Section VII: College of Fine and Performing Arts
I. Organization
The College of Fine and Performing Arts consists of four academic units and two ancillary service units. The academic units are the Department of Art, the Department of Music, the Department of Theatre Arts, and the Dance Program. The ancillary service units are the Western Gallery and Performance Facilities. B.A. and B.Ed. degrees are offered in all three departments. Additionally, the Department of Art offers the B.F.A. and M.Ed., the Department of Music offers the B.Mus. and M.Mus. degrees, and the Department of Theatre Arts offers the M.A. degree. B.A. and B.F.A degrees are also offered through the Dance Program. In addition to the standard degree programs, a procedure exists for the proposal and completion of student/faculty-designed major programs of study and cross-disciplinary study.
II. Governance
The College is administered by its executive officer, the Dean, an Executive Committee, Curriculum Committee, Tenure and Promotion Committee, and other committees as may be deemed necessary and included in the by-laws. The Dean functions as the chief administrative and personnel officer of the College and in this capacity functions as the planner and spokesperson for the College. Each department of the College has a chairperson who represents the department on the collegiate Executive Committee. The department chairperson is responsible for coordinating efforts towards building and maintaining a strong department. The chairperson is responsible for budget, teaching assignments, and the operation of the departmental program including program development, faculty recruitment, evaluation procedures, and other administrative duties required or assigned by the Dean and University administration.
III. Role and Mission
Established in 1975, the College was founded to stimulate the arts at Western Washington University and in the region by promoting the quality and quantity of creative and artistic effort through the educational processes and the degree programs offered by the College. The College provides for an educational environment enhancing the creation, development, performance, and teaching of the fine and performing arts. Within this environment the College provides for its academic majors while also offering a full spectrum of arts experiences and courses.
The College enables the student to grow in a specific discipline, while concurrently encouraging cross-disciplinary experiences. A commitment to a career in an arts discipline warrants and demands exploration in all the arts. The College provides the necessary flexibility to develop the specific talents and interests of each student. Within each department and program an appropriate balance of historical, analytical, practical, and pedagogical courses combine to provide an effective curriculum.
The College provides for a nurturing atmosphere with the faculty acting as mentors to their students. This approach is consistent with the unique goals and dreams that each student brings to the College. The faculty of the College are dedicated educators, scholars, and artists who strongly believe in the primary role the arts play in our civilization.
IV. Collegiate Activities
The activities of the College include the following:
o . To educate students, teach, structure, administer, and recommend the granting of undergraduate and graduate degrees.
o . To promote the College and the arts in the community, region, and state.
o . To encourage artistic creativity within the College, region, and state.
o . To support the creative endeavor and research of the faculty and student body.
o . To sponsor visiting artists and cultural events at Western and within the region.
V. Facilities
The College has a strong physical presence on campus through its multi-building facilities, which are found adjacent to the two major plazas of the campus. The Performing Arts Center (Mainstage Theatre, Concert Hall, and two experimental theatre performance spaces), Old Main Theatre, rehearsal spaces, classrooms, art studios, and the Western Gallery are housed in these facilities. The arts are additionally represented throughout the campus by sculpture of international significance in the Outdoor Sculpture Collection.
VI. Tenure and Promotion
The College of Fine and Performing Arts adheres to the general university guidelines for tenure and promotion as expressed in the WWU Faculty Handbook Sections I/iiiD, I/iiiE, and I/vi, as well as the supplement section pertaining to the College. The granting of tenure and promotion are two separate processes. Tenure may be granted without promotion, while conversely the promotion to rank does not automatically confer tenure.
A. Tenure
Tenure is granted by the President to those faculty who have served a probationary service and who are judged capable of making outstanding contributions to the University. The total period of full-time probationary service at Western may not exceed seven years for a 1.0 FTE faculty. Previous service to Western or other institutions of higher education is not automatically counted towards this probationary period, although some may be credited depending upon agreements made at the time of hiring. For faculty on a .5 FTE probationary track, the period is extended proportionally and may exceed seven years. Faculty with the rank of lecturer or adjunct/affiliate are not tenurable.
B. Promotion
The College of Fine and Performing Arts adheres to the general definitions of the WWU Faculty Handbook regarding ranked faculty. These are:
Assistant Professor
“To be appointed or promoted to the rank of assistant professor, a person shall normally possess the doctorate or the accepted terminal degree for the discipline. An assistant professor should also be able to show evidence of effective teaching and scholarly activity. In exceptional cases the establishment of a superior record in one of these areas may be sufficient.”
Associate Professor
“For appointment or promotion to this rank, a person shall normally possess the doctorate or accepted terminal degree for the discipline. This rank requires a record of substantial achievement in both teaching and scholarship. In exceptional cases an outstanding record of achievement in one of these areas may be sufficient. Candidates for promotion to this rank are also expected to present evidence of contributions to academic policy and programs.”
Professor
“For appointment or promotion to this rank, a person shall normally possess the doctorate or the accepted terminal degree for the discipline. To attain the rank of professor, a faculty member must show evidence of excellent teaching and sustained scholarship. Significant contributions to academic policy and program are also expected. Eventual promotion to the rank of professor is not to be earned by long service alone, and it is not expected that all faculty members will attain this rank.”
In the College of Fine and Performing Arts, scholarly endeavor is equated with but not necessarily exclusive of creative endeavor:
“The faculty of the College [of Fine and Performing Arts] recognizes a special obligation for continuing creative endeavor among its members. Artistic performance including but not limited to performing, conducting, directing, and exhibiting is recognized as an avenue of creative endeavor. Evidence of distinguished achievement will be judged in light of such criteria as established by the College of Fine and Performing Arts as to originality, scope, and depth of artistic expression.”
Specific criteria for both tenure and promotion for each Department/Program are included in their respective sections, but in general involve evaluations of three areas: teaching, scholarly/creative activity, and service. Faculty serving in non-probationary tracks are not eligible for promotion.
II. Qualifications for Evaluation
A. Teaching
In the College of Fine and Performing Arts the greatest weight is accorded to teaching effectiveness, defined as course instruction, seminars, independent study, and student advising. This component should be evaluated upon the following:
Student Evaluations, including written comments administered through standardized forms such as that used by the University Testing Center, department-approved forms, and departmentally-administered evaluations. It is expected that such evaluations will be presented from not less than two thirds of the candidate’s teaching load during the three years preceding application. These evaluations must be fully representative of the general teaching load of the candidate.
Syllabi and other course materials.
Evidence to support the candidate solicited by the Chair and/or candidate from peers and former students.
Documentation of innovative course and program development, including innovative and effective teaching materials and/or instructional techniques.
Teaching Loads, such as the numbers of courses and students taught each quarter, new preparations, SCH, and advising.
Honors or special recognition of teaching accomplishments.
B. Research and/or Creative Endeavor
The College recognizes both scholarly research and creative endeavor as equal partners in the application of knowledge and skills in answering or illuminating questions posed within the art form or area of intellectual pursuit, the discovery of new knowledge, and the integration, assembly, and analysis of existing information and its presentation in a new form. Faculty within the CFPA may demonstrate evidence of creative/scholarly endeavor in the execution of their faculty appointments. The faculty of the College recognizes a special obligation for continuing creative endeavor among those areas where creativity is the focus, such as performance, directing, conducting, and exhibition. This component should be evaluated based upon the following:
Artistic presentations, exhibitions, performances, etc. These may be on campus, local, regional (defined as the Pacific Northwest), national, or international settings. The importance of the presentation is usually evaluated by a peer group review of some kind, either as acceptance through invitational/competitive review or through media adjudication.
Publication. Highest priority is given to publications that result from invitational sources or refereed review. These may include articles in scholarly journals and occasional publications (such as Congress or symposium reports, festschrifts, proceedings, etc.), books and monographs, musical scores, plays, recorded performances, reference works, and exhibition catalogues. Other material, such as creative writing, liner/program notes, artistic statements, etc. may be included as well.
Additional demonstrations of professional expertise, such as editorial work, book/recording/stage/art reviews, jurying/adjudication of visual artwork or performances, consultancies.
Papers or lectures presented at conferences or by invitation. Included in this category are sessions chaired, participation in panels, roles as respondents, and offices held in professional organizations or scholarly societies.
Professional activities which are defined as equivalent to scholarly/creative activity in department unit evaluation plans. These may include teaching as performance, scholarship of teaching, community arts or cultural advocacy, and other activities that integrate scholarship/creative activity with teaching and/or service.
C. Service
Service is an expected component of faculty in the College of Fine and Performing Arts. Service is defined as participating in activities relating to Departmental, College, and University governance, membership on and participation in professional organizations, providing expertise and participation in local organizations and arts endeavors, and other local or regional activities that benefit both the reputation of the University and its constituents. Evaluation of this component should be based upon the following:
Evidence of contribution to membership on committees within the University.
Service on the boards of local, regional, state, or national organizations.
Invitational lectures or presentations of a general nature to non-professional organizations.
Professional services in a consulting or advisory capacity.
Performance, memberships on committees, consultancies or exhibitions for community arts organizations.
Outreach programs offered by the College or Department, teaching seminars offered by other areas of the University.
III. Application Procedures
A. A faculty member wishing to be considered for tenure and/or promotion must inform the Chair by the third week of the Spring Quarter preceding candidacy. The Chair, in turn, will inform the Dean of the request by the deadline established in the Academic/Administrative Calendar for the University. The exceptions to this request are those whose probationary status requires tenure review, and candidates will be informed by the Dean upon notification of their mandatory candidacy from the Provost’s Office.
B. The candidate is responsible for the assembly and organization of the necessary documentation and making it available for the peer review process. The documentation must follow the guidelines in the Preparation of Tenure and Promotion Files for the College. This includes the primary application file, the supplementary file, letter of appointment and all annual evaluations (both departmental and college). The candidate is also responsible for insuring its completeness, as defined in the Guidelines. The candidate is also required to attend a seminar on the preparation of tenure and promotion files to take place during the latter part of the Spring Quarter preceding the submission of the file. The documentation must be accurate, verifiable, complete, and well organized; the Chair of each Department will assist the candidate and may provide examples of dossiers of successful candidates. In addition, the candidate is encouraged to seek assistance from colleagues with respect to editorial and organizational aspects of the dossier.
C. The Chair of the Department will establish a timetable for departmental peer review, including adequate time for review of the candidate’s file. This deadline will take into account the due date determined by the Academic Administrative Calendar for the forwarding of the file to the Dean.
D. The Chair is responsible for the presentation of the candidate’s dossier to the departmental Tenure and Promotion Committee, or the faculty of each Department may act as a committee of the whole, if this has been approved as departmental policy. The review is to cover all of the criteria established for candidacy. If requested, the Chair and/or candidate may be asked to meet with the committee to discuss the application. If this is requested, the candidate is to be notified by the committee in writing within three working days. Proceedings of the deliberations remain confidential and no individual votes will be recorded. Faculty who disagree with the vote of the committee, however, have the opportunity to record a minority statement.
E. Following review by the departmental committee, the Chair and the candidate are to be notified by the chair of the committee in writing of the committee’s recommendation. If requested by either the candidate or committee, the Department Chair or candidate may meet with the committee to discuss their recommendation.
F. The Chair will then draft an independent evaluation of the candidate’s dossier, which will be submitted to the Dean concurrently with the dossier and committee recommendation on or before the deadline established in the Academic Administrative Calendar. If the Chair is a candidate, a departmental summary will be compiled ex officio by the department’s executive committee or its designee. The summary will be verified by an elected member of the departmental faculty and will serve in lieu of the Chair’s evaluation.
G. The CFPA Tenure and Promotion Committee will review all of the files and submit its recommendation to the Dean on or prior to the deadline set by the Academic Administrative Calendar. All deliberations of this committee are to be considered confidential, with the votes of individual faculty not recorded. The committee may request further information or a meeting with the Chair or candidate. A final written recommendation discussing areas of teaching, creative/scholarly activity, and service will be presented to the Dean along with the final vote. Minority statements are allowed to be included in the committee recommendation.
H. The recommendations of the department Chair, Tenure and Promotion Committee, and the Dean, along with the complete dossier and previous evaluations, will be forwarded to the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs by the deadline established in the Academic Administrative Calendar. The conclusion of these recommendations will also be communicated to the candidate. The candidate has the right to appeal any recommendation of the Chair, Tenure and Promotion Committee, or Dean. In such cases, a notice of intent to appeal must be filed with the Dean no later than one week following the receipt of the results of the recommendations.
I. It is to be understood that the final evaluations of the tenure and promotion dossiers rest with the Provost and President. Should questions arise, information will be provided to them by the Dean in consultation with the Chair and candidate.