Faculty Personnel Policies

B9   Appointment and Evaluation of Departmental Chairpersons

1. Term of appointment

   
   

   Chairpersons are the chief executives of the departments, with responsibility for faculty recruitment, faculty evaluation, curricular planning, the department's program for advising students, and budget (see Appendix II.2d for specific duties).  A chairperson is normally appointed to a term of three years by the divisional dean, with reappointment possible for additional terms.



2. Selection Procedures
   
   
   1. The divisional dean schedules a personal interview with each member of the department in which an appointment is to be made.  In it, the dean seeks frank and confidential advice on a number of matters related to the selection of a chairperson.  These include an evaluation of the current departmental program, suggestions for ways in which the department could better serve students in the context of a liberal arts education, and an opinion on whether the chairperson should come from within the existing departmental faculty or be sought from outside the College.
      
   
   
   2. When a chairperson is to be designated from within the existing departmental faculty, the dean solicits nominations from each member of the department and, after consultation with the Provost, makes the appointment.
      
   
   
   3. If a chairperson is to be selected from outside the College, the dean seeks permission to recruit according to the guidelines in B1.  Departmental participation is important, but the dean's office will compile the dossier on each of the candidates.
      
   
   
3. Performance Evaluation Procedures

   
   

   The dean will conduct a performance evaluation of each chairperson in the division during the first year of the chair's term, and again in the third year.  The general criteria include a chairperson's performance as a faculty member as well as administrator.
   

    

   In addition to asking each chairperson to provide a self-assessment and goals for the next year, the divisional dean will request each member of a department to evaluate the chairperson.  Information will be requested concerning a chairperson's teaching, scholarship, advising, and community service, but the chief purpose of the colleagues' evaluations is to solicit responses that promote the development of the chairperson as an administrator.  The criteria for faculty evaluation of a chairperson's leadership include:

   
   

   1. Ability to create esprit de corps
   2. Skill as liaison between department, administration, and students
   3. Effectiveness in carrying out administrative duties
   4. Record in encouraging professional development of departmental colleagues
   5. Sensitivity and responsiveness to departmental concerns
   6. Capacity to deal fairly with conflict

   
   

   The confidentiality of the faculty member's evaluation is assured.