A. Search Process

Following approval from the Provost, the search process begins with a formal message from the Dean notifying the unit faculty of their intent to initiate a search for a new chair or director.

 

1. Search Committee Nomination and Election

In accordance with University Policy ACAF 1.01:

When a vacancy occurs in the position of department chair or school director, the dean of the college or school shall notify the faculty of the department or school and shall invite the faculty to elect up to three persons to serve on a search committee.

The dean shall indicate the proportion of tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty on the search committee.

The dean may appoint up to two additional persons, one of whom shall serve as chair of the search committee and at least one of whom shall be a member of the faculty of another department or academic unit.

Once the committee it confirmed, the Dean will commence the search by charging the Search Committee.

 

2. Identification of Candidates

 a. Internal Searches: Candidate Nomination Process

Once the search committee has been convened, the Search Committee Chair should instruct faculty members in the unit to self-nominate or submit nominations for a new chair or director in writing (by letter or e- mail).

1. The person nominated should agree to the nomination before candidates are The number of nominations for each candidate are not to be revealed.

2. The Search Committee Chair will speak individually with the nominees, inviting them to meet with the committee if they

b. External Searches: Candidate Application Process

In collaboration with College of Arts and Sciences Office of Human Resources, an advertisement will be created and posted for the chair/director position. Applications for external chair/director searches will be received and shared with the Search Committee via the standard process for faculty hiring.

 

3. Candidate Presentations

 a. Internal Searches: Unit Faculty Meeting for Nominee Presentations

The Search Committee Chair will call a meeting of the faculty, including all members of the search committee, for the Chair/Director nominee presentations.

Each nominee should give their thoughts on the position to the faculty in a brief presentation, followed by Q&A. During each candidate’s presentation session, the other candidate(s) should not be present.

Each candidate should also be scheduled to meet individually with the Dean.

b. External Searches: Candidate Interviews and Campus Visits

 

In collaboration with the Office of the Dean, the search committee will conduct candidate interviews and select finalists for campus visits.

Each candidate should prepare a brief presentation for unit faculty and related college faculty, staff, and students, followed by questions and answers. The unit faculty can ask both general and specific questions of any candidate.

Each candidate should also be scheduled to meet individually with the Dean.

 

4. Confidentiality

All information submitted to the committee throughout the process, including the final vote, must be kept confidential.

 

5. Professional-Track Faculty

In accordance with University Policy ACAF 1.01:

All full-time faculty are allowed to participate fully unless otherwise indicated in the unit bylaws or similar unit policy. Votes should be reported separately to the Dean.

 

6. Unit Staff

If the department chooses, unit staff may be included in the candidate interview process and provide feedback on the candidates. Unit staff feedback should be collected confidentially by the search committee and reported to the Dean.

 

7. Ballot Format and Distribution

A sample ballot is below. Faculty should rank only the candidates they find acceptable. Ballots may be signed or unsigned.

It is highly recommended that a brief narrative justification be included with each ballot.

Chair Vote

Acceptable Unacceptable Ranking of Acceptable

Person A
Person B
Person C
Person D
Person E

1. Search Committee Chairs should follow the Virtual Voting Procedures for Chair/Director Searches

1. The committee should ensure that partners of candidates are not involved in any stage of the search process. In accordance with university policy HR 1.27: Nepotism, partners of candidates may not vote.

 

8. Vote Results

The committee shall tabulate the votes and report those candidates rated as acceptable to the faculty.

 

9. Search Results

 
The Dean should receive the actual ballots and justifications as well as the vote tally from the search committee chair.

In accordance with University Policy ACAF 1.01:

If two or more candidates are acceptable to a majority of the participating faculty, the committee shall forward their names, along with all letters of recommendation and other materials received, to the dean. If there are not at least two acceptable candidates, the dean shall have the option of requesting a full report on all candidates or instructing the committee to resume the search.

The dean will either appoint a candidate of choice, ask the committee to submit additional names, or dissolve the search committee and begin the search process again. The Chair/Director serves at the discretion of the Dean.

 

B. Appointment

 

Department chairs and directors will be appointed in writing by the dean. Appointment letters will specify the term of appointment.

Performance Expectations

 

The performance expectations outlined below will form the basis for the annual review and evaluation of chairs and directors during their terms of appointment.

A. Chair, School Director, and Academic Program Director Performance Expectations

Department chairs, school directors, and program directors are expected to:

1. Conduct themselves in a manner that reflects favorably on the University of South Carolina, exhibiting high ethical standards and integrity in professional behavior.
2. Provide professional leadership to the unit and foster among its members a sense that they are a community of scholars.
3. Display a sound understanding of administrative Keep abreast of major issues and policies affecting areas of responsibility through interactions with the Office of the Dean, other units and programs within the College, and other University of South Carolina colleges, offices, and campuses.
4. Work collegially with other administrators as well as with faculty, staff, and
5. Communicate effectively with the Office of the Dean, reporting and explaining University and College policies to the unit, while representing unit perspectives and needs to the College
6. Exercise sound administrative judgment, efficiently and thoroughly making wise use of financial and human resources in achieving academic unit goals while staying within the unit budget.
7. Promote an atmosphere conducive to the professional growth of Nurture junior faculty by providing opportunities and guidance.
8. Offer support and guidance for all full-time faculty, both non-tenure-track and tenure-track alike.
9. Promote intellectual diversity among unit
10. Foster an inclusive sense of community among faculty, staff, and students at all
11. Promote diversity and equal opportunity in employment and educational decisions in the areas of responsibility under their supervision.
12. Act fairly and objectively in decisions about salaries, evaluations, and
13. Confront difficulties in a positive manner and display the ability to mediate and resolve conflict and to accept advice and suggestions from others.
14. Encourage excellence in graduate and undergraduate program curriculum, activities, and assessment.
15. Promote the unit and its members on the national and international stages to reflect credit on the University of South Serve as effective liaison and contact with other institutions, the broader academic community, and the public.
16. Maintain a research and/or teaching career in the discipline.

 

B. Center and Institute Director Performance Expectations

 

Center and institute directors are expected to:

1. Conduct themselves in a manner that reflects favorably on the University of South Carolina, exhibiting high ethical standards and integrity in professional
2. Display a sound understanding of administrative Keep abreast of major issues and policies affecting area of responsibility through interactions with the Office of the Dean, other units and programs within the college, and other University of South Carolina colleges, offices, and campuses.
3. Provide professional leadership to the center/institute. Exercise sound administrative judgement, efficiently and thoroughly making wise use of financial and human resources in achieving center/institute goals within the center/institute budget.
4. Communicate effectively with the Office of the Dean, reporting and explaining university and college policies to the center/institute, while representing its perspectives and needs to the college.
5. Encourage excellence in the center or institute as reflected in the curricula, activities, and assessment of each program.
6. Promote an atmosphere conducive to the professional growth of others. Nurture affiliated junior faculty by providing opportunities and
7. Offer support and guidance for all faculty affiliated with the center/institute.
8. Promote intellectual diversity among the faculty affiliated with the center/institute.
9. Promote diversity and equal opportunity in employment and educational decisions in the areas of responsibility under their supervision.
10. Act fairly and objectively in decisions about salaries, evaluations, and
11. Work collegially with other administrators as well as with faculty, staff, and
12. Confront difficulties in a positive manner and display the ability to mediate and resolve conflict and to accept advice and suggestions from others.
13. Promote the center/institute and its affiliated members on the national and international stages to reflect credit on the University of South Serve as effective liaison and contact with other institutions, the broad academic community, and the public.
14. Maintain a research/teaching career in the discipline.

 

Annual Review and Evaluation

 

A. Individual Faculty Activity Reports

 

Department chairs, program directors without a tenure home, and center/institute directors without a tenure home are reviewed annually on their teaching, research, and service activities as individual faculty members by the Office of the Dean.

Individual faculty activity reports, also referred to as the annual resume of activities, should be submitted to the Office of the Dean on the university's first open day of the new year each spring semester.

Program and center/institute directors with tenure homes are reviewed by the chairs of their home units in accordance with usual procedures.

 

B. Review Process Formats

 

1. Department chairs and directors in their respective roles will be evaluated by the Office of the Dean each year using the three review formats below.

• First year of appointment: Standard Review Process
• Intervening years of appointment as appropriate: Annual Review Process
• Final year of appointment: Comprehensive Review Process if the chair or director wishes to be considered for reappointment. Standard Review Process if the chair or director does not intend to seek reappointment.
  
  a. Department chairs and directors on an interim appointment will follow the Standard Review Process unless otherwise directed by the Office of the Dean.
  
  b. Center and institute directors will follow the Standard Review Process during each year of appointment unless otherwise directed by the Office of the Dean.
  
  

2. The Office of the Dean will provide a sample schedule outlining the dues dates and process steps for each of the review process formats at the beginning of each academic year.

 

Standard Review Process

 

1. Department Chair or Director Activity Summary

Department chairs and program directors in the first or final appointment year or on an interim appointment, and center and institute directors each year, will submit a two-page summary of their activity and achievements as chair or director, copying the unit associate dean. This is not to be confused with the individual faculty activity reports detailing research, teaching, and other service activities (See Section IIIA).

 

2. Dean's Office Response

The chair/director will receive a response from the dean that notes the chair/director’s achievements and, if applicable, outlines expectations for the upcoming year.

Annual and Comprehensive Review Process

 

1. Chair/Director Annual Review Committee

By the end of the fall semester, an Annual or Comprehensive Review Evaluation Committee should be formed consisting of at least two faculty members, one elected by the unit and one appointed by the unit associate dean. Note that elected standing committees may also be used for the elected members (e.g., the Tenure and Promotion committee). Professional Track faculty should also be represented on the Evaluation Committee, as appropriate (See Section 1A).

 

2. Review Process

The annual review evaluation process will begin on the Monday after spring break each year during the spring semester. The comprehensive review process may occur in either the fall or spring.

 

3. Department Chair or Director Activity Summary

For annual reviews, the department chair or director will submit a two-page summary of their activity and achievements as chair or director for the year to the Office of the Dean, copying both the evaluation committee chair and the appropriate associate dean. For comprehensive reviews, this two-page summary should encompass the entirety of their term. This summary is not to be confused with the individual faculty activity reports detailing research, teaching, and other service activities (See Section IIIA).

 

4. Annual and Comprehensive Reviews

a. The Office of the Dean will create three online evaluation surveys for tenured and tenure-track faculty, for professional-track faculty, and for unit The links to the surveys will be sent to the evaluation committee chair or designated staff member.

The evaluation committee chair or designated staff member will send the survey links along with the chair’s/director’s two-page summary to unit faculty and staff as appropriate. The appropriate associate dean will be copied on these emails.

b. The professional-track faculty and unit staff surveys will note that survey results will be reviewed at the college level only by the associate dean and not shared with the evaluation committee.

c. Unit faculty and staff may also submit confidential letters directly to the appropriate associate dean in hard copy in addition to or in lieu of the online surveys.

 

5. Survey Responses
 

The unit faculty and staff will be given two weeks to complete the survey.

a. Aggregate survey data from the tenured and tenure-track faculty survey will be given to the evaluation committee by the Office of the Dean.

b. Survey data from the professional-track faculty and staff surveys will be sent directly to the appropriate associate dean.

 

6. Evaluation Committee Report

Within two weeks, the evaluation committee will submit the evaluation summary report to the appropriate associate dean.

 

7. Dean's Office Response

a. The dean and associate dean will review the evaluation committee summary report, the results from the tenured and tenure-track faculty, professional-track faculty, and staff surveys, and any confidential letters

b. The chair/director will receive a copy of the evaluation summary report as well as a response from the dean that notes both the chair/director’s achievements and faculty feedback. For annual reviews, the response will also outline expectations for the upcoming year.

c. The chair/director will receive a copy of the evaluation summary as well as a response from the dean that notes the chair/director's achievements and faculty feedback, provides notice of reappointment or non- reappointment and, if the former, outlines expectations for the upcoming