NUMBER:   ACAF 1.24

SECTION:  Academic Affairs    



SUBJECT:  Selection of Department Chairs                          

    

DATE:     February 1, 1995



LATEST REVISION DATE:  January 17, 2001

                     

Policy for:     All Campuses

Procedure for:  All Campuses

Authorized by:  Jerome D. Odom

Issued by:      Provost's Office



________________________________________________________________





I.   Policy 



A.   The position of department chair will be filled by an

internal, external, or full search.  The scope of the search will

be determined by the dean in consultation with the chief academic

officer of the campus (i.e, the Provost on the Columbia and

regional campuses; the vice chancellor for academic affairs on

each of the four-year campuses).



B.   The selection of the department chair will be accomplished

through the joint action of the faculty and the administration. 

Faculty participation in the selection is restricted to regular,

full-time department members who hold continuing appointments as

assistant professor, associate professor, or professor and who

have not been officially notified of non-reappointment or of a

final, unfavorable decision on tenure.  Full-time instructors may

be eligible to participate if such participation is recommended

by the majority of the departmental faculty eligible to vote and

is approved by the dean.





II.  Procedure



A.   Terms of Appointment



     1.   The term of appointment for a department chair will be 

	  on a nine-month or an eleven-month annual basis for three, 

	  four, or five years as set by the dean with the advice of 

	  the departmental faculty and the approval of the chief 

	  academic officer of the campus. All individuals in 

	  administrative positions serve as administrators at the 

	  pleasure of the appointing authority.

     2.   After completing a term, a chair may be reappointed by

          the dean, who will consult the departmental faculty and

          secure the approval of the chief academic officer of

          the campus.  Reappointment beyond the second term will

          only rarely be considered appropriate. 

     3.   The appointment of a chair may be terminated at any

          time by the dean after consultation with the faculty of

          the department and with the approval of the chief

          academic officer of the campus and the President (or

          chancellor on each of the four-year campuses).



B.   Selection



     1.   When a vacancy occurs in the position of department

          chair, the dean of the college or school shall inform

          the faculty of the department in writing and shall

          invite the faculty to elect up to three persons to

          serve on a search committee.

     2.   The dean shall appoint up to two additional persons,

          one of whom shall serve as chair of the search

          committee and at least one of whom shall be a member of

          the faculty of another department or academic unit.

     3.   If there is to be an external or full search, the

          committee shall place a notice of the vacancy in an

          appropriate professional journal or personnel

          newsletter, and in one general publication such as the

          Chronicle of Higher Education.

     4.   The search committee shall collect vitae and references

          for all candidates and after consulting with the dean

          shall arrange for interviews with the most promising

          candidates.  The number of external candidates shall

          not exceed four, except with the specific approval of

          the chief academic officer of the campus.

     5.   When the interviews have been completed, the search

          committee shall send a ballot containing the names of

          all active candidates to all voting members of the

          departmental faculty.

     6.   Faculty shall rate each candidate as acceptable or

          unacceptable and rank acceptable candidates in order of

          preference.  The committee shall tabulate the votes and

          report the results to the faculty.



          a.   If two or more candidates are acceptable to a

               majority of the participating faculty, the

               committee shall forward their names, along with

               all letters of recommendation and other materials

               received, to the dean.

          b.   If there are not at least two acceptable

               candidates, the dean shall have the option of

               requesting a full report on all candidates or

               instructing the committee to resume the search.

     7.   The dean shall recommend an appointment and forward all

          materials to the chief academic officer of the campus,

          and to the President (or chancellor on each of the

          four-year campuses).  The President (or chancellor on

          each of the four-year campuses) will either approve the

          appointment, ask the dean to submit additional names,

          or direct the dean to dissolve the search committee and

          begin the search process again.



C.   In the case of new departments which have no faculty or

     departments with fewer than five full-time faculty members,

     the search procedure may be modified by the dean to fit the

     circumstances.  The dean will prepare a written statement of

     the procedure to be followed for the approval of the chief

     academic officer of the campus.



III.	Reason for Latest Revision



The latest revision clarifies the term of appointment for department chairs.

 

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