Policy Number: 202 | Effective Date: 06/23/86 |
Policy Title: Selection of Chairperson and Dean | Revised: 11/02/98; 05/01/06; 07/01/10, 1/27/2013 |
Approval Date: | President’s Signature: on file |
A. A Chairperson and a Dean shall not be the same person, except in extraordinary circumstances approved in writing by the President of the University.
B. Chairpersons and Deans are appointed at the will and pleasure of the President in consultation with the Provost and Dean (in the case of Chairs only) and in light of evaluations submitted by the unit faculty and/or of any screening committee recommendation.
C. SELECTION OF DEPARTMENT CHAIRS — When the Dean does not recommend reappointment and/or when the President does not reappoint, or when vacancies in the office of Chair occur, the Dean shall initiate the formation of a departmental screening committee. In such cases, the Dean has the option to appoint an Interim Chair. The Dean shall consult with the faculty of the department concerning his/her choice of an Interim Chair, who generally will serve no more than one year in the temporary capacity.
1. The full-time faculty in a department shall have the option of serving as the screening committee or of electing a screening committee from this group. Faculty who intend to be candidates and those who are on official leave may not serve on the screening committee. If a department has fewer than four faculty members eligible to serve on the committee, the Dean shall appoint full-time faculty from within the college in order to bring the numbers of the committee to four. The committee shall elect a chair.
2. There shall then commence a specified time period for initiation of a search and submission to the chairperson of the screening committee of letters of application, vitae, and other pertinent information. If a faculty opening exists within the department, the search may include external candidates.
3. After the deadline for applications has passed, the screening committee shall meet to review credentials, to select the candidates to be interviewed, and to interview candidates.
4. The Dean and Provost shall be a part of the selection process.
5. At the conclusion of the search process, the screening committee shall meet to cast a secret ranked poll. The committee shall submit to the Dean the names of the top three candidates, unranked, accompanied by a narrative assessment of the candidates, indicating their strengths and weaknesses.
6. The Dean shall make a formal recommendation to the Provost concerning the appointment of the Chair.
7. The Provost shall make a formal recommendation to the President, who may appoint the Chair.
8. If the President does not wish to appoint a Chair from the candidates recommended by the screening committee, he/she shall order the committee to reconvene in order to recommend a different group of candidates or to reopen the search process.
D. SELECTION OF COLLEGE/SCHOOL DEANS – When the Provost does not recommend reappointment and/or when the President does not reappoint, or when vacancies in the office of College/School Dean occur, the Provost shall initiate the formation of a College/School screening committee. In such cases, the Provost has the option to appoint an Interim Dean. The Provost shall consult with the faculty of the College/School concerning his/her choice of an Interim Dean, who generally will serve no more than one year in the temporary capacity.
1. The full-time faculty in a college shall have the option of serving as the screening committee or of electing a screening committee from this group, with equal representation from each department. Faculty who intend to be candidates and those who are on official leave may not serve on the screening committee. The committee shall elect a chair.
2. There shall then commence a specified time period for initiation of a national search and submission to the chairperson of the screening committee of letters of application, vitae, and other pertinent information.
3. After the deadline for applications has passed, the screening committee shall meet to review credentials, to select the candidates to be interviewed, and to interview candidates.
4. At the conclusion of the search process, the screening committee shall meet to cast a secret ranked poll. The committee shall submit to the Provost the names of the top three candidates, unranked, accompanied by a narrative assessment of the candidates, indicating their strengths and weaknesses.
5. The Provost shall make a formal recommendation to the President, who may appoint the Dean.
6. If the President does not wish to appoint a Dean from the candidates recommended by the screening committee, he/she shall order the committee to reconvene in order to recommend a different group of candidates or to reopen the search process.