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Initial Appointment of Teaching and Research Faculty- Board of Visitors Policy
No one has the authority to make a firm offer of employment (subject
to approval by the board and the governor) except the provost and vice
president for academic affairs, who acts by authority of the president.
Any communication at the departmental or college level with potential
appointees should make it clear that approval by the provost and vice
president for academic affairs is required. An initial faculty appointment should not be considered final until
it has been approved by the Board of Visitors and the governor of the
Commonwealth of Virginia or his/her designate. All offers of employment
and other communications with potential faculty members should specifically state this fact. No administrative official shall have the authority to make a statement
of expectation of tenure or a written/oral commitment which implies in
any way a promise of tenure except as described in paragraph D below.
Except as described below, all initial appointments to the faculty shall
be probationary and no award of tenure or promise of an award of tenure
shall be made to a faculty member except in strict accordance with the Board
of Visitors Policies on Tenure. In the case of certain initial appointments to the rank of professor
or associate professor, the president has the authority to eliminate the probationary period
for tenure and to make a firm offer or promise of tenure subject to II.G.11.
of this policy and approval by the board. It is the sense of the board
that this authority should be exercised rarely and only when the best
interests of the university require it. All such cases must be reported
to the board for approval before tenure is awarded. The president is accountable to the Board of Visitors for insuring the
appointment of faculty qualified to carry out the mission of the institution,
for the implementation of the university's affirmative action plan in initial
appointments, for maintenance of fiscal responsibility in assignment of faculty
positions, and for the establishment of procedures to carry out board policy in
initial appointments. The president may delegate some or all of these responsibilities
to the provost and vice president for academic affairs.
- Procedures
In a timetable established in accordance with the procedures for building
the operating budget for the coming year, each department anticipating hiring
new faculty for the coming year projects the positions it wishes to fill
(including both new positions and replacements for retiring faculty members
or others known to be leaving). These projections must be in accord with the
approved mission of the department and must be clearly related to demonstrable
needs of the department, including at least a clear relationship between
instructional faculty and projected FTE students in accordance with the
departmental faculty/student ratios approved by the Office of the Provost
and Vice President for Academic Affairs. Other justifications for positions
may include establishment of new programs which may not immediately produce
FTE students sufficient to justify the position, existence of substantial
funded research for which time will be purchased by an outside agency, and
important service activities required by the department within the university's mission. The dean, once reports have been received from all departments, recommends
to the provost and vice president for academic affairs in priority order new
and replacement faculty positions for the coming year together with salaries
required for each position. Copies of the departmental recommendations are
included by the dean in the report to the provost and vice president for academic affairs. On the basis of the projected needs of the following year, the provost
and vice president for academic affairs requests a specific number of
faculty positions and a budget for these positions from the president
at the appropriate time in the annual budget process. Within the budget and positions allocated to the provost and vice president
for academic affairs by the president, the provost and vice president for academic
affairs assigns positions and funds to each dean for new or replacement faculty positions. The dean allocates these positions with general salary ranges to the
departments in the college. If later in the year a position falls vacant because of an unexpected resignation or
for any other cause, this fact is reported promptly to the provost and vice president for
academic affairs, who may then reassign the position to the college in which it previously
existed, assign it to another college, or discontinue the position. If the position is assigned
to a college, the provost and vice president for academic affairs assigns additional funds to the
dean of that college to cover the salary of this position. These funds are not necessarily equal
to the salary of the departing faculty member. The dean may then assign an additional position to
the department within the college having the greatest need. Positions falling vacant are not
automatically assigned to the same college or department but are assigned on the basis of
university and college priorities. - Once a position has been assigned to a department, the following recruitment
procedure is instituted (a similar procedure will be followed for interdisciplinary
faculty)[1]:
A statement of critical requirements for the position at the time
it is offered is developed by the department and approved by the
dean. The critical requirements should indicate clearly the primary
responsibilities that the new faculty member will be expected to
perform and the qualifications necessary for the performance of these
responsibilities. The department consults the university's equal opportunity/affirmative
action director for advice concerning avenues for recruitment of
qualified women and minority candidates and concerning the university's
policies and procedures for insuring affirmative action in the recruitment
process. Failure to follow the university's affirmative action policies
and procedures will usually result in the refusal of the provost and vice
president for academic affairs to write a contract for the faculty member recommended. Advertisements are placed in appropriate professional journals
by the Office of Academic Affairs upon the recommendation of the
department. Specific procedures concerning recruitment advertising
are available from the Office of Academic Affairs. All other means are used by the department to conduct an active
search for the largest possible pool of qualified candidates. Credentials of candidates are carefully screened by the department
or interdepartmental committee in order to determine the ones with the
best qualifications for the open positions. - After insuring that appropriate affirmative action policies and
procedures have been met, the chair, with the approval of the dean,
then chooses one or more of the most qualified candidates to visit
the campus. All final candidates for a position should visit the
Old Dominion University campus. Because of fund limitations, it will
usually not be possible to invite more than two or three candidates for
one position. The following procedures are followed:
Prior approval from the Office of Academic Affairs (who will check
with the equal opportunity/affirmative action director in order to ensure
that procedures have been followed) is obtained for the expenditure of
travel funds before the candidate is invited. All candidates meet with the chair, dean, all available faculty
members of the department, and selected students. In the case
of large departments with a representative appointments committee
of the faculty, the composition and size of the faculty committee
is determined by the department. Candidates who will be expected
to teach courses on the 500 level or above and candidates for associate
professor and full professor are scheduled for appointments with the provost
and vice president for academic affairs or a designee whenever possible. While on campus candidates are given copies of the most recent
Faculty Handbook and are informed of the university policies concerning
moving expenses and other relevant matters. All candidates should understand
that they may be assigned to day, evening, or off-campus classes as part
of their regular loads. Departments are expected to require that candidates prepare a classroom
lecture, conduct a seminar, or deliver a public talk so that their potential
associates and students may observe their command of subject and clarity of
presentation. The department shall confirm a candidate's proficiency in
spoken English.
The chair, after receiving and considering a written recommendation from
the faculty of the department or the appointments committee and after insuring
that all affirmative action procedures have been followed, recommends to the
dean the name of one of the candidates and a possible salary range and includes
the recommendation of the faculty or faculty appointments committee. If the dean
approves the name, he or she assigns a salary within the budget previously assigned
to the dean's office by the provost and vice president for academic affairs. - The dean recommends to the provost and vice president for academic affairs
on a prescribed form that a contract be written. Appended to this form is a copy
of the recommendation of the faculty or of the appointments committee together
with the recommendation of the chair.
If the dean is requesting any special consideration, limitations, or
exceptions to normal policy and procedure concerning this appointment,
such recommendations should be transmitted to the provost and vice
president for academic affairs at this time. Any recommendation that credits toward the probationary period for
tenure for prior academic experience be granted shall also accompany the
request that a contract be written.
The provost and vice president for academic affairs or the vice provost
consults with the university's equal opportunity/affirmative action director
to insure that proper affirmative action procedures have been followed. If all
requirements are met, the provost and vice president for academic affairs writes
the contract and sends it to the candidate, together with a covering letter
specifying any unusual conditions or exceptions concerning the appointment and
any credit toward the probationary period for tenure being granted for prior
academic experience. If the signed contract is received by the specified deadline, it becomes
effective when approved by the Board of Visitors and the governor or his or
her designate. If the initial appointment is to the rank of professor or associate professor
and the department wishes to award tenure at the time of appointment, request for
an initial appointment with tenure must be initiated by the chair, voted on by the
departmental tenure committee, the college promotion and tenure committee, the
university promotion and tenure committee and approved in writing by the dean, the
provost and vice president for academic affairs, and the president. The review shall
be based on the candidate's normal application materials. Normally, an initial appointment
with tenure will be granted only to a faculty member who already has achieved a
distinguished academic record and held a tenured position. This policy applies to both
internal candidates (those employed at Old Dominion University in a different department
or unit) and external candidates (those not employed at Old Dominion University).
- The following procedures are used for initial appointment of part-time
faculty:
Adjunct instructors and adjunct assistant instructors - The chair recommends the
appointment of an adjunct instructor and adjunct assistant instructor to the dean.
If the dean approves the appointment, he or she reports the appointment to the provost
and vice president for academic affairs on the prescribed form. Other part-time ranks (adjunct assistant professor, adjunct associate
professor, adjunct professor, artist-in-residence, etc.) - The chair recommends
the appointment to the dean after consultation with the faculty of the department.
If the dean approves, he or she recommends the appointment to the provost and vice
president for academic affairs on a prescribed form. The provost and vice president
for academic affairs, if he or she approves the appointment, notifies the faculty member.
- Research Faculty:
Research faculty are normally supported in large part from non-Commonwealth
funds or are expected to generate their own support from such funds. The department chair, sometimes at the request of a principal investigator
in the department, recommends appointment of a full-time research faculty
member to the dean. The dean recommends to the provost and vice president
for academic affairs. The provost and vice president for academic affairs,
consulting if appropriate with the vice president for research, makes the
final decision concerning the appointment and, if the appointment is approved,
notifies the faculty member.
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