I. General Statement
II. Selection and Appointment of Chairpersons
III. Selection and Appointment of Deans
IV. Selection and Appointment of Vice President for Academic Affairs
V. Selection and Appointment of Acting Vice Presidents, Deans and Chairpersons
VI. Selection and Appointment of Associate and Assistant Vice Presidents, Associate and Assistant Deans, and Chairpersons
VII. Policy on Academic Administrative Salaries and Term of Office
VIII. Assignment of Academic Rank to Administrative Personnel
The Bylaws of the University place responsibility for the administration of the University in the President, who is the chief executive officer of the institution, and who must act in accordance with policies established by the Board of Regents. Legally, therefore, chairpersons, deans, vice presidents, and other administrative officers are accountable to the President and serve at the President's pleasure. Academically and operationally it is clear that all administrative officers within a university must also be responsive to faculty and to students and, in some instances, to a professional constituency. The selection and conditions of service of administrative officers within the University must reflect these twofold relationships.
The present policy statement has been prepared in full recognition that there are wide differences among the major academic units and within some of them, among departments. The intent of this document is to provide guidelines, not prescriptions. Although not specifically mentioned in each section of this document, each selection process will be consistent with the University equal opportunity guidelines, and will avoid any conflict of interest: for instance, a search committee for a position should not include a candidate for that position.
II. Selection and Appointment of Chairpersons
A. Selection Committee
Whenever, by resignation or other circumstances, a vacancy has been created or will be created in the chair of any department, the Dean shall convene the voting members of the department to review the procedures to be followed. This shall include consideration of steps required to assemble a search committee consisting of three to five members.
The department will elect faculty members to serve on the search committee. Provision shall be made for the inclusion of a student on the search committee. The Dean of the school shall name one additional member who shall be from another department. Both the student and faculty member from outside the department shall be accorded full voting privileges as members of the search committee.
B. Procedures
The committee shall be convened for its initial meeting by the Dean of the major academic unit. At this first session the Dean shall review the procedures to be followed and provide the committee with such information as it may require for the discharge of its functions. The committee shall elect a chairperson from among its own members whose responsibilities shall include close and continuous liaison with the Dean. It shall be the President's responsibility, with the advice of the Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs, to decide whether or not it is appropriate to search for candidates from outside the University, as well as from among the faculty already here.
The committee shall present its recommendations first to the department. More than one name shall be presented for consideration.
If it is decided to seek prospects from other than Washburn University, the most promising shall be invited for a campus visit. This visit will include opportunities to confer with chairpersons of related areas, in addition to faculty members, students, and the Dean of the academic unit involved. All candidates should be scheduled for conferences with the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the President. Candidates from within the University shall be provided comparable opportunities for interviews and conferences.
The voting members of the department shall recommend from the committee's list. More than one candidate shall be recommended by each individual. The individuals may rank the candidates if they choose. The individual department member's choices shall be communicated to the Dean of the major academic unit, who shall recommend to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, who shall recommend to the President. The President then recommends to the Board of Regents, who shall make the appointment.
III. Selection and Appointment of Deans
Whenever a vacancy exists in the deanship of one of the major academic units, the Vice President for Academic Affairs shall inform the faculty of the major academic unit involved and review the procedures to be followed in selecting the new dean.
A. The Selection Committee
The Vice President for Academic Affairs will invite the faculty of the major academic unit to submit names of faculty members proposed for membership on the search committee to the President. The faculty members of the search committee shall be chosen by the President from those names submitted. Wherever appropriate, persons representing related interests, such as members of a professional constituency, may be included in this committee.
A student member of the search committee shall be selected from the duly elected student advisory or representative groups in the major academic unit. The Vice President for Academic Affairs, or a person designated by the President, will serve as an ex-officio member of the search committee. The committee shall elect its own chairperson.
B. Procedures
The committee will take such steps as will expeditiously produce a list of possible candidates. This shall always include an invitation to the faculty to nominate likely prospects but the committee should not limit its canvass to such nominations.
The committee may recommend to the President whether or not it is appropriate to search for candidates from outside the University as well as from among the faculty. If the President decides to seek prospects outside Washburn University, the most promising shall be invited for a campus visit. If at all feasible, this visit shall include opportunities to confer with the Deans of the other major academic units on campus, in addition to faculty members, students, and the dean of the major academic unit involved. Candidates for deanships must have an opportunity to meet and visit with the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the President. Candidates from within the University shall be provided comparable opportunities for interviews and conferences.
Individual members of the search committee shall make their recommendations to the President. At least three and normally not more than five candidates shall be presented, ranked if possible.
Recommendation to the Board of Regents shall be made by the President after consultation with the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Board of Regents must approve the appointment.
IV. Selection and Appointment of the Vice President for Academic Affairs
The selection and appointment of the Vice President for Academic Affairs is the responsibility of the President. When a vacancy exists, the President will direct the divisions of the College to elect one member and the other major academic units to elect one member to serve as a Search Committee to represent all schools and colleges.
Procedures analogous to those for the selection and appointment of deans should be followed.
V. Selection and Appointment of Acting Vice Presidents, Deans and Chairpersons
A. If the situation requires the designation of a person to serve as Dean or Vice President for Academic Affairs in an acting capacity, an appropriately representative group of the faculty of the major academic unit concerned or university shall be consulted before such a designation is made. It would be assumed that the designee is acceptable to faculty members with whom he/she will be dealing. Acting chairpersons shall be named by the Dean of the major academic unit with the consent of the President; acting deans of schools shall be named by the President in consultation with the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
B. It shall not be the practice to make "acting" designations to cover absences of one month or less but this shall always be done if the regular appointee expects to be absent for a period longer than one month. However, every department, school, and academic unit should have a clearly established understanding of who is responsible for the affairs of the department, school or academic unit. In selecting persons to receive "acting" designations, procedures consistent with equal opportunity will be followed.
VI. Selection and Appointment of Associate and Assistant Vice Presidents, Associate
and Assistant Deans, and Chairpersons
The designation of persons to serve as associate or assistant chairpersons, associate or assistant deans, or Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs is regarded as a matter of administrative determination, since these administrators serve primarily at the pleasure of the chairperson, dean, or Vice President for Academic Affairs. The designee should be acceptable to those with whom he/she will be dealing. Approval of the Dean of the major academic unit concerned shall be obtained for the designation of associate or assistant chairpersons; approval of the Vice President for Academic Affairs shall be obtained for the designation of associate or assistant deans. In selecting persons to receive associate and assistant designations, procedures consistent with equal opportunity will be followed.
Guidelines suggested above have been standard University operating procedure since the 7th Faculty Handbook (1978).
VII. Policy on Academic Administrative Salaries and Term of Office
A. Department chairpersons, deans and vice presidents hold annual appointments. Procedures for recommendations to the President for appointment vary from office to office and are set forth in this section of the Faculty Handbook. The recommendations from the President are made by the Board of Regents on a year by year basis.
B. Academic administrators on a twelve-month contract should give at least one month's notice before resignation. Normally, however, these individuals will complete the contract before terminating their academic services. Individuals in twelve-month academic administrative positions can be removed from office by the President at any time for cause.
C. Assignment or Reassignment to Full-Time Faculty Position
1. Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines for the determination of the terms and conditions of a tenured employee's appointment, including salary and teaching load, upon assignment/reassignment to a full-time faculty position in the major academic unit in which s/he is tenured after serving as an administrator.
2. Scope
This policy is intended to apply only to tenured employees serving in an administrative capacity.
3. Assignment/Reassignment to Full-Time Faculty Position
a. An administrator, for purposes of this policy, means any tenured faculty member serving in any capacity as an administrator, either on a full-time or part-time basis and shall include, but not be limited to a president, vice-president, assistant vice president, dean, department chairperson, program director, executive director, or assistant and/or associate dean.
b. Any administrator assigned or reassigned to full-time faculty status will have the terms and conditions of his/her appointment determined by the Board of Regents after receiving the recommendation of the President. The President's recommendation will be made after receiving the recommendation of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Dean of the major academic unit to which assignment or reassignment is being made and, if applicable, the chair of the involved department. The recommendations will be made after considering the following factors:
1) the individual's rank and length of service to the university;
2) the academic "market" salary for faculty members in that individual's academic discipline;
3) the need for training or redevelopment of the individual for full-time teaching;
4) the needs of the academic unit to which assigned at the time of assignment or reassignment; and
5) the needs of the institution.
In the normal case, it is assumed that application of the above factors would result in the individual's salary being set at the same level it would have been had the individual been in a full-time faculty assignment during the individual's entire period of service with the institution.
The specific faculty assignment of the person will be determined by the Dean of the major academic unit or, in major academic units where departments exist, by the Dean and the department chair of the individual's department, consistent with the needs of the Major Academic Unit and/or department.
VIII. Assignment of Academic Rank to Administrative Personnel
A. Scope
The policy described in this section applies to administrators who have not earned title and/or tenure at Washburn University, or who were not granted title and/or tenure at initial hire, or who have contractually bargained away these rights.
B. Policy
All administrative personnel who have the required level of education and teaching experience may be granted the courtesy titles Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor. The specific title is based on the criteria contained in the Faculty Handbook for academic rank. These are courtesy titles only and should be officially labeled as non-teaching, non-tenure titles (e.g. in the catalog or on contracts). For convenience, these may be labeled Administrative titles, such as "Administrative Associate Professor of Mathematics." Although these are essentially non-teaching titles, personnel who hold them may teach a course whenever approved by the relevant department.
Normally, these courtesy titles are not granted at the initial hire, but can be if the required consultations and recommendations can be completed at that time. Personnel coming to Washburn as administrators may choose to take the earned title/tenure route by following the criteria and procedures articulated in the Faculty Handbook.
C. Procedures
During the regular academic year, the administrator wishing to hold a courtesy title should petition the appropriate academic unit (departments, where they exist, or dean). After consultation with the faculty of the unit, the chair or dean will make a recommendation to the appropriate administrative officer. Upon recommendation from the dean, the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the President make the final determination subject to approval by the Board of Regents.
