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Charter and Bylaws

At the 2015 Annual General Meeting, these guidelines were approved through consensus by the members of the Centre for Digital Humanities.

 

CHARTER

Collaboration

  • Principle 1: We will work collaboratively. That is, we want and need to learn from one another.
  • Principle 2: As a DH centre in a university setting, we place a high priority on fostering graduate and undergraduate student research development in all areas (including in the acquisition of collaborative skills).
  • Principle 3: Members are people who sign the charter; that is, membership in the Centre is defined by an individual’s acceptance of the principles, policies, and practices of the Centre.
  • Principle 4: Research Assistants (RAs) are encouraged to sign the project charter when they begin their work with a Centre-affiliated project and thus become members. They are also encouraged to expand their participation in the Centre beyond their RA activities, in ways that benefit both their professional development and the Centre. RAs who sign the charter are CDH Student Fellows.
  • Principle 5: In preparing grant applications for our Centre-affiliated projects, we will strive to include collaborators from the library, community, and the graduate student body wherever possible. We will also strive to include budget lines for resources that can be of use to the Centre generally, such as equipment and funding for Centre management.
  • Principle 6: We will strive to keep the administrative structure of the Centre as simple and as non-hierarchal as the needs of the Centre permit. We will make decisions by consensus wherever possible.

 

Credit

  • Principle 1: The Centre will be credited as a supporter or sponsor of all CDH-affiliated projects and related publications.
  • Principle 2: All Centre members will be listed on the Centre's website, including dates and roles; the website provides an ongoing record of contributors and contributions.

 

Documentation

  • Principle 1: The Centre will document its activities through the website, meeting minutes, the Annual Report, and other means, as appropriate.
  • Principle 2: All documents, including working documents, generated by the Centre will always be accessible to current Centre members.

 

Communication

  • Principle 1: We will strive for transparency in decision-making and communication.
  • Principle 2: We will strive to disseminate our work as widely as possible, and to reflect the interdisciplinary nature of our work in the way we disseminate it.
  • Principle 3: We will strive to produce open access scholarship wherever possible.

 

BY-LAWS

MANDATE

The Centre's primary activity is to facilitate scholarly research and creative activity (SRC) at TMU involving the use of digital technology to explore subjects of relevance to the humanities. The Centre facilitates this activity by fostering a vibrant research community through networking, collaboration, annual activities (meetings, workshops, symposia), and research support. The Centre supports individual and collaborative research projects through membership, ongoing consultation, and research infrastructure. The following by-laws are intended to enable the effective fulfillment of the Centre's mandate.

Membership

Centre Membership is obtained by application to or invitation by the Director(s). There is a range of categories of membership, depending on the member's activities and status. Membership is reviewed annually; any changes are reported at the Annual General Meeting.

Research Fellows:

Research Fellows pursue an active research project affiliated with the Centre. Research Fellows are expected to contribute to the annual activities of the Centre, including regular meetings, special events, and the Annual General Meeting. They present on their research projects at Centre events and provide progress reports on their Centre-affiliated projects for the Centre's Annual Report.

Senior Research Fellows:

Senior Research Fellows are emeritus faculty (from TMU or elsewhere) who have been given adjunct status at TMU and who pursue an active research project affiliated with the Centre.

Members:

Members are TTMU personnel who contribute to and support the Centre's viability by making accessible to the Centre and its members relevant expertise.

Associate Members:

Associate Members are non-TMU personnel who contribute to and support the Centre's viability by making accessible to the Centre and its members relevant expertise.

Student Fellows:

Upon signing the charter, students at the undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate level who are involved as research assistants in Centre-affiliated research projects are given CDH Student Fellow status for the duration of their assistantships. Students may also apply to the Directors to develop student-led research projects within the Centre. The Centre will strive to provide appropriate support, such as mentorship and training

 

Governance


Given that the direction of the Centre is undertaken as an additional service responsibility above and beyond regular teaching and service loads, the Directorship is beyond the capacity of one faculty member. Accordingly, the Centre will normally be directed by three Co-Directors, each of whom will be responsible for the maintenance of up-to-date records in their individual jurisdictions:

Co-Director, Outreach:

responsible for liaising with internal and external partners, including CentreNet and DHSI; building community and networks; promoting the Centre's profile; and organizing the Annual General Meetings and Advisory Board Meetings.

Co-Director, Programming:

responsible for planning and coordinating the annual activities of the Centre (workshops, symposia, etc) and keeping records thereof; soliciting new members; maintaining membership lists; and scheduling regular meetings with minutes.

Co-Director, Administration and Finance:

responsible for the oversight of the Centre's cost centre; drafting the Annual Report; managing the Centre financial records; and identifying and coordinating funding opportunities and grant applications.

Directors shall be appointed for 3-year terms with an optional 2 –year extension at the consensus of the membership. Members wishing to undertake a co-directorship at the conclusion of a term may declare their candidacy prior to the AGM. There is no limitation on how many terms (consecutive or not) a co-director can undertake.

 

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee (EC) advises the Centre membership on requests/suggestions for membership, projects that wish to become affiliated with the Centre, annual events and others as they arise. Membership consists of the Co-Directors, one Research Fellow, one regular Member, and one member from one of the other membership categories. EC members are appointed by consensus of the membership, or by vote if necessary.

 

Advisory Board

Advisory Board (AB) members represent key stakeholders at Ryerson and in the Digital Humanities community who are not directly involved with the Centre's activities. They sit at the invitation of the directors. The size of the Board can range from 5 to 9 members. AB members sit for three-year terms (renewable). The AB convenes annually to review the Centre's Annual Report and provide advice for future Centre development.

 

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of the membership is an opportunity to review and inform members of the past year's activities, discuss further plans for the Centre, and reach consensus about Centre memberships and the composition of its various governance roles and bodies.