COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES GUIDELINES

DEPARTMENT HEAD SEARCH
Approved:       November 22, 2006
Supplements: TAMU Rule 12.99.99.M6
                       
1.00 GENERAL
University Rule 12.99.99.M6, “Faculty Participation in the Selection, Evaluation, and Retention of Department Heads,” provides that:

The size and precise makeup of the search committee will vary according to circumstances, but the following two principles are fundamental:

• A majority of the members must be faculty members of the department concerned. Other constituencies which might be represented include (but are not limited to) faculty from other departments, technical staff, students, relevant agencies, and various university programs.
• A majority of the faculty representatives from the department concerned must be elected by the faculty of that department.  The dean may appoint additional members to assure broad representation of groups within the department.
  
Although these provisions allow the elected faculty members to be as small as 25 percent, in most cases the proportion should be significantly larger.

2.00 GUIDELINES

To comply with this Rule, the Vice Chancellor/Dean, in consultation with the Cabinet, will appoint Search Advisory Committees for department head positions in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, and Texas Cooperative Extension using the following Guidelines:

A    Three to five faculty will be elected by the faculty of the department.  Faculty includes all Texas A&M University System employees (a) who have the title of Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Distinguished/Senior Lecturer, Lecturer, Extension Specialist, Research Professor, Research Assistant/Associate Professor, Research Scientist, or Assistant/Associate Research Scientist, and (b) for whom the department has primary responsibility for promotion evaluation, or whose annual performance evaluation is conducted by the department head.

B   Once the results of the election are available, another two to five faculty will be appointed to assure broad representation of faculty groups, by rank, responsibilities (teaching, research, and extension), subject matter expertise, ethnic background, sex, and national origin.

C   One to two members will be appointed to represent the staff in the department.

D   One undergraduate and one graduate student will be appointed.

E    Additional members may be appointed to represent other departments, intercollegiate faculties, institutes, and other units that are related to the department.

F    The chair will be appointed from among the other department heads in the College.

G   In cases where the department has a specific external constituency or constituencies, a separate stakeholder advisory committee may be appointed to represent these groups. This committee will report directly to the Vice Chancellor/Dean and Cabinet.