| 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. The
President receives advice and recommendations for appointment of teaching
faculty from the Faculty Interview and Search Committee (FISC) and
the Student Faculty Affairs Committee (SFAC). For matters of contract
renewal and tenure, the President receives advice and recommendations
from the Faculty Affairs Committee (FAC) and (SFAC). The Academic
Dean fully participates ex officio with the four elected members
of FISC in deliberations and consensus seeking. The Academic Dean
also fully participates ex officio with the five elected members of
FAC in deliberations, consensus seeking, and minute writing.
FAC, FISC, 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 these three committees
(FAC, SFAC, and FISC) play. Individually and collectively in advising
the President and helping to shape the future of the College. 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
E 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. |