3361:10-6-02. University committees: guidelines for provost and dean search and for decanal review process

(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.

Replaces: Former 3361:10-6-01

Replaces: 3361:10-6-02

Effective: 12/11/2002
Promulgated Under: 111.15
Statutory Authority: 3361
Rule Amplifies: 3361
Prior Effective Dates: 6/20/1988, 7/5/1988, 1/8/1990, 2/13/1990, 6/20/1997