APM UCD-245A
In this Policy
Appointment and Promotion
Section 245A, Appointment and Review of Department Chairpersons
Approved: 6/12/95
Supersedes: 5/11/90
Responsible Department:Academic Affairs
Source Document:UC APM-245
Exhibit A, Duties of Clinical Department Chairpersons, UCD School of Medicine/Medical Center
This section outlines campus policy and procedures for the appointment and review of department chairs, acting chairs, and vice chairs and describes the duties and responsibilities of appointees to these positions.
A. Department Chairs
1. Appointment
a. The Chancellor shall appoint the chairs of departments upon the recommendation of the appropriate dean; the dean shall consult with the tenured members of the departmental faculty prior to offering a formal recommendation. In the School of Medicine, the recommendation for the appointment of a chair of a clinical department is a joint responsibility of the Dean and the Director of Hospital & Clinics.
b. Although service as chair is at the pleasure of the Chancellor, a chair normally serves for a period of three to five years. (Periods of sabbatical leave or of service as an acting or vice chair are not included in computing a chair's total service.)
c. A chair may be continued beyond five years of service only after a mandatory review of the appointee's service and a report to the Chancellor by the Committee on Academic Personnel of the Academic Senate.
2. Duties and Responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities of the chair, which are performed with the advice and counsel of colleagues within the department, are described in Appendix A of Section APM-245. The additional duties of a chair of a clinical department in the School of Medicine and Medical Center are outlined in the document, "Duties of Clinical Department Chairpersons" (Exhibit A).
B. Acting Chairs
1. Appointment
If a chair will be absent from the department for a significant period of time (i.e., for a quarter or more), or if the Chancellor wishes to defer the appointment of a new chair, the Chancellor may appoint another member of the faculty as acting chair, according to the same procedure as that by which a chair is appointed to act for the department chair during the absence.
Note: When a department chair's absence will be of such limited duration (i.e., less than a quarter) that it is not feasible to appoint an acting chair, the chair should assure, by formal delegations of signature authority and other appropriate means, that departmental administrative affairs will be conducted properly during the absence.
2. Duties and Responsibilities
An acting chair assumes the duties and responsibilities of the department chair as described in Appendix A of Section APM-245.
C. Vice Chairs
1. Appointment
a. The Chancellor shall appoint vice chairs upon the recommendation of the dean of the appropriate college or school, based on the advice of the department chair under whom the vice chair will serve. The department chair shall consult with the tenured members to the departmental faculty prior to submitting a formal recommendation to the dean. In the School of Medicine, the recommendation for the appointment of a vice chair of a clinical department is a joint responsibility of the Dean and the Director of Hospital & Clinics.
b. A vice chair should be appointed only when the extent of the chair's total responsibilities or need for administrative assistance in a particular area of responsibility warrants the appointment of an additional administrative officer at the departmental level.
c. A vice chair may serve for a period not to exceed five years without review.
d. Reappointment of a vice chair after five years of service requires consultation with members of the faculty and a mandatory review by the department chair.
2. Duties and Responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities of a vice chair shall be assigned by the chair. They may consist of general assistance in all administrative matters or of specific responsibility in a particular area.
III. References and Related Policy
A. Office of the Provost: Duties of Department Chairpersons, College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, 1/15/71.
B. Office of the Provost: Duties of Division Chairpersons, College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, 1/15/71.
C. Office of the Provost: Duties of Department Chairpersons in Intercollege Divisions, 6/9/71.
D. Office of the Chancellor: Authority to Appoint Vice Chairpersons in Academic Departments, directive 77-125, 6/30/77.
E. Duties of Clinical Department Chairpersons, UCD School of Medicine/Medical Center. Approved by Joint Management Council, 10/27/81; amended 11/17/81, 2/28/84.