Proposal for The Kennesaw Tower, the Undergraduate Foreign Language Research
Journal at Kennesaw State University.
Proposal submitted by Dr. Robert Simon, Editor-in-Chief, on behalf of the Editorial
Board, the membership of which consists of: Mrs. Betsy Hance, Dr. Lynn Fedeli. Dr.
Susanne Kelley, Dr. Thierry Léger, Dr. Federica Santini and Dr. Lucie ViakinnouBrinson, all of the Department of Foreign Languages.
1) The Rationale: We have seen a tremendous increase in the caliber of our upperdivision, senior-level students in the Modern Language and Culture major and Spanish,
French, German and Italian minors. We would like to give our undergraduate students in
Spanish, French, German and Italian the opportunity to show their writing and research
talent to the public. A publication of this type, the only one of its kind in the world to my
knowledge, would serve as an entrance for interested students into the arena of open
academic discussion concerning their area of interest. For those students desiring to
continue on to the MA and MAT level, The Kennesaw Tower would serve as proof that
there is a “light at the end of the tunnel,” or a greater finality to their academic writing.
Also, we would like to note that The Kennesaw Tower responds to a call from the QEP
for opening a forum for international and multi-lingual discussions, which could be
“good press” for HSS and the DFL.
2) Credit for Research / Professional Service and Journal Funding: The Professional
Service of the Editor-in-Chief of The Kennesaw Tower will be acknowledged through the
Department of Foreign Languages committee structure. The Editor-in-Chief position will
be the equivalent of the position of Chair of DFL committee. The Professional Service of
the Editorial Board members will be recognized as the equivalent of service on one (1)
Department committee. The Professional Service of Readers will be recognized and may
be included as Research / Creative Activity in the faculty member’s annual review. The
Kennesaw Tower website address will be associated with the Department of Foreign
Languages website, exact address to be determined by the Editorial Board in consultation
with the Editor-in-Chief. Following the policy that requires yearly reviews of all DFL
committees, this organization will be reviewed annually by the Chair and the Editorial
Board to determine appropriate levels of recognition of professional service associated
with this committee.
3) Budget: In principle, no external funding will be necessary. However, given the
discussions on Undergraduate Research presently active in the academic community,
there is the possibility that, in the future, staff may be asked to assist in the maintenance
of the journal. Such requests will be made in consultation with the Department of
Foreign Languages Chair.
4) The Timeline: The websites are currently located at
http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~rsimon5. Dr. Simon and the Editorial Board plan to have
the first Call for Papers on campus and to the USG institutions listed on the website
(namely, Georgia Tech and GSU) by October of 2008 in order that perspective
contributors meet the January 15, 2009, deadline. The final selection of the first papers
should happen by March, 2009, and the publication of the 1st Edition on the website
could happen by May 1st, 2009.
5) The Organizational Structure: The outline below describes the governance structure
of The Kennesaw Tower.
The Editor-in-Chief: Initially elected for the 1st three-year term by majority vote of the
DFL tenure-track faculty. DFL tenure-track faculty may self-nominate for potential
election. After the initial election of the Editor-in-Chief, all DFL tenure-track faculty who
are members of the Editorial Board are eligible for election to Editor-in-Chief.
Term: three (3) years, a “year” being the 12-month period from September to September,
renewable by 2/3 vote of Editorial Board; maximum two (2) terms.
Duties:
 Coordinate distribution and collection of manuscripts / comments to / from
Readers.
 Make final decision on manuscript acceptance or rejection.
 Insert manuscripts into annual issue website.
 Correspond with contributors in the form of acceptance / rejection e-mails and/or
manuscript comments from readers.
 Lead Editorial Board meetings.
 Assign Editorial Board seats as needed due to resignations or other circumstances.
 Search for, and assign, Readers as needed.
 Perform any and all website maintenance.
 Support Editorial Board as needed.
 Make an Annual Report to the Department of Foreign Languages Faculty.
Editorial Board: Consists of at least three (3) DFL full-time permanent faculty (tenuretrack and/or non-tenure track). Editorial Board members volunteer to serve on the Board
and are recognized in the DFL committee structure.
Term: one (1) year, automatically renewed annually until Board member resigns, with
one position lasting two (2) years, then renewable every year.
Duties:
 Aid in designating website design.
 Designate special focus issues as deemed appropriate.
 Support Editor-in-Chief in his or her duties as needed.
 Designate financial allocations to Journal as needed, including the hiring of nonfaculty (work-study students, etc.) to support Journal.
 Perform any other duties as needed.
Readers: Any academic professional qualified in Foreign Languages studies in Spanish,
French, German, or Italian at the 4000-level. The Editorial Board members may serve as
readers if qualified.
Term: N/A, as needed and/or until resignation
Duties:
 Read manuscripts written in language and within content specialty.



Deem “Accepted,” “Accepted with Revisions” or “Not Accepted”.
Provide written comments on how author may improve manuscript.
Submit judgment (and comments) in a timely manner (i.e., 30 to 60 days) to
Editor-in-Chief.
Voting Procedures: Meetings of the Editorial Board of The Kennesaw Tower will follow
the procedures outlined below:
1) The Editor-in-Chief chairs the Editorial Board and serves as a voting member of
the Board.
2) Motion made, vote called, seconded.
3) Decide if show of hands, or if secret ballot.
a. If secret ballot, ballots collected by designated Board member.
b. Votes are counted by the Editor-in-Chief.
4) When voting for Editor-in-Chief:
a. A vote will be conducted in August for the Editor-in-Chief to begin in
September of the same year.
b. Only Editorial Board members with at least one (1) year of service to the
Board may vote for the Editor-in-Chief.
c. Voting is done by secret ballot of members present at the meeting run by a
designated Board member.
d. Only Editorial Board members may vote for the Editor-in-Chief.
e. Votes are counted by sub-committee of three (3) Board members, verified
by Chair of DFL
i. If vote for new Editor-in-Chief, a ballot will be created.
ii. Nominations may be for any existing Editorial Board member.
iii. Minimum period of 30 days notice must be given before vote.
iv. See 3a, 3b and 3c.
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Submitted by Dr. Robert Simon, Assistant Professor of Spanish, Department of Foreign
Languages: ____________________________________
(Robert Simon)
Approved by the Department of Foreign Languages Faculty:_______________________
(Sabine Smith, Chair DFL Advisory Board)
Approved by Dr. William Griffin, Chair, Department of Foreign Languages:__________
(William Griffin, Chair, DFL)
Approved by Dr. Richard Vengroff, Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences:
__________________________
(Richard Vengroff, Dean, HSS)