A. General Principles
Deans of schools, chairs of departments, and directors of programs are appointed by the administration of the College. With regard to the selection and duties of chairs of departments, the College subscribes to the 1966 AAUP Joint Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities (see Appendix A, Item V, last paragraph).
The chair or head of a department, excluding Deans, who serves as the chief representative of the department within an institution, should be selected either by departmental election or by appointment following consultation with members of the department and of related departments; appointments should normally be in conformity with department members' judgment. The chair or department head should not have tenure in office; tenure as a faculty member is a matter of separate right. The chair or head should serve for a period of three years but without prejudice to reelection or to reappointment by procedures which involve appropriate faculty consultation. Deviations of up to two years from this term length can be arranged with the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost following appropriate faculty consultation and should be stated in writing. Administration and faculty should all bear in mind that the department chair or head has a special obligation to build a department strong in scholarship and teaching capacity.
Where feasible, departments should give serious consideration to a rotational plan for the chair among the tenured members of the department. Chairs assume the responsibilities of departmental governance consistent with the principle that they serve as a chair of a staff of scholars involved in a common discipline. They are responsible for the general administration and supervision of matters relating to their departments. Should a new chair feel they require training, they should consult the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost’s Office. As administrative officers of their departments, they are directly responsible to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost and are expected to provide leadership in the effective planning and management of the personnel, curriculum, budget and overall quality standards of their departments. As scholars, they are expected to participate in scholarly activities pertinent to their disciplines.
The above statements also apply to the selection and duties of deans of schools and directors of programs.
B. Intra-Departmental Relations
The various chairs shall call regular departmental meetings (at least three a semester) and should encourage free discussion of policies and problems of the department. They shall confer with departments on their departmental budgets, the revision of course listings, the revision of course contents, the scheduling of courses, and the securing of supplementary teaching materials, such as audio-visual aids. The chair is responsible for the maintenance, inventory, and protection of equipment and supplies purchased by the department. They shall confer with their individual department members on such matters as the courses they will teach and their scheduling and the selection of textbooks and laboratory manuals. They are responsible for counseling with new members on procedures and duties. The chairs shall make necessary arrangements for substitutes when faculty members cannot meet their classes. They shall arrange for equitable workloads for their staffs, taking into account each member's contributions in research, consulting, scholarly publication, committee activity, and pertinent off-campus activities. They shall encourage research or other scholarly activity, suggest ways for improvement in teaching, evaluate departmental work, promote experimental programs, and assume general responsibility for the welfare and morale of the department.
The chairs are responsible for recommending library materials to undergird the teaching and research in their departments. Library requests submitted by individual members of a department should be approved by a designated member or committee of the department, and in general should be consonant with library procedures and policies.
C. Advising of Majors
The chairs of departments or designated members of the departmental staff shall advise students majoring in the department on choice of courses (including approved electives) and shall check degree plans of students majoring in their departments to assure that all degree requirements are being met. The chair's approval is needed on any non-Centenary program added to the degree plan, such as plans for summer school courses, study abroad, or supplementary programs.
D. Personnel Changes
In consultation with the other members of the department, the chair will submit recommendations to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost concerning any personnel changes including promotions, load adjustments, retirements, release, leaves of absence, and new positions. The Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost will notify the Faculty Personnel Committee of these personnel changes.
E. Faculty Recruitment
The need for each position, whether a new or a replacement position, shall be established by the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost in consultation with the appropriate departments and the Faculty Personnel Committee. After the need for the position has been established and approved by the President, the search will proceed as follows:
Full-time Faculty
Part-Time Instructors
Part-time instructors are recruited by the academic department chair in consultation with all full-time members of the department and the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost or, if there is no academic department, by the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost in consultation with the Faculty Personnel Committee. Prospective part-time instructors must submit a curriculum vitae, references and validated transcripts to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. Prospective part-time instructors are not normally required to be interviewed by the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost or President. The recommendations of the department will be communicated to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost for action. It should be understood by all parties that part-time appointments are made on a semester-to-semester basis and that the college has no obligation to offer a part-time faculty member a contract longer than one semester.
Both full-time and part-time faculty must have a background check before they are offered the position.
F. Teaching Load
In consultation with the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, the chair's own teaching load may be limited in order that responsibilities of administration may be properly carried out. Chaired professors shall ordinarily be provided with released time appropriate to their positions and duties assigned.
G. Annual Reports
The chair of each department shall submit an annual written report to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost no later than October 15. The Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost's office will make the annual report available to the Personnel Council. The report is for the previous academic year and should contain the following: