(A) Provostal searches: establishment and
composition of a provostal search committee.
(1) The action necessary
to establish a search committee for a provost will be taken by the president.
(2) The search committee
for a provost will consist of the following:
(a) Four presidential appointments (one of whom shall chair
the committee) to include the following:
(i) Two faculty members,
one of whom must be from the provostal area and one of whom must be a member of
the bargaining unit.
(ii) One
dean.
(iii) One open
appointment.
(b) Three faculty elected by the faculty
senate.
(c) One dean elected by the council of deans.
(d) One undergraduate student elected by the undergraduate
student senate.
(e) One graduate student, elected by the graduate student
association.
(f) The composition of the above committee shall reflect
special needs (e.g., affirmative action and special interest off-campus
groups). If these needs are not met, then up to two additional members may be
added by the president.
(B) Decanal searches: establishment and
composition of a decanal search committee.
(1) The action necessary
to establish a search committee for a dean will be taken by the appropriate
provost.
(2) The search committee
for a dean will consist of the following:
(a) Five provostal appointments to include the
following:
(i) The chair - must be
an outside dean or senior administrator with a faculty appointment and will be
a non-voting member of the committee.
(ii) Two faculty members
- must be members of the college for which a dean is being sought.
(iii) A student in those
colleges which have both graduate and undergraduate programs; otherwise, an
open appointment.
(iv) A
student.
(b) Three faculty elected by the faculty in the
college.
(c) In case of special need (e.g. to give weight to
affirmative action, departmental interests in multidepartmental colleges, or to
represent off-campus groups) up to two additional members may be added to a
search committee by the provost.
(C) Decanal or provostal search
process.
(1) Confidentiality.
(a) Because of the sensitive nature of decanal and
provostal searches and reviews, the internal proceedings of all the committees
described in this document will be kept confidential to the extent permitted by
law.
(b) The committee will not accept anonymous information and
opinions. All written material submitted to and retained by the search
committee is subject to disclosure under Ohio law.
(2) Orientation
session.
(a) Before the committee begins its work, there will be an
orientation and training session arranged by the appropriate provost or the
president. At this session, the provost or president will discuss with the
committee:
(i) The charge for the
committee.
(ii) As part of the
charge provide the chair with copies of the "affirmative action
pre-employment guidebook" published by the office of affirmative action
and the "search committee manual" published by the personnel
department of the university in order to become familiar with these documents
prior to the first meeting of the search committee.
(iii) A representative
from the office of affirmative action should inform the committee of the
utilization of minorities in the area of the search and therefore of the
affirmative action goals for that unit. The rules of operation will be shared
with the affirmative action office for their information.
(b) At this session, the provost or the president will
discuss with the committee:
(i) The number of
candidates who may be brought to the campus for interviews.
(ii) The number and
ranking of candidates who should be recommended for the position.
(iii) The kind of
interaction which the provost or president wishes to have with the search
committee during the search.
(iv) The criteria or
objectives which should be used during the search, and
(v) The deadline or
desirable date for soliciting applications and completing the
search.
(c) The search committee and the relevant provost or
president will agree upon the procedures for the search and the criteria to be
used in the search to evaluate candidates. These criteria must be uniformly
applied to all candidates.
(3) Rules of
operation.
(a) All specific rules listed in these guidelines will be
observed. In all other situations, "Robert's Rules of Order"
will govern the operations of the committee unless the committee agrees to a
different set of rules.
(b) At its first meeting(s), the committee will establish a
rule defining attendance and search committee participation requirements.
Members of the committee who do not meet these attendance and participation
requirements may be removed by a majority vote of the committee. Any vacant
position may be filled through the same procedure by which the position was
originally filled.
(4) Staff
support.
(a) The appropriate provost or the president will provide
the committee with such staff support or office help as is necessary for the
performance of its functions.
(b) Minutes of the official actions of the search committee
meetings will be kept. Copies of the minutes will be given promptly to all
committee members.
(5) Solicitation of
candidates.
(a) No advertising or solicitation for the position will
take place before the search committee and the relevant provost or president
agree upon the appropriate criteria to be used in the search to evaluate the
candidates. Before placing any ads, the search committee will secure
confirmation by the affirmative action office that the ads match the
description of the position for which the search is being conducted. The
chairperson of the committee will be responsible for advertising and
solicitation.
(b) The job description and other requirements and criteria
will be distributed to the university community and posted on the web along
with an invitation to send the committee either names of possible candidates or
letters of application. In the case of a decanal search, the same information
and invitation will be sent in writing to all faculty, administration and staff
of the college the dean is to head.
(c) If the search is to be partly or wholly external, it
will be advertised in appropriate media with special attention to media
catering to groups covered by affirmative action.
(d) At the discretion of the committee, initial screening
may involve personal interviews.
(6) Initial screening of
candidates.
(a) The complete file of every candidate will be made
available to every member of the search committee. Committee members are to
treat all files and copies as confidential and will refrain from public comment
on the committee's deliberations through the initial screening process.
(b) In a timely manner, the committee or a special
subcommittee, will undertake a preliminary screening to determine how
representative the pool of candidates is in regard to the search criteria and
to the affirmative action goals. The committee will determine whether
additional steps need to be taken to produce a pool which better reflects the
hiring goals and the search criteria for that position.
(c) If a consultant or search firm is authorized, that
consultant or search firm:
(i) Should be approved by
the committee;
(ii) Should conduct a
search according to the terms and conditions set forth by the committee; and
(iii) Shall work with and
report to the committee.
(d) When preliminary screening is completed, the committee
will then screen the applicants and decide approximately how many candidates
should be interviewed and will then choose which ones to invite for on campus
interviews and in what order.
(7) Notifying eliminated
candidates.
As soon as the committee is convinced that any
particular candidate is not a viable candidate, such a candidate should be
promptly notified in writing that he or she has been eliminated.
(8) On campus
interviews.
(a) All candidates should be interviewed in a comparable
fashion.
(b) The committee as a whole will interview each invited
candidate. If possible, the committee should arrange for some of its members to
talk with the candidate in an informal setting, for example, at lunch or dinner
or some other social function.
(c) The committee will schedule on campus interviews with
groups from the appropriate college or university, including the faculty,
administrators, staff, and students.
(d) The on campus group interviews will be advertised as
extensively as possible. It is imperative that there be timely notification of
the times and dates of such interviews, including distribution of the
candidate's qualifications.
(e) In addition, as it deems advisable, the committee may
invite particular individuals and groups to hold separate interviews with the
candidate. Some possible individuals and groups are:
(i) For provostal
searches:
The president
The senior vice presidents and
provosts
Deans of appropriate provostal units
Vice and associate provosts
Provostal staff
The faculty senate executive
committee
Representatives from appropriate
students' governance groups
Representatives from appropriate interest
groups, such as black and women's faculty, administration, and staff
groups
Relevant community groups
(ii) For decanal
searches:
The president
The appropriate provost
The current dean
Associate and assistant deans
Unit heads of the colleges
The college faculty executive
committee
Appropriate student groups
Representatives from appropriate special
interest groups, such as black and women's faculty, administration, and
staff groups
Relevant community groups
At all interviews, the participants will be
invited to provide comments to the search committee.
(9) Selection.
(a) After the interviews are completed, the committee will
discuss each interviewed candidate and, if it deems itself ready, will select
by vote the persons it wishes to recommend to the president or relevant provost
as finalists.
(b) All voting at this stage in the process may be by
secret ballot and confirmed by at least two members of the
committee.
(c) After this vote there may be a meeting of the committee
and the president or relevant provost to discuss the relative strengths and
weaknesses of final candidates. The president or relevant provost shall then
determine which, if any, of the finalists to recommend to the board of
trustees.
(d) Before making public the decision on whom to recommend,
the relevant provost or the president should meet with the committee to inform
and discuss his or her decision.
(10) Publicity.
The chairperson will provide periodic and
timely written reports on the progress of the committee without compromising
the issue of confidentiality. Such reports will be distributed as appropriate
to the university community. In addition, committee members should make regular
reports to their constituencies by other means regarding the progress of the
search. All reports should be accompanied by an invitation to send comments to
the committee.
(D) Decanal review.
(1) Section 1.
Criteria.
Following the search process and as part of the
appointment of any new dean, that dean and the relevant provost will decide
upon the performance criteria and operationally meaningful measures by which
the dean is to be judged. These criteria will include but need not be limited
to:
(a) Generic criteria - those criteria which relate to the
tasks performed by any dean; and
(b) College specific criteria - those criteria which relate
to the responsibilities specific to that college, including the relationships
to local, state and professional agencies and societies (e.g., relation to the
artistic community and performance world for the "CCM" dean;
designation as a state of Ohio defined head of teacher education for the
college of education dean; responsibilities of the college of law dean to
certify to the state of Ohio regarding graduates of the college of law; and the
relationship between the county medical society and the dean of the college of
medicine); and
(c) Specified unit expectations at a given point in time
which may be determined relative to available resources, university initiatives
or strategic plan, or other imposed restrictions.
(2) Section 2. Annual
assessment.
Each dean will be assessed on an annual basis
by the relevant provost using the above criteria and measures. This annual
assessment should be summarized by the provost in a written report to the dean
who, in turn, should respond to the report in writing if the dean wishes to do
so. Following the annual assessment, each dean shall make a meaningful, written
report to the faculty of the college regarding how the goals and objectives of
the college are being met.
(3) Section 3. Decanal
review.
Early in the fall term of the penultimate year
of each dean's appointment, the relevant provost shall ascertain if the
dean wishes to serve another term. If the dean does wish to serve another term,
the dean shall be reviewed by the relevant provost using the annual assessments
and the following new materials and assessments prepared for that
review.
(a) A brief (no more than ten pages) self-assessment of the
dean's tenure. In addition, the dean will provide additional material as
requested by the provost.
(b) Letters of support solicited by the provost from a list
of individuals submitted by the dean.
(c) Assessment of the dean's role in achieving the
current goals and objectives of the college.
(d) Assessment of the dean's role in achieving the
level of education, research (as appropriate) and service (as appropriate) that
is carried on within the college.
(e) Assessment of the dean's performance by college
administrative staff, solicited by the provost.
(f) Assessment of the dean's performance by
administrative peers, solicited by the provost. Administrative peers may
include individuals both inside and outside of the university.
(g) Assessment by other relevant groups or individuals of
the provost's choice (e.g., students, alumni, professional or community
groups such as the county medical society or the bar, as
appropriate).
(h) Assessment by a committee of faculty of that college
charged to report to the provost on the quality of leadership provided by their
dean in accomplishing the goals and objectives for the college.
When the relevant provost has considered all
of the above and has determined whether to recommend reappointment of the dean,
the provost shall first meet with the faculty assessment committee to discuss
this decision. If the reappoint/not reappoint decision is contrary to the
recommendation of the faculty assessment committee, the provost will present to
the committee the justifications for the contrary decision. Following this
meeting, the provost will meet with the dean. Should the decision be to
recommend reappointment of the dean, the provost and the dean will review and
update, as appropriate, the goals and objectives for that particular college;
the dean will then issue a report to the faculty as done after each of the
annual assessments including in that report the length of the reappointment. If
the decision of the provost is not to recommend reappointment of the dean, the
provost will convene a search committee as outlined in the university
rules.
This review process should begin within two
months of the dean's notification to the provost of the intent to serve
another term and is to be completed within three months, excluding regular
academic breaks, from the first meeting of the faculty assessment
committee.
(4) Section 4. Faculty
assessment committee. The faculty assessment committee (a.k.a. faculty decanal
review committee) shall report to the provost on the quality of leadership
provided by their dean in accomplishing the goals and objectives for the
college.
(a) All individuals holding a full-time faculty title in
the college will be eligible to serve on a decanal review committee. The
faculty assessment committee will consist of:
(i) Five faculty members
from the dean's college elected by the faculty of the college, at least
one of whom shall be a tenured faculty member and at least one of whom shall be
an untenured faculty member (at the time of the election), unless no untenured
faculty member is willing to serve. The relevant provost will meet with the
faculty of the college to explain the review process and to call for the
election of these five committee members through the faculty governance
structure of the college.
(ii) At his/her
discretion, the relevant provost may appoint an additional faculty member from
the dean's college to the faculty assessment committee in order to achieve
balanced faculty representation.
(iii) In accordance with
established college procedures, up to two non-voting student members may be
selected from the students in the college.
(b) This committee, when formed, will meet with the
relevant provost to receive its charge. The provost will provide the committee
with copies of the annual reports that the dean has prepared for the faculty
during the dean's tenure plus those items listed in this rule in
paragraphs (D)(3)(a) [self assessment], (D)(3)(b) [letters of support],
(D)(3)(e) [assessment by college administrative staff], (D)(3)(f) [assessment
by administrative peers], and (D)(3)(g) [assessment by other relevant groups or
individuals] of this rule. The dean shall also submit to the committee his/her
dossier: included should be the college's mission statement and/or
long-range plan, and any other relevant material the dean wishes to
include.
While the faculty assessment committee may
set its own agenda, it must function in a confidential manner during its
deliberations to the extent permitted by law. In addition to a review of the
above listed materials, it is recommended that the committee's review
include:
(i) The current goals and
objectives of the college, how well they are being met, and how well the
faculty perceives they are endorsed and furthered by the incumbent
dean;
(ii) The overall quality
of the education, research (as appropriate) and service (as appropriate) that
is carried on within the college as it reflects the leadership of the dean and
the resources made available to the dean; and
(iii) Significant issues
that the faculty of the college perceive as being consequential within the
college or the university.
(c) In support of its agenda the faculty assessment
committee may collect data from the faculty of the college by interviews,
solicitation of letters, and/or surveys.
(d) Any written material submitted to and retained by the
faculty assessment committee is subject to disclosure according to the laws of
the state of Ohio. Any material to be considered by the committee must be
submitted in writing and must be signed. The committee may consider anonymous
information only when it is derived from a general survey used to determine the
level of support for and confidence in the dean. The survey must be reviewed,
approved, and executed by an appropriate research group on campus such as the
institute for policy research. This group shall compile the results of the
survey, including those open-ended comments provided in response to the survey
but excluding ad hominem attacks. These compiled results will be presented to
the faculty assessment committee for its review and consideration.
(e) When the faculty assessment committee has gathered its
data and completed its internal deliberations, it shall meet with the provost
to present its findings, to respond to questions by the provost, and to ask
questions of the provost. Following this dialogue the committee will submit a
summary report to the provost, including a recommendation for reappointment or
non-reappointment of the dean.
