DIVISION CHAIRS

Donald Wolff, Ph.D.  Division Chair of Arts and Letters	Kathleen Dahl, Ph.D. Division Chair of Social Sciences and Modern Languages	Anna Cavinato, Ph.D. Division Chair of Science, Mathematics, and Technology

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(Updated 1/16/08)

The College of Arts and Sciences is divided into three divisions: 1) Science, Mathematics, and Technology; 2) Social Sciences and Modern Languages; and 3) Arts and Letters. The organizational head of each division, designated as the division chair (DC), will be a tenured faculty member from one of the programs within the division.

Arts & Letters: Art, English/Writing, Media Arts, Music, and Theatre

Science, Mathematics & Technology: Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Geology, Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science/Multimedia Studies, and Psychology

Social Sciences & Modern Languages:  Anthropology/Sociology, Economics, Gender Studies, History, Modern Languages, Philosophy, and Political Science.

The three division chairs and the Dean comprise the Chair's Council.

Terms of Appointment:

The selection and appointment of Division Chairs shall be determined by a shared governance process with the approval of the Provost.  Division chairs will be elected to staggered, three-year terms by vote of the teaching faculty in each division. All on-campus teaching faculty in the division will be eligible to vote. Candidates for the position of division chair will be solicited by the Chair's Council. Elections will be held by secret written ballot. If more than two faculty are on the ballot and no one gets a majority of the votes, a run-off election will be held between the two highest vote-getters in the initial election. If a division chooses not to, or is unable to, elect a division chair, the Dean will appoint a chair in consultation with the entire division.

 

Near the end of each academic year the Dean will solicit evaluations of each division chair from the faculty in the relevant division. The dean will discuss the evaluations with each division chair. In the event that significant problems occur between the division chair and the Dean or between the division chair and the division faculty, the Dean will call a meeting with the division faculty to resolve the issues. The aim of the meeting will be to reach a solution acceptable to the Dean and to a majority of the division faculty which can range from replacement of the chair to institution of a program to correct the identified problems.

 

Division chairs will normally receive standard 9-month contracts with a reassigned time of 0.50 fte and a small annual stipend to carry out their chair responsibilities. Deans may contract with division chairs for additional administrative duties in the summer, but chairs will not be required to assume such duties unless both agree to the terms of the additional appointment.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The Division Chair will provide leadership within the Division including developing program plans, coordinating activities, and maintaining high quality performance in teaching and scholarly activities and public service.

Division chairs will:

• advocate a vision and the aspirations for the Division
• serve on the appropriate committees
• chair Division meetings
• keep the Division informed on matters of importance
• evaluate Divisional faculty at all levels for retention, tenure, and promotion
• conduct post-tenure reviews
• process student complaints and petitions
• advise the Dean on Division equipment purchases
• monitor Division budget matters as delegated by the Dean
• initiate and oversee Division searches
• facilitate curriculum issues for the programs in their Division
• recommend course schedules to the Dean and assess faculty course loads
• advise the Dean on Divisional space allocations
• help with the recruitment and retention of students

 

Each college may select specific duties in addition to those enumerated above that are particular to the unit.  The Dean also may assign additional duties or adjust as needed to serve the needs of the college or division.

Procedure for Review:

Division chairs will be reviewed annually by the Dean. In the event of an unfavorable review, the Dean will discuss the problems with the division chair in question. A resolution will be worked out between the Dean and the division chair, which can range from resignation of the chair to institution of a program to correct the identified problems.

Review Categories for Division Chairs:

Leadership within Division
              Representativeness and advocacy
              Personnel Management
              Judgment

Conducting Division Business
              Expeditiousness
              Availability
              Information flow

Working with Chair's Council
              Responsiveness
              Nature and extent of counsel
              Creativity & innovation (forward vision)

 

 

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