Term Appointments for Department Heads

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Term Appointments for Department Heads in the Mellon College of Science

Adopted by the Dean 2 November 1987

  1. Department head appointments shall expire at the end of a term of five years. A set term of appointment is desirable because

    • (a) the interest of returning highly qualified scholars in timely fashion to full-time teaching and research must be weighed against the interest of long-term administrative ability;

    • (b) different people have different strengths and talents that can be used to help move a department toward excellence;

    • (c) as times change, new perspectives on departmental goals and leadership needs develop;

    • (d) the service of a department head should conclude with dignity and a sense of fulfillment.

  2. The Dean remains ultimately responsible for appointing a department head and monitoring performance, as well as for terminating an appointment, if necessary, before the expiration of the specified term. Department head appointments are neither permanent nor rotating nor elective; however, the Dean shall seek, and give great weight to, the advice of departmental and other faculty in making decisions on these actions.

  3. The performance of department heads shall be the object of evaluation planned in an orderly fashion, both to provide timely consideration of positive and negative aspects of the performance and to detect management problems associated with the department's structure and functioning. A formal evaluation should, if possible, be conducted in conjunction with an evaluation of the department by a visiting committee. The monitoring process will also include more informal internal evaluations.

    In order not to interfere in time with the search process taking place near the expiration of the specified term, the formal evaluation should take place no earlier than the fourth semester nor later than the seventh semester of the department head's term of appointment.

  4. Near the end of the specified term, or whenever a vacancy occurs, the Dean shall appoint a search committee to make recommendations on the next appointment, and shall instruct this committee on the scope of the search.

    If truly outstanding performance of a department head, together with the best interests of the department and the College, outweigh the desirability of change, the Dean may, instead of appointing a search committee, issue an invitation to the department head to accept appointment for an additional term. Such an invitation may also result from the recommendation of the search committee.

    If not reappointed, a department head may, at the Dean's request, continue to serve for an interim period beyond the expiration of the term of appointment, pending the appointment of a successor.

  5. Under exceptional circumstances, by agreement between the Dean and the candidate and with the consent of the Provost, a department head appointment or reappointment may be made for a term of less than five years. The timetable for an evaluation during such a term shall be adjusted to meet the concerns expressed under 3.

Evaluation Guidelines

Both formal and informal evaluations of the performance of a department head should address at least the following areas:

The members of the department's faculty (including research faculty) should be requested to address each of these areas, as well as to provide an overall opinion on the department head's performance; these responses should be in writing, but identification of the respondent should be available only to the Dean and to the evaluation committee, when there is one, unless the respondent directs disclosure.

A formal evaluation should be conducted, if possible, in conjunction with a visiting committee's evaluation of the department. The committee conducting the evaluation, appointed by the Dean in consultation with the faculty, should include senior faculty from the department and other departments, members of the visiting committee, if possible, and other outside reviewers, as appropriate.

In an informal evaluation, the Dean should, in addition to requesting the response of the department's faculty, obtain the views of other qualified persons - including department heads - who are in a position to emit an informed opinion. Student opinion, both graduate and undergraduate, should be elicited on relevant matters. The Dean should then prepare his overall evaluation and discuss this evaluation with the department head and the faculty in a suitable setting.