Faculty Appointment Procedures

October 1, 2008

 

 

In accordance with the Constitution and Ordinances of the University, the Vice Chancellor nominates faculty for election by the Board of Regents, the Deans recommend election of faculty members to the Vice Chancellor, and the Provost assists with all faculty appointments. In the School of Theology, the Dean consults with the tenured faculty members regarding appointments. In the College, the Dean consults with the Appointments and Leaves Committee whose charge is “to be consulted by the Dean of the College about new appointments to the Faculty, to consider questions that may arise about appointments, and to make recommendations in such questions.”  

 

I. Preliminary Steps and Nondiscrimination Policy  

 

For tenure-track positions, the Deans consult with the Provost and Vice Chancellor regarding replacement of positions due to faculty retirements or new positions arising from strategic planning or reallocation of resources. 

 

Upon approval of a position, the Provost sends a letter to the Dean with copies to the Appointments Committee and the Department Chair. A national search is required for tenure-track positions. For contingent appointments, the Deans consult with the Provost.

 

For tenure-track appointments, the Dean in consultation with relevant departments or programs, appoints a Faculty Search Committee, which in the College normally includes the department or program chair. A liaison representative of the Appointments and Leaves Committee who is not a member of the department also plays a role in the College search process. In the School of Theology the Dean appoints a Faculty Search Committee, which may be a committee of the whole of the School of Theology faculty. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs coordinates the search process.

 

The Dean and Faculty Search Committee work together to draft a position description, subject to the approval of the Provost and Vice Chancellor, that includes the qualifications required.

 

Departments or programs should make every effort to generate as diverse an applicant pool as possible. They should seek to advertise the appointment by posting, through the Office of Human Resources, notice in a nationally recognized and appropriate professional journal and/or publications of professional societies (e.g., Academe, Affirmative Action Register, The Chronicle of Higher Education, MLA Job List). Hiring bodies are strongly encouraged to advertise in professional publications that may be of interest to minority candidates. The Dean must approve the wording of the notice and the journals in which it is placed. The notice must include reference to the University’s non-discrimination policy.

 

 Search committee members and interviewers should review the University’s Procedures for determining Eligibility to Work in the U.S. and at the University, which gives guidelines for handling legal issues related to eligibility to work. To support the University’s commitment to a diverse faculty, efforts must be made to encourage women and minorities to apply. Search Committee members should also seek to identify promising applicants—particularly minority candidates—by consulting with representatives of leading graduate schools and by communicating informally with colleagues in the profession.  

                       

The department shall describe a procedure for reviewing dossiers and ranking candidates. The Dean should approve both the procedure and the composition of the search committee before the search commences. Departments should reflect on their hiring procedures to avoid practices that may be discriminatory. 

 

All applications should be reviewed expeditiously by the search committee, with the receipt of applications acknowledged by letter or email—with clerical assistance for such tasks ordinarily supplied through the office of Human Resources. 

 

After applications have been received and reviewed, and before candidates are invited for preliminary or campus interview, the department supplies the Dean with a list of all candidates together with an indication of their preliminary ranking.

 

Before communicating with any candidates, the chair should review the University’s interview guidelines for appropriate interviewing procedure and should ensure that this information is communicated to others who are meeting with candidates.

 

From the applications received, the department assembles its list of candidates to be interviewed. Whenever possible, preliminary interviews should be conducted at meetings of professional societies. For tenure-track and multiple-year appointments, two faculty members in the department, normally including the Chair, attend the appropriate professional meeting to interview candidates. The reasonable expenses of both faculty members will be covered by the recruiting budget. Any other department members attending the meeting may participate in the interview within the fiscal limits of current guidelines for attendance at professional meetings.

 

From the applications received and, where appropriate, after preliminary interviews, candidates approved by the Dean will be invited for on-campus interviews. Normally three are invited. Departments wishing to bring fewer candidates to campus must first consult with the Dean, who may seek the advice of the Appointments and LeavesCommittee. Every effort should be made to interview qualified women and candidates from minority groups.

 

No decision of appointment may be made until all the invited candidates have visited Sewanee.

 

Assisted by the Office of Human Resources, the department or program arranges the campus visit of all finalists. For tenure-track appointments, a candidate’s spouse or partner is also invited to campus at University expense. In cases where employment of the spouse or partner seems to be of concern, departments are encouraged to inquire about local employment opportunities and to notify the candidate accordingly in advance of the visit.

 

Candidates must have official copies of all graduate and undergraduate transcripts sent to the department in advance of their campus interview. Once an appointment is made, such transcripts become part of the new faculty member's file in the Dean's office. In the course of meeting with a representative from Human Resources, candidates invited to campus must also complete the permission form for pre-employment screening.

 

It is helpful for candidates to receive information about the interests and activities of department members, or of others who might share professional interests, before they arrive in Sewanee. 

 

Schedules during the campus visit must include appointments with the Dean, Human Resources representative, and members of the department or program. For tenure-track appointments, the campus visit includes an appointment with the Vice Chancellor and Provost.  Candidates should also have a chance to meet students as well as other faculty or community members. All candidates invited to campus, including applicants for term positions, must be scheduled to meet with Human Resources to ensure they have opportunities to learn about topics such as housing, local schools, and employment benefits. They should also be allowed some free time during which they can relax or look about on their own.

 

All interviewers should receive copies of the candidate’s complete schedule and curriculum vitae. The Dean, Provost, Vice-Chancellor, and delegate of the Appointments and LeavesCommittee should be able to see the candidate's complete file before their meeting with the candidate takes place. The file should include a curriculum vitae, letters of recommendation, copies of publications when these are submitted, and undergraduate and graduate transcripts.

 

Each visiting candidate should be asked to give at least one lecture or class presentation, with allowance made for some free time preceding the event. The campus community is invited to the talk. Provision should also be made for the candidate to interact with students and other faculty members during the campus visit.

 

                       

The Dean, in consultation with the faculty, shall approve a procedure for reviewing dossiers and ranking candidates before the search commences. Those conducting the search process should reflect on their hiring procedures to avoid practices that may be discriminatory. 

 

All applications should be reviewed expeditiously by the search committee, with the receipt of applications acknowledged by letter or email. 

 

Before communicating with any candidates, those conducting a search should review the University’s interview guidelines for appropriate interviewing procedure and should ensure that this information is communicated to others who are meeting with candidates.

 

From the applications received, those conducting the search assemble their list of candidates to be interviewed. Whenever possible, preliminary interviews should be conducted at meetings of professional societies. For tenure-track and multiple-year appointments, two faculty members may be expected to attend the appropriate professional meeting to interview candidates. The reasonable expenses of both faculty members will be covered by the recruiting budget. Any other department members attending the meeting may participate in the interview within the fiscal limits of current guidelines for attendance at professional meetings.

 

From the applications received and, where appropriate, after preliminary interviews, candidates approved by the Dean will be invited for on-campus interviews. Normally three are invited though fewer might be invited if the Dean finds special reason to do so. Every effort should be made to interview qualified women and candidates from minority groups. No decision of appointment may be made until all the invited candidates have visited Sewanee.

 

Assisted as appropriate by School of Theology staff or the Office of Human Resources, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs arranges the campus visit of all finalists. For tenure-track appointments, a candidate’s spouse or partner is also invited to campus at University expense. In cases where employment of the spouse or partner seems to be of concern, faculty are encouraged to inquire about local employment opportunities and to notify the candidate accordingly in advance of the visit.

 

Candidates must have official copies of all graduate and undergraduate transcripts sent to the Dean’s office in advance of their campus interview. Once an appointment is made, such transcripts become part of the new faculty member's file in the Dean's office. In the course of meeting with a representative from Human Resources, candidates invited to campus must also complete the permission form for pre-employment screening.

 

It is helpful for candidates, before they arrive in Sewanee, to receive information about the interests and activities of others within the larger academic community who might share professional interests. 

 

Schedules during the campus visit must include appointments with the Dean, Human Resources representative, and members of the School of Theology faculty. For tenure-track appointments, the campus visit includes an appointment with the Vice Chancellor and Provost.  Candidates should also have a chance to meet students as well as other faculty or community members. All candidates invited to campus, including applicants for term positions, must be scheduled to meet with Human Resources to ensure they have opportunities to learn about topics such as housing, local schools, and employment benefits. They should also be allowed some free time during which they can relax or look about on their own.

 

All interviewers—including the Dean, Provost, and Vice-Chancellor—should receive copies of the candidate’s complete schedule and filebeforetheir meeting with the candidate takes place. The file should include a curriculum vitae, letters of recommendation, copies of publications when these are submitted, and undergraduate and graduate transcripts.

 

Each visiting candidate should be asked to give at least one lecture or class presentation, with allowance made for some free time preceding the event. The campus community is invited to the talk. Provision should also be made for the candidate to interact with students and other faculty members during the campus visit.

 

The Search Committee, at the time when it determines its first-choice candidate, should also identify which other finalists, if any, it considers worthy of recommendation for an offer and should rank order all such candidates.

 

After discussion of final rankings with the Search Committee, the Dean makes a recommendation to the Provost and Vice Chancellor. Upon the decision of the Vice Chancellor to nominate the candidate for election by the Board of Regents, the Provost and Dean determine the conditions of employment. The Dean then notifies the candidate and prepares an appointment letter for signature by the Dean, Provost, and candidate. The appointment letter includes a statement that “Your appointment will be presented to the Board of Regents at its next meeting, when we anticipate that members will grant formal approval.” When an appointment letter is issued to a candidate who does not yet have proper authorization to work in the U.S. and at the University, the following statement must also appear in the letter: “This offer of employment is contingent upon your obtaining, and maintaining during the term of your employment, authorization for employment in the United States and at the University.” A copy of the appropriate Faculty Personnel Procedures is enclosed with the appointment letter to provide information about the terms of employment and the expectations of the University. 

 

 

 

All of the following tasks are necessary for hiring faculty, and the Office of Human Resources handles all of them for the College. The School of Theology has preferred to handle items 5-11.

 

1.      Checking the advertisement description for legal language submitted by the Dean and appending the University’s standard text for position postings on the University website but not in professional journals unless requested by the Department/Search Committee.

 

2.      Placing the position announcement in the appropriate media designated by the Department/Search Committee after consultation with the Dean.

 

3.      Posting the position announcement on the University’s Office of Human Resources website.

 

4.    Completing a pre-employment screening—and arranging for finalist candidates to complete the relevant permission form for this screening at the time of their visit.

  

5.   Preparing and maintaining files of candidate materials

 

6.      Preparing acknowledgements of application and other correspondence for signatures by the department chair and mailing those to the candidates

 

7.      Informing candidates who are invited to campus that official copies of all graduate and undergraduate transcripts, curricula vitae, letters of recommendation, copies of publications, and authorization for a pre-employment screening must be received prior to the visit

 

8.    In consultation with the search committee, arranging campus visits, including travel, accommodation and lecture room reservations, interview appointments schedule, and receptions

 

9.      Preparing candidate materials for all persons participating in interviews (candidate’s schedule, curriculum vitae, letters of recommendations, copies of publications received, and undergraduate/graduate transcripts)

 

10.    In consultation with department chairs, preparing and sending letters to candidates not selected, with distinction observed between those who were invited to campus and other candidates. Department chairs may well choose to compose their own letters to finalist candidates who visited campus

 

11.    Completing applicant logs and other materials required for compliance with equal opportunity and other laws.

 

 

1. The Appointments and Leaves Committee is charged with advising the Dean on matters relating to all full-time, tenure-track, tenured or endowed appointments, including the establishment and implementation of procedures for part- and full-time faculty hiring. The Dean notifies the Appointments and Leaves Committee of planned appointments, and seeks the Committee’s advice about proposed appointments, including proposals for endowed chairs, as soon as possible in the academic year in which the appointments will be made or toward the end of the previous academic year. 
 

2. A department authorized by the Dean of the College to make an appointment should submit to the Dean and the Appointments and Leaves Committee a statement of the qualifications and competence required for the position to be filled. In planning the hiring process, the department chair should seek the Dean's advice as early as possible.

 

3. The department or program should maintain open communication with their appointments liaison throughout the entire search process.

 

4. Each candidate who visits campus should also meet with a liaison delegate of the Appointments and Leaves Committee, who should not be a member of the department concerned. This meeting should be informal but arranged in such a way that serious conversation is possible. The liaison is also encouraged to attend each candidate’s presentation and should have an opportunity to meet the candidate in a social context. During the final stages of deliberation, department or program chairs may also wish to invite the liaison to attend any meeting in which decisions about recommending specific job offers will be entertained.