College Structure and Organization

Academic Structure

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Western's largest academic unit, is composed of two divisions: humanities (Communication Studies, English, Global Humanities and Religions, History, Journalism, Modern and Classical Languages, Philosophy) and social and behavioral sciences (Anthropology; Communication Sciences and Disorders; Health and Human Development; Linguistics; Political Science; Psychology; Sociology). These fourteen departments and our two interdisciplinary programs, East Asian Studies and Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies, offer 70 bachelor's degrees and 13 master's degrees.

The College houses several research and service centers, including the Center for Cross-Cultural Research, the Center for Performance Excellence, and the Office of Survey Research, and two community-based professional training centers: the Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic and the Psychology Counseling Clinic. In addition, the College has five nationally accredited professional programs: School Counseling, Mental Health Counseling, Speech Pathology, Community Health, and Recreation.

College Organization

The Dean of the College  functions as an administrator, planner, leader, and spokesperson for the College, reporting to the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs. The dean is the representative of the faculty and staff of the College to the University administration and other units of the University. The dean is supported by the Associate Dean, who serves as Dean in the absence of the Dean, and the Operations Manager, who monitors the administrative activities of the College.

A department Chair is appointed on the joint recommendation of the Dean and the department to the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs. A department chair generally serves a four-year term. The department chair provides leadership for the department in planning, curriculum, faculty development, and management of the department's resources.

The Dean's Advisory Council (DAC), consisting of all department chairs and program directors in the College, advises the Dean with respect to all matters of common interest to the College, reviews organization and long-range plans, and suggests modifications where appropriate.

The business of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, apart from that conducted by its administrative office, is conducted by the Faculty Affairs Council and other faculty-led committees including the Curriculum Council, Computer Advisory Committee, Post-Tenure Review Committee, Professional Leave Committee, Scholarship Committee, and the Tenure and Promotion Committee. The members of these councils and committees, who represent the faculty of the College, are selected from tenure-track or tenured faculty in its departments.

Faculty and staff may access college resources on the CHSS SharePoint Site