Chair Term and Compensation Policy

1. Base salary adjustments may be made to bring the new chair into some general alignment with the salaries of chairs in other comparable areas. These salaries should also not be inconsistent with the salaries of accomplished scholars at the same rank in their departments if and when they no longer are serving as chairs.
   
   
2. The candidate for department chair should agree to serve a five-year term to help justify any base salary increase, to provide stability, and to be able to serve for several years at a high level after the initial period of learning and adjustment.
   
   
3. In addition to adjustments to base salary the chair will receive a 7% salary increase during the term of the appointment.
   
   
4. The chair position involves responsibilities throughout the calendar year. As such the chair will also receive 5/32 of their 9-month salary during the summer months.
   
   
5. Near the end of that five-year term, the Dean and the chair will meet to discuss the possibility of an extension. The term should be extended if and only if the dean and the chair are both in favor of the extension and the general sentiment in the department is favorable as well. Either side should be able to express the desire for a change at that time as well, in which case there will be a search for a new chair.
   
   
6. The extension should normally be for a term of three years. After a total of eight years, there should normally be a search for a new chair. If the chair has successfully concluded an eight- year term in a satisfactory manner, the chair would be allowed to keep the 7% increase that normally accrues to a chair, but not the additional summer compensation.
   
   
7. Only if there is no satisfactory alternative candidate for a successor in the department and both sides agree to extend, would there be one additional extension of the chair by mutual agreement. However, if there are no viable internal candidates at the end of that term, there should be a search for an external chair.
   
   
8. Only under very unusual circumstances should one faculty member serve for more than eleven years as department chair.

Removal from Office

Chairs are evaluated annually by the dean and by all tenured, tenure-track and untenured faculty members within their departments. Failure to continue to perform at a high level of administrative excellence could lead to removal from the chair.