Article XI: Department Chair

B29M

The appropriate Dean will make a recommendation for a department’s Chair to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs after consulting with all full-time department teaching faculty. The chair will be appointed by the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs after conferring with the Dean. A Department Chair will normally be appointed for a period of four years. The chair may be reappointed for successive two-, three-, or four-year terms.

B35A

A Department Chair, in addition to performing all regular duties of teaching faculty members, will serve as the chief administrative officer of the department and will represent the department in general University matters. The Chair will involve department members in decision making especially with regard to curriculum proposals and appointment, promotion, and retention of faculty members. He/she may also delegate administrative duties. Specific responsibilities include the following:

• Planning courses, submitting class schedules, making teaching assignments, and supervising the advising of majors
• Keeping under continuous study the departmental curriculum and standards, and making efforts to strengthen teaching procedures and to improve the quality of instruction
• Holding annual individual conferences with all department members to review their progress on current goals, consider new ones, and determine how those goals might best be achieved
• Participating in the selection and orientation of new staff members and making recommendations relative to the retention and promotion of staff members
• Preparing budget requests for the department and for library needs and requisitioning materials and equipment
• Preparing catalog material related to the department, conducting correspondence, and maintaining files necessary for the department
• Collecting the information necessary and writing the department’s annual report
• Conducting the annual evaluation of faculty members within the department (Unit III of the teaching faculty evaluation process)