| Title | Appointment and Responsibilities of Department Chairs | Number | 644 |
| Section | Academics | Approval Date | Feb 12,2009 |
| Subsection | Faculty | Effective Date | Feb 12,2009 |
- A department Chair is a faculty member who has leadership and management duties within a department. As a faculty member the Chair represents the department to the rest of the institution and is an advocate to the UVU administration for the needs of the department, its programs and projects, faculty, staff, and students. This document clarifies the role and selection of department Chairs at Utah Valley University.
A. “Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities”, American Association of University Professors (AAUP).
B. Irene W. D. Hecht, Mary Lou Higgerson, Walter H .Gmelch, Allan Tucker. “Roles and Responsibilities of Department Chairs.” The Department Chair as Academic Leader (Phoenix, AZ: ACE Oryx Press, 1999). Chapter 2.
C. Faculty and Staff Handbook, Section 2.13, “Department Chairs”, George Mason University (http://www.gmu.edu/facstaff/handbook/c2/s13.html)
D. Numerous related articles are available online through the American Council on Education at http://www.acenet.edu/resources/Chairs/index.cfm?section=0.
E. UVU Policy 637, Academic Tenure.
- Department: An academic unit consisting of faculty specializing in the same or related disciplines.
A. The Role of Department Chair
1. The Chair is the representative and advocate of an academic department, its faculty, staff and students.
2. The Chair manages or designates the management of the affairs of the department, including issues relating to instruction, staffing, human resources, finances, and facilities.
3. The department Chair provides leadership and support for programs, degrees, faculty and students, and should facilitate innovations and creativity among members of the department.
4. The position of department Chair is one of service open for consideration by interested faculty members in a department.
B. Selection of the Department Chair
1. A candidate for Chair shall be a tenured member of the department, when possible. If not tenured, the selected Chair must be on tenure track.
2. Department Chairs shall be selected by the department faculty in consultation with and subject to the approval of the Dean and VPAA.
3. Disapproval of the department selection must be explained to the department by the Dean and/or VPAA. In the event of Dean and/or VPAA disapproval, the department shall repeat the process of selection and forward the name of another candidate for approval.
C. Compensation for the Department Chair
1. The workload and stipend for the department Chair are determined by the college or school.
A. Selection of Chair
1. Chair Selection
The Chair will ordinarily be chosen from among the faculty members of the department.
2. Interim Chair Selection
When necessary, an interim Chair may be selected. The difference between a Chair and an interim Chair is in the term of service—an interim Chair serves only until a regularly selected Chair is found, and except in extraordinary circumstances, will serve no more than one year. The procedure for selecting an interim Chair is the same as for selecting a regular Chair.
3. External Chair Selection
When a candidate cannot be found from among university faculty, an external search may be conducted upon approval of the VPAA. The department, in consultation with the Dean, will organize a search committee containing tenure-track faculty and other representatives from inside and outside the department as deemed appropriate. A majority of the members of the search committee will be members of the department faculty.
B. Term of Service
Department Chairs will serve for a term of three years and may be reselected according to the procedures in this policy.
C. Training and Evaluation of Department Chairs
1. Orientation and training will be provided for department chairs by the university. Deans are responsible and encouraged to arrange training for department chairs on an on-going basis.
2. Deans conduct an annual evaluation with department chairs. Input will be requested from department faculty for this evaluation. Deans send these evaluations to the VPAA.
D. Dismissal
1. If the Chair chooses to resign the position, he or she will notify the Dean in writing and generally will continue to serve until either a new or interim Chair is selected.
2. Dismissal of a department Chair may be initiated by a vote of no confidence from the faculty. Such recommendations should be rare and accompanied by a written letter of explanation and presented by the department to the Dean.
3. The Dean may recommend a Chair’s dismissal. Such recommendations should be rare and accompanied by a written letter of explanation and presented to the department by the Dean.
4. The VPAA may recommend a Chair’s dismissal. Such dismissal should be rare and accompanied by a written letter of explanation and presented to the department by the VPAA.
- The final decision regarding the dismissal of a department chair resides with the VPAA.
- Dismissal from the position of department chair does not affect academic standing, including consideration for tenure or rank.