Office of the Provost
Administration
The Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President is charged with developing, implementing, and reviewing academic policies and programs. The Provost serves as the Chief Academic Officer of the university. The office coordinates academic deans and directors and informs and advises the President on academic matters. The office is responsible for academic personnel and budgetary matters, including support areas such as the Libraries; the Graduate School; the Teaching, Learning, and Professional Development Center; TTU Online; International Affairs; Institutional Effectiveness; Academic Innovation and Student Success; Faculty Success; Outreach and Engagement; the Museum of Texas Tech University; the Humanities Center; the National Ranching Heritage Center; TTU Press; the Institute for Studies in Pragmaticism; and Official Publications. Student Life also reports to the Provost.
Academic Structure
The principal administrative officer of each of the colleges and schools of the university
is the dean. Faculty are assigned to each college and school. The Davis College of
Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources; the Whitacre College of Engineering; and
the Colleges of Arts & Sciences, Education, Health & Human Sciences, and Media & Communication
are organized into instructional departments or divisions administered by chairpersons.
The College of Health & Human Sciences also has one school administered by a director.
The J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts is structured with
three schools administered by directors. The organizational pattern for the Rawls
College of Business includes areas of instruction, headed by area coordinators. The
Huckabee College of Architecture, Honors College, School of Law, and School of Veterinary
Medicine are organized as single units.
Department chairpersons, school directors, and area coordinators are recommended by
the dean of the appropriate college and appointed by the Provost, in accordance with
OP 32.03. They serve in their administrative roles without tenure and at the discretion of
the dean. The dean reviews chairpersons, school directors, and area coordinators annually.
Each department chairperson, school director, and area coordinator, in cooperation
with the faculty, is responsible for supervising the activities of the department,
school, or area; developing curriculum; advising students; preparing department budget
requests; evaluating the performance of the faculty and staff on an annual basis;
recommending tenure, promotion, and continuing appointment; recommending merit increases
and post-tenure reviews; and initiating appointment recommendations (OPs 32.03, 32.06, 32.32).
Academic Council
The Academic Council serves in an advisory capacity to the Provost on matters related
to academic policies and procedures. The Council considers requests for changes to
existing or the addition of new degree programs and recommends course additions, changes,
and deletions. The Council also considers matters of enrollment management, recruitment
and retention, off-campus and distance education, core curriculum, faculty development,
and academic services.
The Academic Council, chaired by the Vice Provost for Administrative Affairs, is composed
of voting members who broadly represent Texas Tech University’s colleges, schools,
faculty, students, and key institutional offices. Voting members include one associate
or assistant dean for academic affairs (or equivalent) from each of the following
academic areas: Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Huckabee
College of Architecture, Arts & Sciences, Rawls College of Business Administration,
Education, Whitacre College of Engineering, Graduate School, Honors, Health & Human
Sciences, Media & Communication, Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts, Professional
Studies, School of Law, School of Veterinary Medicine, and University Libraries. In
addition, one representative from each of the following institutional offices serves
as a voting member: Dean of Students, Athletics, Registrar, Institutional Research,
and Information Technology. The Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, Advising Council, and
Student Government Association each appoint one representative annually as voting
members of the Academic Council.
Chairs Council
The Chairs Council is convened by the Vice Provost for Faculty Success and provides opportunity for department chairs, school directors, and area coordinators to interact on a monthly basis and with administrative leadership as necessary on a variety of academic affairs matters that directly involve these unit leaders.
Associate Deans Council
The Associate Deans Council is convened by the Vice Provost for Academic Innovation and Student Success and provides opportunity for associate deans to interact on a monthly basis with vice provosts, associate and assistant vice provosts, and other guest attendees on a variety of academic affairs matters that directly involve these unit leaders. Unit leaders are also asked to bring items for discussion.
Faculty Ombudsperson
The Faculty Ombudsperson acts as an independent, impartial, confidential, and informal resource for faculty who are dealing with any work-related difficulty, including interpersonal conflict or academic or administrative concerns. The Faculty Ombudsperson advises both the Provost and the President of the Faculty Senate on matters concerning faculty welfare.
Faculty Senate
The Faculty Senate is composed of senators representing the voting faculty of Texas Tech University. The voting faculty are those who have completed at least one year in a full-time appointment in a tenure-track or tenured position, including librarians and archivists who hold appointments that make them eligible for tenure, and those in a full-time, non-tenure-track faculty position who are eligible for continuing appointment by virtue of serving six or more consecutive years in the faculty position.
The Texas Tech University Faculty Senate is a member of the Council of Faculty Governance Organizations.
Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs
The Vice Provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs and Dean of the Graduate School is responsible for coordinating graduate admissions, programs, advising, and events of Texas Tech University. The Graduate School administers policies related to graduate faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows, and provides professional development opportunities for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
Graduate Faculty. Graduate Faculty are responsible for the graduate instruction of the university. Members participate in all phases of the graduate program, assist in determining policy, and elect members to the Graduate Council. Membership is a means of recognizing faculty members for scholarly and creative activity, direction of graduate research and study, and other contributions to the graduate programs of the university.
University-wide criteria for graduate faculty membership are (1) possession of the terminal academic degree in the field or recognition for substantive and distinctive contributions to the discipline involved, (2) evidence of current interest and involvement in scholarly research or creative productivity, and (3) successful experience in the teaching, counseling, and/or direction of students at the graduate level.
Graduate Council. The Graduate Council, assisted by the graduate faculty, is responsible for formulating the policies of the Graduate School and the requirements for graduate degrees. These policies are administered by the Graduate Dean.
The Graduate Council is composed of 14 voting members. The graduate faculty elects 11 members (three-year, non-renewable terms), the Graduate Dean appoints two (two-year terms), and the Faculty Senate elects one from its graduate faculty membership (one-year, renewable term). The Graduate Dean is ex officio and chairs the Council. Other ex officio members include the following: the Provost (or designee), associate deans, and representatives from the Library, the Law School, the School of Veterinary Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, and others appointed by the Dean. The Graduate Vice President for the Student Government Association and the President of the Graduate Assembly also serve as ex officio members.
Elected members serve three years and are not eligible for immediate reelection unless they have been chosen to fill an unexpired term. Appointed members serve two years. By a system of rotation, some new members join the Council each year, replacing those whose terms have expired.
University Councils and Committees
Standing councils and committees are appointed to serve the needs and interests of
Texas Tech University. These bodies, most of which have faculty, student, and administrative
representation, are an important element in the effective functioning of the institution.
The collective ability, knowledge, and competency of council and committee members
are an invaluable resource to the administration. By their membership on university
councils and committees, faculty members participate in and contribute substantially
to the activities and operations of the university, especially in academic affairs.
Councils and committees are advisory bodies, unless specifically charged with other
responsibilities. It is not intended that they assume the authority and responsibility
assigned to offices within the administrative structure of the university. Ideas and
suggestions from these bodies are, however, of great value to administrators in their
continuing efforts to improve operations of the institution and in broadening the
base for decision making. In addition to contributing to the orderly and objective
administration of the university, councils and committees afford the members an opportunity
to participate in the governance process, to enhance their personal and professional
growth, and to broaden their knowledge of the operations and activities of the institution.
Details of the councils and committees are contained in the Directory of Standing Councils and Committees. The directory should be consulted for the latest and most accurate information on
councils and committees because membership, responsibilities, and administrative procedures
are subject to change. Each entry in the directory specifies how a council or committee
membership is determined.
In addition, the Faculty Senate and Staff Senate have standing committees, but they are not standing committees of the university.
Faculty and Staff Senate committees are listed on the respective websites for each
group.
Official Publications
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Address
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Email
officialpublications@ttu.edu