S90-4 SELECTION AND REVIEW OF DEPARTMENT CHAIRS (TEACHING FACULTY); APPOINTMENT

Legislative History:

Amends (replaces) S89-1.

At its meeting of March 19, 1990, the Academic Senate approved the following Policy Recom-mendation presented by Cecilia Mullen for the Organization and Government Committee.

ACTION BY THE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT:

"Accepted and Approved as University Policy, Effective immediately." Signed Gail Fullerton, 3/22/90.

1. APPOINTMENT. The President appoints and removes the department chair in consultation with the school dean and department faculty. The term of the appointment is normally four years.

2. REVIEW. Normally, the semester preceding the balloting, tenured and probationary department faculty shall elect from its ranks a peer review committee to evaluate the chair's performance (15.2). The review committee, in consultation with the school dean, will determine the procedures and scope of the review, and shall report in writing its general findings to the school dean who will discuss the findings with the chair and will report in general to the department faculty.

At any time, department faculty may request a formal review of the department chair by submitting to the dean a petition signed by 50% of the department electorate.

3. RECOMMENDATION. Every four years the department faculty shall identify one or more candidates for department chair by secret majority ballot vote of all those eligible to vote in a secret ballot election, and shall recommend the candidate(s) to the President. Except in rare instances and for compelling reasons, the President shall appoint a person so recommended by department faculty.

Special circumstances (such as the need for an external search, questions of procedure or eligibility, failure to reach a majority vote, or selection of an interim chair) shall be resolved by cooperative efforts of department faculty, school dean, Academic Vice President, and President.

4. Designation of an interim or acting chair requires a nomination by department vote, unless the period of service is less than a semester or only between semesters.

5. REAPPOINTMENT. In order to serve one or more subsequent terms, the chair must proceed through the regular secret ballot vote, recommendation, and the review process.

6. CONFIDENTIALITY. The review committee, school dean, and officers of the University shall hold in confidence data received by the review committee, its report, and accompanying materials.