A. Establishing the Position

a. Position, Position Description, and Position Posting
The Dean will review departmental objectives and long-term goals in requesting permission to hire for a faculty position. In the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Applied Studies, this will be done in consultation with the department chairperson. The Dean will secure approval of position, including rank and salary range, from the Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs. The Dean, in consultation with Human Resources, will develop a position description and posting. In the College of Arts and Sciences and School of Applied Studies, the appropriate chairperson will also consult in the development of the position description and posting. In the School of Law, the Faculty Recruitment Committee will consult. Once the Dean has approved the position description and posting, Human Resources will send it to the Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs for review and final approval. The office of the Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs will publish the approved position posting. The Dean will determine who in their unit will take the lead in developing and implementing a formal recruitment plan to share the posting with appropriate professional sources so that it reaches a robust and diverse pool of qualified applicants. All advertising for which a charge is made to the University will be issued through the office of the Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs. The Dean will also determine who will oversee the development of evaluative criteria, based on the approved position description, that will be used to screen applicants and select final candidates.

b. Selection of Candidates for Visitation on Campus
A search committee will be appointed by the Dean. In the College of Arts and Sciences and School of Applied Studies, the department chairperson will recommend a search committee to the Dean. Typically, the committee will consist of a minimum of three (3) full-time faculty members. In those instances where there is an insufficient number of faculty available within the academic hiring unit, faculty members from outside the academic hiring unit may be appointed, or non-University persons with professional expertise. All members of the search committee must complete University faculty search committee training prior to reviewing applications. In the College of Arts and Sciences and School of Applied Studies, the department chairperson must also attend this training. The search committee will screen applications using appropriate evaluative criteria, check references, and identify the top candidates, in order of preference. In the College of Arts and Sciences , the search committee will submit the names to the department chairperson who will forward this information and their own recommendation to the Dean. The Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences will then consult with the department chairperson and committee and approve candidate(s) to bring to campus to interview. In all schools besides the College of Arts and Sciences, the search committee will submit the names of the top candidates directly to the Dean. The Dean should, in other than exceptional circumstances and for reasons communicated to the search committee in writing, invite the candidates to campus for an interview in the order presented by the search committee. At any point, the committee/department chairperson may recommend to the Dean to terminate the search process.

c. The On-Campus Visit
The Dean and available faculty members of the department/school will have the opportunity to interview the candidate. In the College of Arts and Sciences and School of Applied Studies, the department chairperson will also have the opportunity to interview the candidate. It is expected that the candidate will remain on  campus for at least one day. It is also expected that the candidate will provide a demonstration as part of their campus interview by which the committee may assess their potential as a teacher. Where appropriate and possible, campus and community groups will meet with the candidate. The candidate will also have the opportunity to visit with faculty and staff, talk with students, etc.

d. Issuance of Contract
Following the on-campus interview, the search committee will recommend whether to invite the candidate to join the faculty. In the College of Arts and Sciences, the committee will forward its recommendation to the department chairperson. The department chairperson, in turn, will forward the committee's recommendation and their recommendation to the Dean. In the School of Applied Studies, the committee will forward its recommendation directly to the Dean and the department chairperson will forward their own, separate recommendation to the Dean. In schools where there is no department chairperson, the committee will forward its recommendation directly to the Dean. The Dean will review the recommendation(s) and determine whether to make a recommendation to the Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs that the candidate be offered a contract or to invite another candidate to interview. The Dean will also seek final approval from the Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs concerning salary, rank, and other administrative matters, including any negotiated items. The Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs will adhere to applicable personnel approval processes in approving/disapproving Dean’s recommendation. After the Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs has approved the Dean’s recommendation, the Dean will extend an offer to the candidate. If the candidate accepts the offer, the office of the Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs will prepare a contract and send it to the candidate. Offers are contingent upon successful completion of a background check for all new employees or those with a break in service of one year or more.