3.2.16 Academic Dean Responsibilities, Appointment, Compensation, and Evaluations

Responsibilities, Roles, and Authority

Academic Deans occupy a unique place in the continuum of academic administrators, as the facilitating link among Department Chairpersons/School Directors, faculty members, staff, students, and University leadership. All activities and roles of the Deans are undertaken in light of furthering the best interests of the students of Illinois State University. 

Deans play five essential roles, serving as:

1. academic leaders of colleges*;
2. representatives of their colleges to the rest of the University, especially University administration;
3. representatives of University leadership to their colleges;
4. managers of college resources; and,
5. representatives of the college and University to external bodies. These five roles remain constant even though specific responsibilities and duties may vary according to the mission, size, and complexity of the college.

The Deans' responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• coordinating the development of and implementing the college’s Vision and Goals Statement;
• leading college efforts toward achieving University goals;
• developing a college budget;
• managing the fiscal affairs of the college;
• leading, and coordinating college strategic planning and curriculum development;
• supervising, evaluating, and supporting Departments/Schools in a manner that promotes excellence in instruction, scholarly and creative productivity. and service at Illinois State University;
• leading and coordinating the governance of the college;
• leading the processes of college administrator selection and overseeing the processes of faculty and staff selection and retention;
• coordinating the professional development of college administrators and staff;
• evaluating college administrators and staff in consultation with college faculty and staff;
• evaluating Department Chairpersons/School Directors with Departmental/School faculty and staff;
• reviewing, as part of the CFSC, the Departmental/School policies, procedures, and recommendations for appointment, salary, retention, tenure, and/or promotion of faculty, and ensuring that all ASPT policies are followed;
• evaluating overall Departmental/School productivity in instruction, research, and service responsibilities;
• providing recommendations to the Provost regarding sabbaticals and other leaves for faculty and staff;
• advising the University Provost on University policies and procedures;
• providing recommendations to the Provost on policies and procedures, especially in the academic area;
• managing non-faculty college staff members;
• developing, leading, and encouraging fundraising in support of the college's goals and the goals of its departments and programs, as well as outreach and public service efforts.

Nature of Appointment

Deans serve at the pleasure of the Provost and may be removed from their positions at any time by the Provost following procedures outlined in the Policies and Procedures Manual. In such instances, individuals will be reassigned to responsibilities as full-time faculty members.

1. Faculty Status: At the time they assume their responsibilities, Deans selected from among the faculty members in their colleges must hold the academic rank of Professor within their Departments/Schools of appointment, and possess academic tenure. Deans hired from outside the University must be employed at the rank of Professor and must have appropriate academic credentials so that they may be granted academic tenure at the time of appointment. Exceptions regarding the above must be approved by the Provost and the President of the University.
2. Compensation: Deans, while holding faculty status, are appointed to twelve-month contracts and are subject to the Policies and Procedures for Administrative Professional (A/P) employees of the University. The salary of newly appointed Deans, whether internal or external, will be negotiated at the time of appointment. Criteria for salary determination shall include the professional accomplishments of the individual Dean, market salaries for Deans at comparable colleges, and the salary levels of other Deans at Illinois State University.
   
   Upon the return of a Dean to a full-time faculty assignment, the appropriate salary shall be determined as follows:
   1. If the return to faculty assignment is within five years of the initial administrative appointment as Dean, salaries shall be renegotiated. Such renegotiations shall be based upon the market level of salaries for faculty in the discipline, the relative salary of others in the Department/School, the professional accomplishments of the individual, and the performance of the individual as dean. In no case shall the monthly salary of the individual be reduced by more than fifteen per cent.
   2. If the return to faculty assignment is more than five years after the initial administrative appointment as Dean, monthly salaries shall remain no less than that paid during the administrative appointment, unless the administrator has been removed for malfeasance.
3. Leaves and Sabbaticals: During the course of the first five years as Dean, incumbents usually will not be recommended or approved for extended leaves or sabbaticals, except under unusual circumstances. Upon completion of five years as Dean, the individual shall receive all possible consideration for a sabbatical, consistent with other expectations of the sabbatical leave program and relevant policies and procedures.

Selection Process

1. Vacancies Determination: Vacancies will be declared by the Provost when Deans are not re-appointed, have elected not to continue in the role, are unable for health or other reasons to continue, or have been removed by the Provost. A declaration of an anticipated vacancy may also occur with the creation of a new academic college or the merger of two or more existing colleges.
2. Deans Selection: New Deans are selected according to the guidelines in the Administrator Selection section of the Policies and Procedures Manual.
3. Acting/Interim Deans: Acting.Interim Deans may be appointed by the Provost, when in the Provost's assessment such appointments are in the best interests of the colleges, their Departments/Schools, programs, students, and faculty members. Acting/Interim Deans shall have the same responsibilities and authority as all other Deans, and compensation commensurate with all other Deans, but usually will not serve more than two fiscal years or parts thereof. Acting/Interim Deans need not hold academic rank or tenure in the college.

Evaluation

The evaluation process of Deans follows the guidelines in the Administrator Evaluation section of the Policies and Procedures Manual.

*In this document, the term "deans" includes the Dean of University Libraries and the term "college" includes Milner Library.  In addition, the term "Department/School" also refers to the divisions found in the library.

Revisions to this policy approved in 2011-12 will go into effect only for deans appointed on or after July 1, 2012.