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Standing Committees & Councils

Faculty and Staff Resources

The standing committees and councils within the College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts strive to enhance support for students in the college while also creating a welcoming and encouraging environment where faculty, staff and students can make their voices heard.

Standing Committees & Councils

The CHSSA Leadership Council provides the dean with a greater understanding of the needs and views of CHSSA faculty and informs the dean on program updates. The Council is composed of the department chair or the director from each department or unit in the college, as well as associate and assistant deans in the college who serve as ex-officio members. In absence of the chair, an alternate may participate. The Council meets monthly during the academic year with the associate deans, dean and representatives from the dean’s office staff. Council members may suggest items for the agenda, present items for future discussion, and request speakers to be invited. They strategize on college vision and planning from informed conversations with their faculty, staff, and students.

2024-2025 Membership:

The College Curriculum Committee reviews all changes, additions, and deletions to the curriculum. It ensures that all course, certification and degree proposals that constitute new or revised offerings be reviewed for clarity, coherence, potential for collaboration and avoidance of duplication. The committee consists of 15 faculty members appointed by the Associate Dean for Student Success and Policy who is the 16th member of the committee. Chairs and Vice-Chairs for this committee are approved by the Associate Dean and receive a stipend. 


Members serve for two years and are chosen from across the disciplines with representation from all three areas of the College. The committee meets at least once week from late-August to end-April. Members review and process communication to and from the department chairs, directors, or program coordinators through the university approved curriculum management system. The committee reports its recommendations to the Associate Dean for Student Success and Policy and interfaces directly with the University Curriculum Committee, the University Studies Advisory Committee, the Graduate Council, the Office of the Registrar and Academic Affairs to ensure that all submissions are in compliance with submission requirements.

2024-2025 Membership:

  • Venkat Dhulipala - History
  • Jonathan Kladder - Music
  • Ryan Lidster - World Languages and Cultures
  • Daniel Masters - International Studies
  • Stephen McFarland - History
  • Ashley Parsons - Sociology and Criminology
  • Anup Phayal - Public and International Affairs
  • Nathan Pilkington - Co-Chair, History
  • Nora Reber - Anthropology
  • David Spieser-Landes - World Languages and Cultures
  • Ed Wagenseller - Theatre
  • David Weber - Communication Studies
  • Christine Willingham - Chair, Communication Studies

The CHSSA Community Committee draws from the second strategic goal of the College to develop a dynamic and vibrant community of faculty, staff and students. Its scope is to propose and implement activities that explicitly address access and integrity matters within our College’s teaching, research and service interactions. The overall goal of the committee is to enhance the College’s ability to be a welcoming, supportive, and pluralistic environment in which all faculty, staff and students thrive. 

The committee consists of 13 faculty and staff, two students majoring in a CHSSA program, and the chair appointed by an Associate Dean who serves as co-chair. Members are selected by application from across the three areas of the College (Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts) and serve for three years. A quorum shall consist of 50% of the total membership. The committee reports its recommendations to the dean and interfaces directly with such functional areas as Human Resources and The Office of International Programs.

2024-2025 Membership:

  • Amrita Das - World Languages and Cultures
  • Emily Jones - Communication Studies
  • Katie Peel - English
  • Aaron Peisner - Music
  • Jean-Anne Sutherland - Sociology and Criminology
  • Tara White - History

The Policy Advisory Committee reviews matters related to faculty and college policy within the College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts such as workload, professional conduct, policies related to non- permanent faculty, or other college policy issues. Depending on the scope of the task, the committee may include the Associate Dean for Faculty Policy and Enrollment Management, the Associate Dean for College Policy, or the dean and four department chairs or faculty members representing one each from the fine and performing arts, humanities, and social sciences. The Associate Dean for Faculty Policy and Enrollment Management or the Associate Dean for College Policy also serves as the committee chair. The members of the committee serve two-year staggered terms and are selected by the chairs of each division respectively. The committee meets at least once week from late-August to end-April. Depending on issues under consideration, the Policy Advisory Committee may create ad hoc or subcommittees with membership that the committee deems appropriate. The committee reports its recommendations to the dean and CHSSA Leadership Council.

2024-2025 Membership:

  • Tammy Bulger - Communication Studies
  • Glenn Harris - History
  • Nick Hudson - Art and Art History
  • Remy Kleinberg - Public and International Affairs
  • Christy Lanier - Sociology and Criminology
  • Rick Olsen - Communication Studies
  • Olga Trokhimenko - World Languages and Cultures

The Research Committee is responsible for overseeing scholarship awards and grants in the College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts. Committee members review proposals and recommend to the Dean lists of faculty that meet the criteria for Faculty Research Reassignment, any CHSSA research awards brought before it. The Research Committee consists of five faculty members who previously have been recipients of the Faculty Research Reassignment Award or other significant research awards. Members are appointed by the Dean. The Dean’s designee is the sixth ex-officio member and chair of the committee. Members are chosen from across the disciplines and serve for two years with either two or three rotating off annually. The research committee also advises the Dean and the College on research matters of interest to faculty, including collaborations with the Research and Innovation Office, CSURF, and CHSSA’s own research communities.

2024-2025 Membership:

  • Bill Alexander - Anthropology
  • Greta Bliss - World Languages and Cultures
  • Paul Castagno - Theatre
  • Danielle Daidone - World Languages and Cultures
  • Jenna Houck - Theatre
  • Mark Imperial - Public and International Affairs
  • Daniel Johnson - Music
  • Shannon Silva - Film Studies
  • Brock Ternes - Sociology and Criminology
  • Mary Collier Wilks - Sociology and Criminology

The Dean’s Student Leadership Council formed in 2015 to give students in the College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts a forum to discuss college issues, raise concerns and express their ideas with one another and with the dean. It provides an opportunity for CHSSA students and the dean to come together to address areas for improvement and identify areas of potential. Leadership Council members nominate students to be part of the council; each department is represented by up to three student council members. Students serve a one-year term and may continue upon dean’s office request. Department chairs nominate through an annual survey in early fall of the academic year.

2024-2025 Membership:

  • Evelyn Bircher
  • Anna Bresnahan
  • Allison DeMan
  • Amanda Eller
  • Barret Giehl
  • Sorai Golden
  • Bela Gonzalez
  • Emma Graham
  • Kara Gray
  • Stephanie Hunter
  • Andrew Jones
  • Foster Landis
  • Isabella Mangone
  • Kaitlyn Meehan
  • Cara Morrell
  • Kendall Muse
  • Alyssa Pope
  • Sabira Revader
  • Oda Riksfjord
  • Hannah Robinson
  • Emily Schneider
  • Glenn Smeal
  • Ashlyn Smith
  • Lillie Swindle
  • Karen Compean Throm
  • Chloe Travis
  • Olga Romero Zelaya