Faculty and Special Advisory Committees
Faculty Committees
The faculty committees are under the auspices of the Faculty Senate. Membership and means of appointment are given in the USC Columbia Faculty Manual. Faculty Committees are governed by the faulty of the university with membership of these committees listed on the Office of the Faculty Senate webpage.
Special Advisory Committees
Special advisory committees, convened by or primarily supported by the Office of the Provost, the president, or other administrative offices, oversee campus operations with the involvement of faculty, staff, and students. If you are interested in serving on one of these committees, please contact the appropriate chair or designated contact person.
Purpose
The Task Force is charged with developing comprehensive, research-based guidelines for faculty on the use of AI tools in teaching and learning. Key considerations will include academic integrity, privacy, accessibility, and the potential impact on teaching, learning, and research.
Membership
Name Title Department Adrian Anderson Coordinator for Academic Integrity Student Conduct and Academic Integrity Aisha Haynes, Ph.D. (Co-Chair) Associate Director of CTE, Director of Distributed Learning Center for Teaching Excellence Alamir Novin, Ph.D. Assistant Professor College of Information and Communications Charlie Pierce, Ph.D. (Chair) Faculty Director of ECC, Associate Professor Civil and Environmental Engineering Dana Talbert Director Student Success Center Drew Martin, Ph.D. Interim Faculty Director of AI Research and Education Professor College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sports Management Emily Manetta, Ph.D. Professor and Director of Linguistics Program Department of English Language and Literature Hayes Hampton, Ph.D. Director of Advisement USC Sumter, English Helen Powers Director Career Center Hengtao Tang, Ph.D. Associate Professor Leadership, Learning Design, and Inquiry; College of Education Mark Uline, Ph.D. Interim Chair, Biomedical Engineering; Professor, Chemical Engineering Molinari College of Engineering and Computing Marsha Purday Instructor College of Information and Communications Meena Khalili Associate Professor School of Visual Art and Design Michael Stoeltzner, Ph.D. Professor, Chair of the Faculty Appellate Panel Department of Philosophy Ozgur Ince, Ph.D. Clinical Associate Professor Darla Moore School of Business (Finance) Wolfgang Messner, Ph.D. Clinical Professor Darla Moore School of Business (International Business) Meetings
The Task Force meets every three weeks.
Contact Information
Questions can be directed to Dr. Charlie Pierce.
Purpose
The Associate/Assistant Deans Council is a self-organized committee that provides a forum for the deans of undergraduate academic programs to discuss common issues, to make recommendations concerning undergraduate academic affairs to the University administration and appropriate faculty committees, and to respond to proposals related to undergraduate academic affairs submitted by members of the University community.
The Council's Role is to:
- Promote and support undergraduate education from an academic and advising standpoint;
- Problem-solve and improve the undergraduate educational experience;
- Act as a sounding board and provide suggestions to constituents involved in the undergraduate educational experience;
- Serve as a communication point regarding issues that impact undergraduate academics;
- Facilitate cross-college knowledge regarding undergraduate curriculum and academic policy.
Membership
Name Title Department Ed Short (ex officio) Senior Associate Registrar for Scheduling and Operations Office of the Registrar Andrea Tanner Associate Dean South Carolina Honors College Ben Roth Associate Dean for Curriculum College of Social Work Brian Shelton Assistant Dean for Student Services Darla Moore School of Business Bridget Miller Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs Arnold School of Public Health Christy Friend (Chair) Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies McCausland College of Arts and Sciences Claire Robinson (ex officio) Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Advising University Advising Center Julie Sease Senior Associate Dean College of Pharmacy Kathy Smiling Assistant Dean of Student Services College of Hospitality, Retail & Sport Management Lara Lomicka Anderson Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies Office of the Provost Melissa Moss Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs Molinaroli College of Engineering & Computing Robin Dawson Associate Dean for Academics College of Nursing Ryan Carlson Associate Dean for Academic Affairs College of Education Steve Lowe Director of Liberal Studies and Organizational Leadership Palmetto College Susan Rathbun-Grubb Acting Associate Dean for Academic Affairs College of Information and Communications Tina Stallard Associate Dean and Director of Undergraduate Studies School of Music Meetings
The committee meets six times per year: September, October, November, February, March, and April.
The Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) is comprised of representatives of the administrative divisions, Palmetto College and Comprehensive Universities, Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, and General Counsel and includes a student representative. This committee, chaired by the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs on behalf of the Provost, is charged to consult with university offices on proposals for new, revised and repealed policies to consider whether they are necessary and aligned with institutional mission, goals and priorities; that policies are concise, consistent in format and scope, and easy to understand; to identify constituencies and other policies that may be affected; and to make recommendations to appropriate offices. The PAC also assists with dissemination and sharing feedback regarding policies.
A list of responsible officers and policy liaisons for university policies is published with the Policies and Procedures Manual.
Purpose
This task force will lead the way in the development of a policy and review process for priority registration moving forward to ensure that the priority registration population is reduced; thus, allowing students have fair access to academic courses.
Membership
Name Title Department Ed Short Senior Associate Registrar for Scheduling and Operations Office of the Registrar Christy Friend, Ph.D. Professor, Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies Department of English Language and Literature Courtney Tkacs Student Body Vice President Undergraduate Student Jacob Vaught Student Undergraduate Student Joshua Weakland Advising Coordinator Advising Department Lara Lomicka Anderson, Ph.D. Vice Provost Office of the Provost Marc Shook, Ph.D. Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Division of Student Affairs Matthew Boylan, Ph.D. Professor Department of Mathematics Maura Hamilton Student Undergraduate Student Shelley Dempsey, Ph.D. Assistant Provost for Graduation and Retention Graduation and Retention Network Meetings
The Task Force meets as needed.
Contact Information
Questions can be directed to co-chairs Dr. Lara Lomicka Anderson or Dr. Aaron Marterer.
Purpose
The Provost’s Advisory Committee for Interdisciplinary Studies (PACIS) serves in an advisory role to the provost on issues related to the undergraduate interdisciplinary certificates. The committee is also responsible for accreditation and assessment as they relate to the certificates.
PACIS consists of representatives from each College at USC-Columbia, as well as representatives from the Office of the Provost. They meet once a semester to:
- Review courses submitted for addition, deletion, or revision.
- Consider requests for courses to be added to, deleted from, or revised/updated (e.g., change in prerequisite). These requests are directed to the committee co-chairs.
The committee has determined that:
- Course substitutions are not allowed for the courses on the approved course list for each certificate.
- Transfer courses determined to be equivalent to an approved course for a certificate may be applied to that certificate. Courses cross-listed with an approved course for a certificate may also be applied to that certificate.
Learn more about Interdisciplinary Certificates or see answers to frequently asked questions.
Membership
Name Title Department Ed Short Senior Associate Registrar for Scheduling and Operations Office of the Registrar Alexandria Carrico, Ph.D. Assistant Professor School of Music Andrea Tanner Assistant Dean Honors College Angela Baum, Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair) Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Professor College of Education Ben Roth, Ph.D. Associate Dean for Curriculum, Professor College of Social Work Bridget Miller, Ph.D Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs, Clinical Associate Professor Arnold School of Public Health Claudia Benitez-Nelson, Ph.D. Senior Associate Dean for College Initiatives, Interdisciplinary Programs Distinguished Professor McCausland College of Arts and Sciences Julie Sease, Pharm.D. Director, Interprofessional Education Clinical, Associate Professor College of Pharmacy Karen Edwards, J.D. Interim Associate Dean of Academic Programs, Senior Instructor College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management Lara Lomicka Anderson, Ph.D. Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs Office of the Provost Deborah Hazzard Associate Dean Darla Moore School of Business Melissa Moss, Ph.D. Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing Robin Dawson, Ph.D. Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Accreditation, Professor College of Nursing Ron Cox, Ph.D. Dean Palmetto College Shelley Dempsey, Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair) Assistant Provost for Graduation and Retention GARNET Sonya Brown Interim Assistant Dean for Curriculum McCausland College of Arts and Sciences Susan Rathbun-Grubb, Ph.D. Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (interim) College of Information and Communication Meetings
The committee meets each semester to review courses that have been requested for addition or deletion.
Contact Information
Questions can be directed to co-chairs Dr. Shelley Dempsey and Dr. Angela Baum.
Purpose
The committee bases its work on the research of the Student Experience Project with an interest in transforming instruction to best serve all students in their goal of timely graduation.
Membership
Name Title Department Amanda P. Zeigler, Ph.D. Director Undergraduate Studies, Biological Sciences Brett Robertson, Ph.D. Assistant Professor School of Journalism and Mass Communications Charlie Pierce, Ph.D. Faculty Director of ECC, Associate Professor Civil and Environmental Engineering Juan Caicedo, Ph.D. Department Chair, Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Molinari College of Engineering and Computing Lara Lomicka Anderson, Ph.D. Vice Provost Office of the Provost Matthew Boylan, Ph.D. Professor and Assistant Chair Department of Mathematics Michelle Bryan, Ph.D. Associate Vice President, Associate Professor College of Education Office of Access and Opportunities Mitchell Dallas Herring, Ed.D. Instructional Designer Center for Teaching Excellence Sarah Carroll, Ph.D. Clinical Associate Professor Economics Shelley Dempsey, Ph.D. Assistant Provost for Graduation and Retention Graduation and Retention Network Silvia-Patricia Rios-Husein, Ph.D. Associate Vice President for Student Success Student Affairs and Academic Support Tammi Richardson, Ph.D. Professor, Chair of Biological Science Dept. Department of Biological Sciences Meetings
The Working Group meets twice a semester.
Contact Information
Questions can be directed to Dr. Lara Lomicka Anderson or Dr. Shelley Dempsey.