Article IX: Departments and Divisions

Section 1: Department Defined

A department is an administrative subdivision of a school, college, or other unit of the University organized for the purpose of conducting programs in instruction, research, and service.

Section 2: Membership

The faculty of a department shall consist of all professors, associate professors, assistant professors, and instructors employed to do work of an instructional, research, or service nature in the department.

Section 3: Meetings

The faculty of a department shall meet at least once each semester. At all meetings of the departmental faculty, the head of the department shall be the presiding officer.

Section 4: Responsibilities

Subject to the direction of the faculty of its school or college, the faculty of a department shall be responsible for the programs of study offered by the department, and shall have power to determine such matters as do not affect relations with other departments.

Section 5: Head

The Head of a department shall be recommended for appointment in accordance with Regents’ Policy. The Head shall be recommended for appointment after the Dean of a school or college has consulted with the faculty of the department. Such consultation shall include a vote of the faculty of the department, the results of which shall be forwarded with the Dean’s recommendation. A Department Head shall hold office at the pleasure of the President. The Head’s powers shall be as follows:

  1. The Head shall have general direction of the work of the department. The Head shall formulate and recommend proposed policies for the department and present them to faculty of the department for consideration. The Head shall administer the rules and regulations enacted by the faculty of the department. The Head is charged with the responsibility for the execution of departmental, University, and Regents’ policies insofar as they affect the work of the department.

  2. The Head shall be the representative of the department in all official communications with the President, the Senior Vice Presidents, the Vice Presidents, the Deans, and other officers of the University, and also in all departmental communications with students.

  3. The Head shall be responsible for the quality of the instruction, research, and service programs conducted in the department.

  4. The Head shall make teaching assignments within the department and maintain insofar as possible an equitable and mutually agreeable distribution of courses and sections.

  5. The Head shall, after consultation with the appropriate members of the department, recommend appointments, reappointments and promotions, nominations for graduate faculty status, and, consistent with tenure and Regents’ Policy, recommend dismissals or nonrenewals of the contracts of the faculty of the department. The Department Head’s written recommendations concerning these actions shall be forwarded with the collective recommendation of the appropriate faculty of the department with regard to the same proposal.

  6. The Head shall, after consultation with the faculty members of the department, prepare the annual budget for the department and submit it to the Dean of the school or college.

  7. The Head shall be responsible for the expenditure of departmental funds and the care and use of departmental property.

  8. The Head shall report annually to the Dean of the school or college on the teaching, research, service programs of the department. These reports shall include assessments of the performance of faculty members in the department, giving special attention to qualities of teaching excellence exhibited by faculty members.

  9. The Head shall be evaluated by the faculty of the department at least every three years; the evaluation shall be conducted by the Dean who shall notify the President of the results for consideration in the overall evaluation of the Head’s performance.

Section 6: Divisions

  1. Upon the recommendation of the Dean or Deans affected, the President may seek approval of the Board of Regents to create a divisional form of organization embracing those departments whose work is closely related. The Divisional Head shall be recommended for appointment in accordance with Regents’ Policy. The Divisional Head shall be recommended for appointment after the Dean has consulted with the faculty of the departments involved. Such consultation shall include a vote of the faculty of the departments involved, the results of which shall be forwarded with the Dean’s recommendation. The Divisional Head shall hold office at the pleasure of the President.

  2. The Divisional Head shall be responsible for coordinating the instructional, research, and service programs of departments within the division. In particular the Divisional Head shall be responsible for the scope and quality of courses which cut across departmental lines.

  3. The Divisional Head shall be evaluated by the faculty of the division at least every three years; the evaluation shall be conducted by the Dean who shall notify the President of the results for consideration in the overall evaluation of the Divisional Head’s performance.

Footnotes:

Policies of the Board of Regents, Faculties, § 3.2
Policies of the Board of Regents, Additional Policies for Faculty, § 8.3