Faculty Bylaws

Faculty Bylaws
Institute for the Study of the Ancient World

Preamble

These faculty bylaws (the “Faculty Bylaws”) for the Institute of the Study of the Ancient World (“ISAW”) of New York University (the “University”) are designed to provide a framework for the faculty’s conduct of its business. The Faculty Bylaws describe the roles and responsibilities of the faculty and administrative officers of ISAW, establish standing committees and methods of their appointment, and establish other rules and procedures for faculty governance.

The Faculty Bylaws are subject to the bylaws of the University (the “University Bylaws”) and University policies and procedures (the “University Policies”), including but not limited to those set forth in the Faculty Handbook. Where there is a conflict between the Faculty Bylaws and the University Bylaws or University Policies, University Bylaws and University Policies control.

I. The Faculty

A. Members

The members of the faculty of ISAW are comprised of its Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty, Full-Time Non-Tenure Track/Contract Faculty, and Other Faculty, as more fully described in the University Bylaws:

1. Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty (“T-Faculty”) consists of Professors, Associate Professors, and Assistant Professors who have full-time appointments at the University (which includes such faculty on sabbatical and leave) and either have been awarded permanent tenure, or are eligible to be considered for permanent or continuous tenure, in accordance with University procedures for the awarding of such tenure.
   
   
2. Full-Time Non-Tenure Track/Contract Faculty (N/C-Faculty) consists of faculty who are not T-Faculty and who have full-time appointments at the University, have titles or appointments that do not prohibit indefinite contract renewals (although promotion within the appointment category, such as from assistant to associate, may be required for renewal), and are not visiting faculty (including persons who have tenure or are on the tenure track at another institution and persons who are on leave from another institution or a company).
   
   
3. Other Faculty (“O-Faculty”) consists of faculty who are not T-Faculty or N/C-Faculty, and may include emeritus faculty, adjunct and other part-time faculty, faculty whose titles or appointments prohibit indefinite contract renewals, temporary faculty, visiting faculty, instructors, and full-time researchers while they maintain a secondary faculty title.
   
   
4. Ex Officio members of each faculty (and any subset of them) consists of the President and Chancellor of the University (the “President”); the Provost of the University (the “Provost”); the Director of ISAW (the “Director”); and a deputy, senior, or vice provost liaison who has pertinent academic responsibilities as selected by the Provost. Where another class of faculty is referenced in these Bylaws, it shall be deemed to also include the Ex Officio members.
   
   
5. Joint Faculty (“J-Faculty”) consists of T-Faculty at the University whose primary academic home is another school or institute of the University, but who have a cross appointment at ISAW that was approved by vote of the faculty pursuant to procedures described in Section II hereof, subject to the approval of the Provost. J-Faculty may participate in ISAW’s degree programs and will have certain formal obligations to ISAW on the basis of their joint faculty designation.
   
   
6. Associated and Affiliated Faculty (“A-Faculty”) consists of University faculty, other than J-Faculty, whose primary academic home is not ISAW but who have a cross appointment at ISAW that was approved by vote of the faculty pursuant to procedures described in Section II hereof, subject to the approval of the Provost. The privileges and duties of an Associated Faculty member are as agreed between ISAW and the primary academic home of the Associated Faculty member, in accordance with University policy; Affiliated Faculty normally have no formal obligations.

B. T-Faculty Responsibilities

Subject to the approval of the University Board of Trustees (the “University Board”) and to University Bylaws and Policies, it is the responsibility of the T-Faculty to determine entrance requirements for ISAW’s degree programs, to determine courses of study to be pursued and the standards of academic achievement to be attained for the degrees, to prepare the schedule of courses, to make and enforce rules for the guidance and conduct of the students, and to certify to the President, for recommendation to the University Board if required, qualified candidates for degrees. T-Faculty may carry out these responsibilities in consultation with N/C-Faculty, as appropriate.

II. Faculty Meetings

A. Meetings of the Faculty

1. University Bylaws
   
   The University Bylaws provide that each of the T-Faculty and the N/C-Faculty may hold its own faculty meetings and determine the voting privileges at such meetings of its members, and also may grant rights of attendance and voting privileges to other categories of faculty of ISAW as it determines, in all cases subject to the rights of the Ex Officio members of the faculty as set forth in the University’s Bylaws. The Director may hold faculty meetings and invite the T-Faculty and/or the F/C-Faculty, as well as of any subset of a category of faculty, in all cases subject to the rights of the Ex Officio members of the faculty as set forth in the University’s Bylaws. The provisions in Article II of these Bylaws apply to joint meetings of the T-Faculty and N/C-Faculty (and to other Director-held faculty meetings).
   
   
2. Frequency of Meetings and Notice
   
   The Director will call joint meetings of the T-Faculty and N/C-Faculty at least three (3) times each semester. Prior to the beginning of each academic year, the Director will prepare a calendar of meetings for that year. The Secretary will distribute this calendar to all members of the faculty eligible to attend. The Director may make changes to the calendar with at least one (1) week prior notice to all members of the faculty. Meetings also may also be held upon the request of three (3) members of the faculty who are either T-Faculty or N/C-Faculty (together, the “T-N/C-Faculty”) with at least one (1) week’s notice.
   
   a. Emergency Meetings
   
   The Director may call emergency meetings of the T-N/C-Faculty (or other faculty). Notification of the time, location, and items of business of the emergency meeting will be directed to all T-N/C-Faculty (or other faculty) members eligible to vote at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance of the meeting. The designated orders of business of any emergency meeting will be the only matters under consideration at such meeting.
   
   
3. Conduct of Meetings
   
   Joint meetings of the T/N-C Faculty (or other faculty) meetings are chaired by the Director, or in the absence of the Director, by the Vice-Director, if any, and failing either of those, by the Director’s designee from among tenured faculty. At a faculty meeting, faculty action will occur by majority vote, provided that a quorum is present. There will be no voting by proxy.
   
   
4. Meeting Agenda
   
   The Director will prepare and circulate the agenda for each meeting at least one (1) day in advance of the meeting.
   
   

B. Voting, Attendance, and Speaking at Faculty Meetings

1. General Rule
   
   In the case of joint meetings of the T-Faculty and N/C-Faculty, the T-Faculty, N/C Faculty, and J Faculty can attend, speak, and vote (and in the case of other faculty meetings, the relevant faculty can attend, speak and vote), except as described below.
   
   
2. O-Faculty
   
   O-Faculty may be invited by the Director to attend certain faculty meetings, as deemed appropriate by the Director, but may speak at the meeting only on matters affecting them.
   
   
3. A-Faculty
   
   A-Faculty members may be invited by the Director to attend certain faculty meetings, as deemed appropriate by the Director, but may speak at the meeting only on matters affecting them.
   
   
4. Other Limitations on Attendance and Voting.
   
   Notwithstanding the above: only T-Faculty may vote on hiring Tenure Track Faculty (i.e., associate professors and assistant professors who have full-time faculty appointments at the University and currently are not tenured but who may be eligible to be considered for permanent or continuous tenure at the University in accordance with University procedures for the awarding of such tenure); only tenured faculty may vote on the awarding of tenure; only full Professors with tenure may vote on promotion to full Professor within the T-Faculty and on the awarding of tenure to a faculty member hired as a full Professor hired with tenure; and no faculty member may vote on a matter directly or indirectly affecting the individual’s candidacy for a degree or his or her status on the faculty of the University. The Director may inform a T-Faculty or N/CFaculty member that it is inappropriate for the person to attend and/or speak at a faculty meeting, or portion thereof, where the person has a conflict of interest as to the matter under discussion (including a matter directly or indirectly affecting the individual’s candidacy for a degree or his or her status on the faculty of the University).
   
   
5. Roster of Faculty
   
   The roster of faculty members entitled to vote will be prepared and maintained on a current basis by the Director, will be submitted to the University Secretary and General Counsel for verification and filing in the official records, and will be available for reference at each faculty meeting.
   
   

C. Quorum and Participation by Telephone or Videoconference

At a joint meeting of the T-Faculty and N/C-Faculty, a majority of the T-N/C-Faculty members of ISAW eligible to vote constitutes a quorum; provided, however, that (i) the Ex Officio Faculty who are not otherwise T-N/C-Faculty members of ISAW and (ii) T-N/C-Faculty members of ISAW on sabbatical or leave will both be excluded from the total number of eligible voters unless they are present at the meeting. (At other faculty meetings, a majority of the relevant faculty with analogous exclusions constitutes a quorum.) T-N/C-Faculty members may participate in a joint meeting of the T-Faculty and N/C-Faculty by means of conference telephone, videoconferencing, or similar communications equipment, provided that all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other, and participation by such means will constitute presence in person at such meeting (and at other faculty meetings held by the Director, the relevant faculty similarly may participate by means of such conference telephone or similar communications equipment).

D. Unanimous Consent

Any action required or permitted to be taken by faculty entitled to vote may be taken without a meeting, if all members of the faculty entitled to vote individually or collectively consent in writing to such action. Such written consent or consents will be filed with the minutes of the proceedings of the faculty. Such action by written consent will have the same force and effect as the unanimous vote of the faculty.

E. Minutes

The Secretary of the faculty will keep minutes of all faculty meetings. Minutes will be circulated by the Secretary in advance of the next meeting to members of the faculty who were permitted to attend the prior meeting, and approval of the minutes will be the first order of business at each meeting. Copies of the minutes will be retained in the records of ISAW and be open for consultation by the members of the faculty who were permitted to attend such meeting. Copies of the minutes of each meeting will be sent to the President and the Provost.

III. The Administrative Officers 

A. Director

The Director, who holds the rank of University dean and will be a member of the senior leadership of the University reporting to the Provost of the University, will be appointed by the President with the approval of the University Board and in accordance with the customary procedures of the University. The Director will have direct access to the President on matters of ISAW policy that affect the interests of the University. The Director will: be the chief academic and administrative officer of ISAW; be responsible for carrying out the policies of the University and of ISAW; preside at faculty meetings and supervise the work of faculty; make recommendations to the President and Provost for the appointment, promotion, dismissal, and retirement of faculty and administration in the faculty; execute such rules as the faculty may from time to time duly adopt; and in general administer the affairs of ISAW subject to the direction of the President, the rules of the faculty, and the University Policies and University Bylaws. The Director will be responsible for the timely submission of a proposed budget of anticipated income and expenses for the ensuing year, including recommendations with respect to the rank and salaries of faculty and administration in the faculty; and will join with other deans in making recommendations as to the rank and salaries of faculty members who are on the faculty of ISAW and one or more other faculties.

Prior to the appointment of the officers below, the offices of vice director and secretary will be created by the President on recommendation of the Provost, as delegated by the University Board.

B. Vice Director

A Vice Director may be appointed by the Director from among the tenured faculty for a term stated at the time of appointment. The Vice Director will take the place of the Director in case of the latter’s incapacity or, at the Director’s discretion, in his or her absence, and may act as the Director’s delegate in other matters.

C. Director of Graduate Studies

The Director of Graduate Studies (“DGS”) will be appointed annually by the Director, with the approval of the faculty. The DGS is responsible for the conduct of the doctoral program under the policies adopted by the faculty. 

D. Secretary

A Secretary will be appointed annually from among the T-Faculty by the Director, with the approval of the faculty. The Secretary is responsible for preparing and distributing minutes, distributing the meeting calendar and maintaining records of faculty and committee meetings.

IV. The Faculty Committees 

A. Committees Generally

There will be the following standing committees of the faculty, whose members will be appointed annually by the Director, subject to the approval of the faculty eligible for membership on the committee (as described below): Committee on Admissions, Committee for the Selection of Visiting Research Scholars, and Committee on Exhibitions. The faculty may establish additional standing committees from time to time, whose members will be appointed annually by the Director, subject to the approval of the faculty eligible for membership on the committee. The Director will be an ex officio, non-voting member of all standing committees. The actions of the standing committees are advisory to the Director and the full applicable faculty. Ad hoc committees may be established, and members appointed, by the Director at any time for specific purposes and with a term ending on August 31 of that academic year, which term may be extended or reconstituted by the Director at the end of the academic year for an additional term not to exceed one (1) academic year. In the case of all committees, a quorum will be a majority of the committee members entitled to vote, and committee action will occur by majority vote, provided that a quorum is present. Committee members may participate in a meeting by means of conference telephone, videoconferencing, or similar communications equipment, provided that all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other, and participation by such means will constitute presence in person at such meeting. The Director can remove any committee members, subject to approval by faculty members eligible to vote.

B. Standing Committees

1. Committee on Admissions
   
   There will be a standing Committee on Admissions for the doctoral program, consisting of between three and five T-N/C-Faculty members and chaired by a faculty member to be appointed by the Director.
   
   
2. Committee for the Selection of Visiting Research Scholars
   
   There will be a standing Committee for the Selection of Visiting Research Scholars, consisting of between three and five T-N/C-Faculty members and chaired by a tenured faculty member. This committee will advise on the selection of visiting and other nonpermanent academic appointees, subject to the approval of the Provost.
   
   
3. Committee on Exhibitions
   
   There will be a standing Committee on Exhibitions, chaired by a tenured faculty member and consisting of between three and five T-N/C-Faculty members, drawn both from the ISAW faculty and from outside it, such as an Advisory Committee member, a curator from an outside institution, or a director from an outside institution. The committee will advise the Exhibitions Director, the Director, and the Leon Levy Foundation on all matters pertinent to ISAW’s program of exhibitions.
   
   
4. Tenured/Tenure Track (T) Faculty Disciplinary Committee
   
   There will be a Tenured/Tenure Track (T) Faculty Disciplinary Committee whose duties are outlined in the NYU Faculty Handbook. The committee will consist of three members, including the ISAW Vice Director (if eligible) and two other T-faculty members. Non-ex officio appointments of committee members will be decided by an annual vote of ISAW's T-faculty.
   
   

C. Ad Hoc Committees

1. Committees on Hiring, Promotion, and Tenure
   
   The faculty members eligible for appointment to an ad hoc committee considering a hiring, promotion, or tenure matter depend on the faculty member under review (as described below); and the chair of each such committee must be a tenured faculty member eligible for appointment to the ad hoc committee, as described below. Only tenured faculty may consider a matter related to a tenured faculty member; only full Professors with tenure may consider a matter related to a full Professor with tenure; only associate or full Professors with tenure may consider a matter related to an associate Professor with tenure; and only T-N/C-Faculty may consider a matter related to an N/CFaculty member. The appointment of committees to consider the promotion or tenure of faculty members is governed by the ISAW policy on promotion and tenure.
   
   
2. Director Search Committee
   
   From time to time, the President will appoint a search committee for a new Director, who must be, or become at the time of appointment, a tenured member of the ISAW faculty.
   
   

V. Amendments 

These Faculty Bylaws may be amended by a vote of a majority of the T-N/C-Faculty of ISAW. Any T-N/C-Faculty member can propose an amendment. Proposed amendments will be circulated to all T-N/C-Faculty members at least one (1) week in advance of the meeting at which they are to be discussed. All amendments are subject to the approval of the Provost.

Adopted February 6, 2012; Amended October 7, 2014; Amended December 2, 2014; Amended August 9, 2017; Amended February 3, 2026.