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Handbook Section A FACULTY APPOINTMENTS AND EVALUATIONS: DECISION MAKING PROCESS Earlham’s President is responsible for the appointment and contract renewal of Earlham’s teaching faculty and for recommendations to the Earlham Board of Trustees for tenure. That responsibility is exercised in the context of receiving advice and recommendations from the Faculty Affairs Committee (FAC) and the Student Faculty Affairs Committee (SFAC). Along with the five elected members of FAC, the Academic Dean fully participates ex officio in FAC deliberations, consensus seeking, and minute writing. FAC and SFAC are the primary vehicles for collective faculty and student participation in teaching faculty appointment and renewal. They are charged with reviewing faculty members’ renewal files carefully as the basis for the recommendations they make to the President. Typically, both FAC and SFAC deliberate independently about candidates and seek to reach a consensus independent of each other. After this, the two committees usually have joint meetings in which they attempt to reach a shared consensus recommendation about a candidate. The President is expected to take into account the recommendation of FAC and SFAC, even if the President’s decision differs from the recommendation and even if FAC and SFAC have not reached a consensus. If a consensus recommendation is not achieved, the committees will meet with the President to explain the grounds of the difficulty. It is finally the President’s decision whether or not to recommend candidates for tenure to the Board of Trustees. We value this broad role of FAC. While department and program faculty do not participate directly, their recommendations carry considerable weight. Further details of the FAC/departmental/program consultation are provided in Section D of this handbook. In appointing and renewing administrative faculty, the President may share this responsibility with the appropriate administrative department head. For many administrative positions, appointments are made after a broadly constituted search committee has submitted its recommendations. Thus, an array of perspectives and judgments contributes to making personnel decisions at Earlham College. Although no one can guarantee that we will always make the right decisions, we hold to the Quaker view that shared wisdom produces good results. Moreover, a process that genuinely values the opinions of many will result in better morale, greater identification with the college, improved collegiality, and a keener sense of community. The Earlham Board of Trustees approves tenure and promotion recommendations for teaching faculty, as specified in the college by-laws. In so acting, the Board does not seek to replace the professional judgment of peers and academic administrators but seeks only to satisfy itself that correct procedures have been followed. |
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Earlham College · 801 National Road West · Richmond,
Indiana 47374-4095 |