Selection and Review

Article 15 of the AAUP collective bargaining agreement specifies the following procedures on the selection and review of department heads:

“15.1 In a selection of a Department Head for a continuing appointment due to a vacancy, the Dean shall ask the department to form a search committee. A majority of the committee must be elected by members of the department. Voting eligibility shall be determined by departmental by-laws. The elected members of the search committee shall be no more than 7 and no fewer 3 department faculty members, unless agreed to by the Dean and a majority of the votes cast by eligible Department members. The following criteria shall apply:

“A. An election will be conducted entirely within the department to determine the majority of the members of the committee.

“B. Once the committee majority has been elected by the department, the Dean may appointment additional members of the bargaining unit that can constitute at most a minority of the committee.

“C. Committee members that are external to the bargaining unit may be added by agreement between the Dean and a majority of the votes cast by eligible department members.
“D. The elected majority shall elect a committee chair.

“E. No candidate will be appointment Department Head who is not recommended by the search committee.

“15.2 A review of the appointment of each Department Head shall be held at intervals not to exceed five (5) years, or at other times as decided by the Dean. When conducting a review, the Dean shall attempt to obtain input from all of the faculty. The Dean shall also initiate a review upon the request of a majority of the voting members of the department. Any review requested by a majority of the voting members of the department may not take place more than once in five (5) years.

“15.3 Department Heads shall be appointed for ten (10) months, rather than the ordinary faculty appointment of nine (9) months. After service as Department Head, the appointment shall return to nine (9) months and his/her salary shall be reduced to its equivalent nine (9) month level. Department Heads may be removed by the Dean only after following the process described in 15.2 above.”

Procedure for Department Head Salary Changes

University policy and procedures require the change in department head salary whether the duties are relinquished temporarily (as when someone goes on sabbatical) or permanently. Acting appointments to headship are also eligible for the one ninth increase in base salary.

When a new or acting department head is appointed, two payroll authorizations must be submitted: 1) reducing the salary of the former head by 1/10, noting in remarks “to return to non-departmental head status” and 2) increasing the new or acting department head’s salary by 1/9, noting in remarks “to increase salary by one ninth for new [or acting] department head.”