Policies & Procedures

Selection and Evaluation, Specific Positions

Procedures for Dean Selection - 2B1

1. Selection, evaluation, and retention of Deans shall be conducted in accordance with the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities, in particular, the statement on Faculty Participation in the Selection, Evaluation, and Retention of Administrators (AAUP Policy Documents and Reports, 10th Edition (Redbook), 2006, p. 145):
   
   The AAUP Statement is based on "the conviction that interdependence, communication, and joint action among the constituents of a college or university enhance the institution's ability to solve educational problems." The AAUP Statement asserts the expectation that "faculty members contribute significantly to judgments and decisions regarding the retention or non-retention of the administrators whom they have helped select."
   
2. The evaluation process shall be conducted with sensitivity to the personal and professional vulnerability under which it places the Dean. The effectiveness of the evaluation procedures demands that all participants regard them as credible. To this end, the evaluation procedures should guarantee the confidentiality of the views of the participants in the evaluation process. It is likewise reasonable to assume that certain, perhaps personal, observations in the report must remain internal to the evaluators, the Chancellor, and the Provost, upon their joint agreement. At the same time, it is important to avoid suppression (or the appearance of suppression) of conclusions that could reasonably be made public.
   
3. The primary purpose of the Annual Evaluation is to provide feedback for the purpose of helping the Dean to improve his or her performance during the term of office. A secondary purpose is to allow the faculty to communicate their evaluations directly to the Chancellor and the Provost. The Annual Evaluation should attempt to identify areas of strength, as well as weaknesses and areas of faculty concern. The Annual Evaluation is most effectively conducted against criteria as enunciated in stated goals and objectives and job descriptions. Schools or Colleges and their Deans are encouraged to develop such criteria and review them appropriately.
   
4. The primary purpose of the Quadrennial Review is to inform the decision to retain or not retain the Dean. That decision will take into account the Dean's response to feedback from previous Annual Evaluations.
   
5. Selection, evaluation, and retention of the Dean shall be conducted by means of cooperation between the Selection Committee or Annual Evaluation Committee or Quadrennial Review Committee; the Provost, and the Chancellor. The Committee shall make its recommendations to the Provost, who makes recommendations to the Chancellor. The selection and retention of Deans shall be the responsibility of the Chancellor, in consultation with a) the Provost, and b) the faculty and other members of those Committees that conduct the selection and evaluation.
   

1. Formation of the Dean Search Advisory Committee
   
   
   1. To conduct the Dean search, the Provost will convene a Search Advisory Committee in the following manner.
      
      
      1. When the office of the Dean becomes vacant, a Dean Search Advisory Committee shall be constituted by the Provost with the following composition:
         
         
         1. Six faculty members chosen by the School or College faculty;
            
         2. One faculty member (i.e., a person whose assignment is at least a total of 50% in teaching, research, or public service) chosen by the Provost;
            
         3. One faculty member chosen by the Faculty Senate President in consultation with the Provost;
            
         4. One Professional Staff or Civil Service member chosen by the University Staff Senate President in consultation with the Chancellor or designee;
            
         5. One student chosen by the Student Senate (the student shall have at least junior standing, shall be a major in one of the school's or college's disciplines, and shall have a grade point average of at least 2.8 (A = 4.0));
            
         6. One non-academic employee from the School or College, chosen by the permanent, full-time, non-academic employees working in the School or College.
            
      2. The Committee shall select a faculty member of the Committee as Chair. The faculty member selected will be from the School or College for which the search is being conducted unless after consultation with the Committee it is agreed that special circumstances warrant the Chair being a faculty member outside of the School or College.
         
   2. The charge to the Dean Search Advisory Committee shall be given by the Provost after a meeting with the Committee called by the Provost to discuss the matter. The Committee shall develop its own procedures and submit them to the Provost for approval. Mutual agreement between the Committee and the Provost will be reached with respect to a written job description.
      
2. Responsibilities of the Committee
   
   
   1. The first task of the Committee after receiving its charge will be to draft procedural rules and submit them for approval to the Provost.
      
   2. The Committee will screen all applicants in a three-stage process.
      
      
      1. Preliminary Screening
         

         Based on the job description and documented credentials, the Committee will prepare a list of names, unranked, whom the committee regards as best qualified for the Deanship.

      2. Intermediate Screening
         

         The credentials of the remaining applicants will be further scrutinized and may include off-campus interviews and discussions with persons acquainted with the applicants. The task of the Committee at this stage is to narrow the list.

      3. Final Screening
         

         The final candidates will be invited to campus for in-depth interviews by the appropriate groups of personnel.
         

   3. The Dean Search Advisory Committee shall present a list of at least two, unranked candidates for the Deanship or recommend that the search be reopened. All candidates on the list shall be acceptable to a majority of the School or College faculty responding to a poll conducted by the Committee. Such poll shall be conducted only for the purpose of determining the acceptability of the candidates, not for purposes of ranking them.
      
   4. The Provost will recommend from the list of the recommended candidates one or more candidates to the Chancellor or recommend that the search be reopened.
      
   5. The Chancellor, in consideration of the advice of the Provost, makes the final selection of the Dean.
      
3. Appointment of Acting Dean
   
   

   If it is necessary that an Acting Dean be appointed, the Provost will consult with the School or College faculty or a representative body thereof. The appointment will be made by the Provost contingent on approval of the Chancellor.

Approved by Chancellor effective 5/1/2008
This policy was issued on October 7, 2008, replacing the September 24, 2008 version.
Document Reference: 2B1
Origin: OP 6/10/83; OP 11/5/90; OP 2/21/92; OP 8/2/95; FS 1-00/01; RP 1-07/08