Effective May 2024 Faculty Administrator Appointments (Draft)

Background

Governing Regulation (GR) VII and GR VIII outline the process by which a college appoints/reappoints an educational unit administrator (department chair or school director). However, any position with a title (whether or not there is a stipend, bought out time, or other form of compensation) is a position of regard for faculty. It is important to manage these positions in a transparent and equitable manner. Thus, the processes outlined in GR VII and GR VIII should apply to any position with an administrative title, including, but not limited to: assistant/associate/vice deans, assistant/associate/vice chairs, division chiefs, and similar positions, including interim or acting appointments.  Across the University there is a range of approaches to these positions. Recognizing that each college, and even department, has its own unique needs, we advise that the following be used as standards to support best practices. 

Reappointments

If the dean or chair (role supervisor) and the incumbent faculty administrator are both willing to consider reappointment, then faculty input must be solicited as part of the process of reappointment. 
The unit faculty shall be notified that the term of the faculty administrator will soon expire. Faculty feedback shall be solicited; ideally in a manner that allows confidential input. For example, a survey can be sent to faculty asking if they support a reappointment, and asking for their input on strengths and opportunities for the incumbent. Alternately, a department meeting can be held (without the incumbent present) and discussion ensue, or the dean or chair can seek input via email, etc. 
Please note; this is not a vote, and the dean or chair has the authority to enact a reappointment (or veto a reappointment). However, the faculty input is of critical value to guide consideration of reappointment, and provide constructive feedback for the dean or chair and the faculty administrator moving on. 
If the reappointment is proceeding, then offer letter step #10 below is followed. Note, if you are proposing a change to an existing approved administrative stipend then please submit a written request with explanation and justification (e.g. adjustment for fair market value) to OFA before submitting the offer letter. 

New appointments

All positions should be clearly and transparently posted with an open call for applications. This is regardless of whether a search is external to a unit or only internal. At a minimum, an announcement of the position, including the job description, eligibility criteria and timeline (term of appointment or other) should be posted (posting can be as simple as an email sent to the involved unit calling for applications).  

1. If an incremental position is requested (external hire), then the position funding request is the first step, submitted through the faculty hiring workflow process.
2. If a change to the administrative stipend or a new administrative stipend is proposed then a written request with explanation and justification (e.g. adjustment for fair market value) must be submitted to OFA.
3. For department chair or school director positions, a search advisory committee must be formed. Search advisory committees are highly recommended for other faculty administrative positions, such as associate dean, vice chair etc, but the formation of such search advisory committees does not have to follow the process outlined in step 4.
4. The unit faculty are asked to submit nominations to serve on the search advisory committee. The dean (or delegate) forms the search advisory committee, taking care to consider broad representation (e.g. academic ranks, scholarship discipline areas, etc). For department chair or school director searches the search process must include participation of staff (GRVIII) and at least one student member (AR 3:15). The dean appoints a search advisory committee chair or co-chairs.
5. The search advisory committee reviews and revises the job description. Final approval of the job description is by the dean and Provost.
6. The pro forma for position funding and the job description/ search authorization must be submitted through the faculty hiring workflow. If the search is internal only then IES posting is not required, but the position must be posted to the unit (eg. via an email to all department faculty, posting on a department website, or similar).
7. The job description is shared with the unit, and candidate applications begin. It is recommended to define a date at which applications will be reviewed, as this helps ensure transparency and accessibility.
8. The search advisory committee reviews applications, interviews selected candidates, and forwards their recommendations to the role supervisor (dean or chair). Note, the committee should NOT rank order the candidates unless the role supervisor has explicitly asked them to.
9. The selection of the final candidate is at the role supervisor’s discretion.
10. The offer letter must be submitted through Faculty Hiring Workflow for review and approval before providing to the selected candidate. The submitted packet must include:
    a.    the email approvals of funding and search authorization.
    b.    evidence of faculty input (this can be a copy of a survey; a letter summarizing the process, the interview schedule, copies of correspondence with constituent groups, or similar).
    c.    The offer letter must clearly indicate the job description/ role expectations, base salary, administrative stipend, summer salary (if applicable) and expected DOE while in the role, and indicate that the position “serves at the pleasure of the Dean”. Suggested phrasing is: “The expected term of this appointment is x years, effective date xx/xx/xxxx; however, please note this appointment is at the pleasure of the Dean, and the Dean may remove you prior to the end of the expected term."
    d.    The letter should also indicate what the salary reverts to if the individual is no longer in the administrative role. (e.g. “Once no longer in the role, the administrative stipend is removed, and your salary reverts to your base salary of $xxx,xxx plus received merit increases”)
11. Once the offer letter is approved the offer may be extended to the selected candidate.

12. Once a signed offer letter is in hand, prepare an administrative appointment packet for the administrative role and forward it to the Office for Faculty Advancement, along with entering the associated Administrative Appointment Board Action entry in the Faculty Database. The administrative appointment packet shall contain the following items:

    •    A copy of the approved position description
    •    The dean’s letter to the Provost recommending the appointment
    •    A copy of the signed offer letter
    •    The preferred candidate’s CV
    •    Evidence of the faculty input into the search (this is the same as in step 10b, this can be a copy of a survey; a letter summarizing the process, the interview schedule, copies of correspondence with constituent groups, or similar).

13.   If the selected candidate is external to UK then in addition to the administrative appointment packet a full faculty appointment dossier should be assembled per standard guidelines to grant the new hire an appropriate title and rank. It is important to remember and to be clear in the offer letter that the faculty appointment and review of this dossier is a separate action by the UK Board of Trustees from the administrative appointment. Note: if the selected candidate holds the same appointment (rank, tenure status) at an outside institution that the Dean deems equivalent to the UK hiring College/department then an expedited appointment can be requested (see policy on expedited appointments).
14. Summer pay. If the position includes a change in assignment period such as the addition of summer pay, the following outlines the process for calculating summer pay:
    •    Annual base salary equals X
    •    Annual stipend equals Y
    •    Summer salary (Z) equals 1/9 of X (base salary only; or 1/10, 1/11 as appropriate).
    •    Total compensation equals X+Y+Z.  The administrative stipend is not included in base when setting summer salary.
15. Benefits are paid on the total compensation (X+Y+Z). If the position does not involve a change in assignment period, then salary equals X+Y. When the position ends, salary reverts to X (plus any merit or other increases received on base salary since).
16. Additional benefits or perks may or may not be offered – such as research support, support for postdoctoral fellows, etc. These additional items are at the discretion of the dean or role supervisor, and are not directly addressed in this guideline. However, the principles of equity, clarity and transparency should be considered in regards any additional components of an offer.
17. Implementation: Review of current practices showed a range in application. Thus, for all current appointments (and including possible reappointments of incumbent title holder), existing formulas may be used per dean discretion. However, when creating new positions and appointing new faculty into administrative roles, this clarified pay structure should be used.