Departmental Committee Descriptions
Current committee assignments are shown on the Departmental Officers page.
| Colloquium: 2 faculty (one for Fall and one for Spring). | |
| Description |
Run department colloquium (4-5pm Thursdays). Contact, select and schedule speakers. Publicize talks, introduce speakers, host dinners. (Depending on the situation, organize some online alternatives.) Consult with the vice chair for faculty affairs for speakers. |
| Workload | 25 hours per semester making arrangements, plus about 20 hours attending talks and dinners |
| Curriculum: 3 faculty | |
| Description | Manage textbook selections and syllabi for lower division courses, and proposed additions and removals of courses. Monthly meetings with Head Major Advisor and advising staff. |
| Workload | 1 hour per week |
| Development and Newsletter: 2 faculty | |
| Description | Prepare the department's annual newsletter. Advise and assist the Department Chair in fundraising efforts. |
| Workload | 100 hours (total over all members) to prepare the newsletter. Variable workload for fundraising. |
| Distinguished Lectures: 3 faculty + colloquium chair (ex officio) | |
| Description |
Select speakers for Bowen, Chern, DePerna, Shing-Tung and Yu-Yun Yao, and Lang lectures. Work with staff to make travel arrangements for visitors, reserve rooms, organize social events, publicity, etc. |
| Workload | 40-50 hours (total over all members) |
| Equity and Inclusion: 3 faculty + student and staff representatives | |
| Description | Coordinate and plan activities to promote equity and inclusion in the department. Advise the department on matters pertaining to equity and inclusion. |
| Workload | Variable depending on the issues at hand. |
| Faculty Advancement: 2 faculty + department chair | |
| Description | Make recommendations and help prepare cases for promotion of ladder faculty. |
| Workload | 20 hours per member, mostly in Fall. |
| Faculty Appointments: 7 faculty + faculty vice chair + equity advisor (ex officio) | |
| Description | Seek and evaluate applicants for faculty positions. Read files, attend committee meetings and job talks, and interview candidates. Consult with the DEI committee chair about potential recruitment candidates. (There may be some online meetings over Thanksgiving weekend and winter break in order to expedite the decision process.) |
| Workload | 40-50 hours per member in November-February. |
| Graduate Admissions: 9 faculty + graduate vice chair | |
| Description | Evaluate applicants for our graduate program. Subcommittees will be formed by the vice chair as needed to fulfill the duties of the past committee MOC as well as to assist the vice chair with the initial phases of the review. |
| Workload | 25-30 hours per member, mostly in January. |
| Graduate Advising: 4 faculty | |
| Description | Each member advises a small group of first-year graduate students on selecting courses and navigating the department. In addition, on rare occasions the committee entertains requests for exceptions to graduate program policy. |
| Workload | 5-10 hours per member |
| Graduate Program Policy: 2 faculty + graduate vice chair + 1 staff member | |
| Description | Advises the vice chair on graduate program policies as needed. |
| Workload | Variable depending on issues at hand. |
| Head Major Advisor: 1 faculty | |
| Description | Counsel prospective and continuing Math and Applied Math majors, especially those requesting exceptions to the requirements for entering or completing the major. Work with undergraduate advising staff. |
| Workload | Several hours per week of advising during peak periods, otherwise slower. |
| Library representative: 1 faculty | |
| Description | Liaison with the math-stat library and the campus library system. |
| Workload | About 1 meeting per month. |
| Nominations: 3 faculty | |
| Description | Nominate faculty for appropriate prizes, fellowships, and awards. |
| Workload | 10 hours per member, mostly around August/September and March. |
| Non-Major Advisor: 1 faculty | |
| Description | Determine equivalency for students who have taken math courses at other colleges and universities. |
| Workload | 1 hour per week; a lot more around the beginning of the semester. |
| Photography: 2 faculty | |
| Description | Take pictures of new department members, produce poster. |
| Workload | 5 hours per member |
| Postdoc Appointments: 5 faculty + faculty vice chair | |
| Description | Evaluate applicants for postdoc appointments. May include some online meetings over Thanksgiving weekend or winter break. |
| Workload | Heavy during Nov-Feb. |
| Preliminary Exam: 4 faculty | |
| Description | Write and grade the prelim exam. (A separate ad hoc committee is considering reforming or eliminating the prelim exam requirement, and the prelim exam committee will be invited to advise on this.) |
| Workload | 40 hours for chair; 20 hours for other members. |
| Prizes: 2 faculty | |
| Description | Select students for departmental prizes, including the Alexander, Goldberg-Ribet, and Friedman Prizes. Seek nominations and recommendations, purchase some prizes, present prizes. |
| Workload | 30 hours total in second half of Spring semester |
| Schedule: 1 faculty | |
| Description | Schedule classes, and handle necessary changes to the teaching schedule. Cooperate with section representatives and staff, and consult with the Department Chair in special situations. |
| Workload | 50+ hours |
| Teaching: 4 faculty | |
| Description | Peer-review teaching of junior faculty, lecturers, and postdocs. Write some teaching letters, conduct classroom observations, and complete lecturer evaluations as required. |
| Workload | 15-25 hours per member |