SMFA Faculty Standing Committees
Through a set of standing committees, SMFA faculty members work closely with administrators to ensure the healthy functioning of all SMFA areas. All full-time SMFA faculty are eligible for committee service, and part-time faculty members may volunteer to serve on most committees, which are convened by the dean at the beginning of each academic year.
Committee on Community and Inclusion
- Reviews campus culture, as well as current policies and initiatives as they relate to the equitable distribution of class and campus resources and the inclusion of all students, faculty, and staff of SMFA, regardless of citizenship, race, ancestry, ethnicity, cultural expression, class, disability, place of origin, skin color, religious belief, sexual orientation, gender, age, record of offenses, marital status, and family status.
- Holds public forums, campus wide research initiatives, and related forms of knowledge gathering that inform the committee as to the experience of SMFA community members and the impact of campus culture and policy on their experience.
- Proposes relevant changes to current policies and/or propose new policies, initiatives, or public events which aim to develop a stronger sense of community and equity campus wide.
SMFA Curriculum Committee
- Continuously evaluates curriculum as a whole, focusing on the BFA program.
- Vets new courses and considers allowing courses to run once under a special number before vetting process occurs.
- Reviews linked courses, team teaching, foundational skills, directed studies.
- Reviews current SMFA block schedule and Tufts Block Schedule for possible adjustments of one or both.
A&S Committee on Curricula
- Reviews all requests for changes to the A&S curricula from faculty and departments including changes with individual courses, major/minor program requirements, and general A&S degree requirement policies.
- Assists those proposing changes to the curriculum in consulting other faculty members who teach courses with similar and potentially complementary or overlapping content.
A&S Educational Policy Committee
- Initiates, receives, reviews, and enacts policies or recommend proposed changes of educational policies to the full faculty of arts, sciences and engineering that have direct bearing on the broad patterns of education within the jurisdiction of the arts, sciences and engineering faculty as a whole.
Facilities/Tech Committee
- Advises faculty and staff on issues having to do with building plant and services as well as IT and other technology.
- Troubleshoots complex facilities and tech issues as they arise.
Faculty Review Committee
- Coordinates reviews of full and part-time faculty as needed.
- Committee members may or may not serve on individual review committees.
Graduate Curriculum and Steering Committee
- Reviews SMFA-wide curriculum, reviews and revises graduate program policies as necessary.
- Identifies courses in AS+E that might be of interest to SMFA students
- Reviews graduate faculty
Library Committee
- Advises and offers guidance on developing and sustaining the library’s mission and goals of providing access, aiding the discovery of resources, research, instruction, collection development (including special collections), use of space, and the preservation of collections.
- Serves as liaisons to faculty and other committees regarding the library’s policies, resources, and services.
Review Board Working Group
- Develops guidelines for conducting review boards and writing reports, with the goal of educating new SMFA faculty and remind continuing faculty members of their roles and duties.
- Suggests sustainable ways to lower the number of review boards that full-time faculty perform.
- Considers all other aspects of the review-board process with an eye toward continuous improvement.
Sustainability Committee
- Designs and maintains projects that address environmental concerns on the SMFA campus (Carte Util, Green Office Certification, etc.)
- Fosters dialogue about art, ecology, and the climate crisis through dedicated events (Sustainability Day) and by advertising sustainability-related courses, exhibitions, performances, lectures, etc., at SMFA.