new faculty members (new members may be at any rank or status)
• Curriculum and course changes
• Departmental policies and procedures
• Election of departmental officers
• Other departmental matters not restricted by university or school governance documents
ARTICLE III. MEETINGS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ART HISTORY
Section 1.
At least three meeting per semester shall be called by the Chairperson at his/her discretion. By written petition of three voting members to the Chairperson the latter shall call a meeting of the entire faculty within two weeks of the request.
Section 2.
An agenda shall be distributed at least two days in advance of every meeting, and minutes shall be taken and distributed to all members. A quorum shall be a simple majority of the voting members.
ARTICLE IV. CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ART HISTORY
Section 1.
Only a voting member of the Department of Art History who holds the rank of Professor or Associate Professor with tenure is eligible to serve as chair. The Chair shall be elected in accordance with University Regulations and the SAS By-Laws. Those voting members above the rank of Instructor who are in their second or subsequent semester of service in the Department and Instructors with at least one full year of service in the Department, shall by ballot nominate to the Humanities Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences one of the eligible professors for appointment as Department Chair when a vacancy shall occur through expiration of term or otherwise.
The Chair shall serve a term of three years and may be renominated for a second consecutive term. However, the Chair shall be subject to recall as described in Robert’s Rules of Order.
In case of the temporary absence of the Chair, he/she shall appoint, in consultation with the faculty, a temporary replacement subject to the approval of the Humanities Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. If the absence of the Chair is for a period longer than six months, the Department shall nominate to the Dean a person to serve in this capacity according to the procedure for the nomination of a Chair.
ARTICLE V. COMMITTEES
Section 1.
The nature and composition of appropriate standing committees and ad-hoc committees shall be determined by the Chairperson in consultation and with the consent of the Department. All voting members shall be eligible for appointment to such committees unless otherwise stipulated in University Regulations or SAS By-Laws.
ARTICLE VI. APPOINTMENTS AND PROMOTIONS
Section 1.
All tenured and tenure-track faculty members of the Department of Art History shall be consulted on all new appointments to the Department, regardless of rank, prior to the making of said appointments. Such consultation does not substitute for the requirement that the tenured members at or above the rank of the individual nominated for appointment or promotion formally vote on the recommendation.
Similar criteria shall be used to advise the Humanities Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences prior to the decision to reassign a faculty member from another academic department or unit to membership in the Department of Art History.
ARTICLE VII. BALLOTING
Section 1.
There shall be a provision for secret balloting on the call of any voting member.
ARTICLE VIII. BUDGET
Section 1.
Below the line budget shall be open to the inspection of any voting member upon request.
ARTICLE IX. INFORMATION RELEASE
Section 1.
Official information available to the Chairperson is ipso- facto available to the faculty as a whole.
ARTICLE X. GRADUATE PROGRAM DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ART HISTORY
All graduate advising will be assigned to the Graduate Program Director who will be elected by the faculty of the Department to a term of three years. This faculty member will be responsible for overseeing graduate admissions, advising graduate students about course selection, requirements, career opportunities, etc. The Graduate Director shall appoint standing committees and ad hoc committees to assist in managing the needs of
the graduate program.
ARTICLE XI. UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM DIRECTOR
All undergraduate advising will be assigned to the Undergraduate Program Director who will be elected by the faculty of the Department to a term of three years. This faculty member will be responsible for advising majors about course selection, major requirements, graduate education, vocational possibilities, etc.
ARTICLE XII. STUDENT REPRESENTATION
Section 1.
The faculty encourages the formation of an association or organization of graduate art history students. This organization is encouraged to elect a student representative to attend faculty meetings and represent student opinion.
ARTICLE XIII. STUDENT GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES
Section 1.
In accordance with University regulations all final examinations are held by faculty for a period of at least six months and can be consulted by the student. Within three months after completing a course, a student may request a written explanation of a grade from the faculty member involved. Any further appeal must be made in writing by the student to the Chairperson within one month of the receipt of the written explanation from the faculty member. The final decision will be communicated in writing by the Chairperson to the student.
ARTICLE XIV. AMENDMENTS
Section 1.
These By-Laws which have been approved by a majority of the voting members of the Department of Art History may be amended at any meeting of the Department provided that written notice of the intent to amend and the text of the proposed amendment has been sent to all members of the Department two weeks prior to the meeting. Amendments may be initiated by written petition to the Chairperson by three voting members of the
Department of Art History. Amendments must be approved by two-thirds of the total voting membership and the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. Amendments must be forwarded to the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences within 30 days of their approval by the department.
1 Note: according to correspondence between the SAS Humanities Dean and Carla Yann, Chair, in Fall 2025, post-doctoral fellows are not considered faculty in SAS.