As chief administrative officer of the college, the President is authorized to make the final decision on all personnel issues, including the selection and employment of new faculty.
When a faculty vacancy occurs, the Chief Academic Officer (CAO) makes a recommendation to the President as to whether the vacant faculty position should be filled. No faculty position is automatically filled; rather, that position must be justified regarding its continued appropriateness within a liberal arts framework, the continued needs of the college, and the institution’s statement of mission.
To ensure the college’s success in attaining a deep pool of candidates and making the strongest hire possible, this process should be followed:
- After the department chair submits an assessment of the institutional need for a new position or a replacement for an existing position, and the administration approves, the President authorizes the CAO to proceed with the search process.
- The CAO and the chair of the involved department prepare a position description.
- The approved position description is publicized as widely as resources allow.
- The CAO calls a search committee called together. The committee selects its chair and establishes a timeline for its work. The search committee generally involves the following constituencies:
- A representative from the department in which the vacancy occurs—the department chair whenever possible. Departments with three or more members may appoint an additional department member as part of the committee
- The division chair of the pertinent department or his/her designee
- An at-large faculty representative from outside the department with the vacancy
- The CAO or his/her designee
- Upper-division student representative from department in which the vacancy occurs
- The committee may conduct preliminary telephone or video interviews.
- In consultation with the CAO, the search committee recommends the candidate(s) to be invited to campus for formal interviews.
- An on-campus experience—including a teaching demonstration, an in-depth interview with the search committee, and meetings with the department members and students—is arranged.
- The search committee recommends a candidate to the CAO, who carries the recommendation to the President.