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9. Academic Administrators
 

Expectations:

The following expectations are indicative rather than all inclusive.  Deans have the difficult task of representing the interests of the school, while subordinating those to the interests of the institution as a whole, and of retaining the confidence and support of their faculty, while directing their collective efforts, evaluating their individual performance, and holding them accountable.

In general, Deans are expected to--
 

• Exercise leadership and initiative--keeping the school focused on its mission, well informed, involved in decision making, and moving forward on a clear, collective agenda.

• Be responsive to students, faculty, administrative officers, other deans, and external constituencies, especially client community colleges and the public schools.

• Follow through in a timely way on initiatives, routine tasks, requests, and in meeting deadlines.

• Maintain a respectful and productive working environment, resolving conflicts, when they cannot be foreseen and prevented.

• Exercise appropriate oversight and accountability--with regard to the responsibilities of faculty and staff, fiscal resources, and established policies and procedures.

• Maintain academic quality and integrity.

• Represent the school and institution in a visible, responsible, and effective way.

• Keep the Provost and President appropriately informed on issues, events, and accomplishments.

• Ensure that searches, orientations, evaluations, and notifications are carried out appropriately and effectively in keeping with established policies and procedures.

• Know the academic programs of the school and basic policies and procedures related to the operations of institution, UH System, and public higher education in Texas.

In particular, Deans are expected to—

• Hold regular meetings of the faculty of the school.

• Avoid taking on course overloads or significant consulting or other outside employment.

• Ensure that faculty meet expectations with regard to office hours, registration duties, book orders, meeting classes, holding class for the full period, and other routine obligations.

• Supervise secretarial and other staff, ensuring timely processing of necessary paperwork.

• Let the Provost know in advance of absences of more than a couple of days, indicating who is left in charge and how the Dean can be reached.

• Schedule vacation for when fewer than usual demands can be anticipated.

• Report vacation and sick leave.

Workload:
Teaching--

• Unless otherwise approved, Deans teach at least one course per year.

Research--

• It is recognized that Deans should have time and opportunity to continue their research interests; it is also recognized that their scholarly productivity is likely to be affected by their administrative duties.

Service--

• It is difficult to separate institutional and community service from the normal administrative responsibilities of the School Dean.  Thus, fulfilling the role of Dean suffices for service contributions.

• Deans are expected, within reason, to attend the meetings of councils and committees on which they serve by virtue of office and to represent their schools when visibility and/or participation are appropriate and useful.
   

• Service includes fund-raising efforts.

Administration--

• Since the teaching and research of all faculty members depend upon the Dean’s performing their basic administrative duties effectively, these must have the highest priority apart from the Dean’s own students.

• Deans should expect to spend most of their time in administering the division and should schedule at least 20 hours a week in the office or related meetings and duties.  (It is recognized that meetings on and off-campus will substantially reduce the amount of scheduled time actually spent in the office.)

• The Dean’s office schedule should be posted and otherwise communicated.

Compensation--

• Deans are carried 50% on administrative and 50% on faculty salary budgets for the twelve months.

• Deans accrue vacation time.

• The basis for their contract is their nine-month faculty salary.
   

• Deans initial 12-month administrative salary will be negotiated on the basis of the annual CUPA survey of administrative salaries, considering the particular school or college in public universities with enrollments and budgets comparable to UHV's, as well as UHV's unusual status as an upper-level/graduate institution.
   

• Their initial 9-months faculty salary will be set in keeping with the formula described in the Faculty Salary Plan and based on the annual CUPA survey of faculty salaries by discipline and rank.
   

• Should the Dean later return to full-time teaching, the same percentage difference as obtained initially will apply to determine the difference between the 12-months and the 9-months salary.  E.g., if the initial Dean's salary were set initially at $100,000 and the 9-months faculty salary at $70,000, a difference of 30% would apply to the later determination of the faculty salary, should the Dean step down.  Obviously, the percentage may be greater or lesser at hire, depending on field, rank, and seniority in rank.
   

• Any compensation that is not part of the base salary will be separately considered.

• Merit raises are calculated on the basis of Deans’ 12-month salaries.  The raise pool for Deans is the same as that for faculty (rather than that of administrators). Given the size of the pool, little variation in merit increments can be expected.

• Upon returning to the faculty after two or more years of service, Deans will be released from one course for one semester to provide any needed assistance to the new Dean and prepare for the added courses they must teach.

•  Deans who step down prior to the end of the fiscal year revert to faculty status and their nine-month faculty salaries.  They could thus be without summer income unless they have arranged to teach summer courses.

Evaluation--  

• The Dean’s administrative evaluation is conducted annually by the Provost, using a process that includes the participation of faculty and may include peer administrators.  Evaluation is primarily formative and is seen as an opportunity to review concerns and support.

• Deans’ faculty evaluations will be done by the Provost in a manner consistent with that used in the school.  Student evaluation ratings must be submitted and reported each year, owing to post-tenure review policy, to which Deans are also subject.

Revised:  Summer 2005

Selection of School Deans:

School Deans serve at the pleasure of the President, upon recommendation of the Provost, on year-to-year appointments.

Selection Process--

When a Dean selection is to be undertaken, the Provost will meet with school faculty members, individually and/or collectively, to determine whether an internal or external search is to be conducted; to define pertinent issues and characteristics sought; to review procedures; and to name a search committee.

Candidates for the position are to meet with the search committee, school members, and members of the President’s Cabinet, ordinarily in groups, and with the Provost and President individually.  The chair of the committee is to ensure that the candidates are asked the same set of questions during the committee interview, that rating sheets or other means of collecting impressions from the committee and school faculty are used and filed, and that impressions of cabinet members are sought at least informally.

The search committee is to make its recommendations to the Provost, who will in turn recommend a candidate to the President. Should differences over the selection arise, the Provost will meet with the search committee and, as applicable, with school faculty to discuss these and attempt to arrive at agreement.

Once a Dean has been appointed, it is assumed that the school faculty, Provost, and other administrators will make every effort to ensure that the new Dean can be effective.

Term of Office and Review--

Deans serve an annual appointment at the pleasure of the President and thus may be removed at any time. However, reappointments and replacements are expected to take place in an orderly and timely way. Deans who decide to step down, resign, or retire should provide as much advance notice as possible.

The performance of the Dean is reviewed annually by the Provost with the participation of school faculty and staff.  It is assumed that routine concerns and suggestions will surface at this time.  However, school faculty members who are concerned about the performance of the Dean or school may, at any time, make their concerns known to the Dean. If they feel uncomfortable doing that, they should see the Provost. Upon petition of a significant number of faculty, the Provost will conduct an inquiry and determine a course of action in consultation with the faculty and the Dean in an effort to address the concerns.

Updated:  Summer 2005
 
 

Appointments:

Department Chairs serve at the pleasure of the dean on a year-to-year basis.  Duties as Chair normally extend from the beginning of the fall semester through the first summer term or for approximately 10.5 months as designated by the Dean.  Chairs remain on a faculty contract.
 

Service as Chair carries a one-course reduction in teaching load each semester, one-course equivalent pay for summer duties, and an annual stipend of $3,000.00.  Should a Chair cease to hold the position, these arrangements cease at the same time.  Any summer teaching is additional to the above amounts and is paid at the usual rate.

In the case of chairs appointed from outside the institution, faculty rank and tenure considerations will be negotiated and specified at hire:

• Appointment will normally be at the senior rank, associate professor or professor.

• Tenure consideration may take a variety of forms, e.g.--

• Review in the third-year of performance in teaching, research, and service, as well Dean's review of administrative performance.

• Review in the third-year of teaching and administrative performance only--with research and service contributions considered at hire.

• Review and approval at hire, with participation of the Faculty Promotion and Tenure Committee.

Back to...

• Deans' Guide Table of Contents