1. The department chair or program director should discuss the need for and nature of a potential position with appropriate colleagues. When the individuals involved have reached agreement, the department chair or program director should seek approval of the Provost.
2. Departments seeking authorization for a faculty line should submit appropriate materials to the Provost, who will consult with the Educational Policies Committee (EPC) regarding authorization of a new search. Materials to be submitted include: a rationale for and description of the position and how it contributes to institutional and departmental/program needs, tentative timeline for a search, a plan for actively seeking out diverse candidates for the position, and a draft position description. Final approval for a search comes from the President. Materials submitted by the department, as revised through suggestions from the Provost and EPC, should be consulted throughout the process by the search committee as an aid in understanding the development of the current position description.
3. The Provost should consult with the EPC regarding program direction and priorities and with the President regarding budget before authorizing a search. The definition of the position may be modified during this process to ensure that wider College needs are met.
4. In the rare case that the only continuing faculty member in a department has a personal relationship with an applicant, a faculty member outside of the department will be designated to chair the search committee. Such an external search chair should meet with the continuing faculty member in the department before the position description and ad are finalized to discuss the continuing faculty member’s own expertise and potential departmental needs for the open position. The external search chair will consult with a colleague outside of the College in the discipline of the search for feedback on how the potential departmental needs for the open position fit with other programs in the discipline.