5-6 Selection of a Department Chair
Selection:
When a vacancy for a department chair occurs, the supervising administrator to whom the chair reports will inform all members of the department and ask for suggestions to fill the vacancy. An instructor may suggest himself or herself.
The supervising administrator may interview all department members to gather information that would be helpful in deciding whom he/she should recommend.
The supervising administrator will interview all prospective candidates who wish to be considered in order the gather additional information that would be helpful in deciding whom to nominate.
The supervising administrator will then submit his/her recommendation(s)to the campus president, who will make the official appointment or ask the supervising administrator to submit another nomination.
The department chair will serve for a period of two academic years. At the end of that time, the department full-time faculty will vote as to whether to renew the appointment for an additional two years or to declare the position vacant and to begin the process again. The dean will call a meeting of the department for the purpose of discussion on the renewal of department chair appointments. The meetings and the vote will be conducted without the presence of the department chair. At the appropriate time, the dean will call for department members to vote on renewal of the incumbent. The method of voting will be determined by the department members eligible to vote. The dean will be responsible for the minutes, which will indicate the results of the election. In addition, the dean will notify the incumbent department chair of the results of the election. In small departments, the renewal of the department chair’s appointment shall be a collaborative effort involving the faculty and administration.
If at any time during the term of the department chair the faculty becomes concerned about his/her performance, the faculty should immediately inform their supervising administrator, who in turn will look into the concern and notify the campus vice president of instruction and president.
Compensation:
In addition to faculty pay based on the salary schedule adopted by the Board of Trustees, a faculty member elected to be department chair will receive a monthly stipend and/or class release(s) based on the department chair formula adopted by the college. Department chair stipends are calculated at the beginning of the fall semester of each academic year. Department chair stipends are paid each month of a faculty member's contract or the actual number of months worked, whichever is greater. While release time is part of the formula for the fall and spring semester, release time may not be used to determine a department chair load during the summer for 9 month contracted faculty.
