A&S Chair Selection Process
Selection of Committee and Chair
- An elected committee, or a committee of the whole.
- Chair of the committee from within or outside the department.
Recommended Process
- A set of procedures is developed by the committee, with the advice and approval of the Tenure-Track and Instructional faculty (full-time — at or above 0.80 FTE), concerning selection criteria, the identification of candidates, etc.
- The committee recommends one or several candidates to the dean.
- The dean allows for individual meetings with faculty members before making the selection.
Selection
The chair is selected by the dean with the advice and approval of the Tenure-Track and Instructional faculty (full-time — at or above 0.80 FTE) on the committee.
Term
The standard term of the chair is five years.
Faculty Handbook
Section VII.D.
D Appointment and Evaluation of Department Chairs and School Directors
For the purposes of this policy, departments, schools, and regional campus divisions are equivalent units, and the roles of department chair, school director, and regional campus academic division coordinator are also equivalent.
When a vacancy exists, the college dean will be responsible for initiating action through the department to secure a new chair or director. The dean and the faculty shall jointly establish selection criteria and review the qualifications of all candidates. Department chairpersons division coordinators, and directors of schools shall be selected by the dean with the advice and approval of the faculty (including Tenure Track and full-time – at or above 0.80 FTE – Instructional and Clinical faculty) of the department, division, or school. Initial appointments of chairs and directors require the approval of the Provost. However, non-tenured faculty (pre-tenure Tenure Track, Instructional or Clinical faculty) should not be appointed to chair a department, division or school except under compelling circumstances as agreed upon by faculty. Clinical and Instructional faculty are hired primarily to mentor or teach students and because of their role at the university and non-tenure status may not be appropriate choices. When making such assignments, consideration must be given to rank, length of contract, and possible service restrictions of Clinical or Instructional appointments. If such appointments are deemed appropriate, only non-tenure track faculty on long term contracts and at higher ranks should be considered. If the dean and faculty cannot come to consensus on a Chair candidate, then a special committee appointed by the chair of faculty senate and a representative from the provost’s office, shall arbitrate.
- Chairs' and directors' appointments will be continued on a year-to-year basis. At the time of initial appointment, it may be agreed by the dean and the department or school faculty that the appointment will not exceed a given number of years. Before reappointment, it is the dean's responsibility to review the effectiveness of a chair or director by consultation with the faculty of the department. The appointment may be terminated by the chair or director, by the dean after consultation with the faculty, or by written request to the dean of two-thirds of the faculty of the department or school.1
- There will be an annual evaluation of all department chairs. The promotion and tenure committee (excluding the department chair) or equivalent departmental committee shall be responsible for carrying out the evaluation. A report of the results of this evaluation shall be furnished to the chair and the dean.
- When it is known that a chair or director is to be away from the University for more than a few days or whenever a temporary vacancy exists, arrangements are made by the dean for the appointment of an acting chair or director.
From Faculty Handbook version November 2022