1. Purposes

These procedures present a set of guidelines that have two purposes. First, they set forth the values that should inform leadership hiring practices at the UO. Second, and drawing on these values, the guidelines articulate best practices for filling vacancies in high-level academic administrator positions.

These procedures should be read in conjunction with HR guidance regarding issues such as direct appointments or scope of recruitment (see “Related Resources” below for hyperlinks).

2. Guiding Values

Decisions around hiring processes reflect the university’s values around shared governance between faculty and professional administrators, professional excellence, rational decision-making, efficient and responsible management of resources, and diversity and inclusion. As such, whenever possible, searches for new academic administrators should be conducted with broad and meaningful participation from faculty and the university community. In addition to providing an appropriate voice for the university

community in such decisions, participation leads to more informed decision-making and positions new hires for success when they arrive at the UO.

Administrative hiring, as in all hiring, is an employment action and as such hiring processes must be conducted with an appreciation for confidentiality and a recognition that all searches might not function completely alike. While it is preferred that all searches be publicly posted to give equal opportunity for any candidate interested in the position to apply and that searches be openly conducted with opportunities for meaningful engagement by the campus community, some degree of discretion needs to be available to those responsible for hiring academic administrators in order to retain flexibility under unique circumstances or avoid unnecessarily impacting a candidate’s current position. Tailoring a search to a particular situation may be required for the university to secure the best possible candidates.

For the large majority of searches, these values are closely aligned. However, it is natural that there may be instances when they are in tension with each other. These procedures provide guidelines that are intended to help manage that tension by setting forth procedures that provide for substantial, meaningful participation while making room for the responsible exercise of discretion. Accordingly, and consistent with our mutual commitment to shared governance, the Administration and Senate will collaborate to ensure an appropriate balance.

3. Academic Administrators

The academic administrator positions covered by these guidelines include the following (or the substantially similar position if a title changes):

1. 1. Administrators with university-wide academic responsibilities:
      1. Provost and Senior Vice President
      2. Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
      3. Vice President for Research and Innovation
      4. Graduate School Dean

1. 2. Administrators with unit-specific academic responsibilities:
      1. Clark Honors College Dean
      2. College of Arts and Sciences Dean
      3. College of Design Dean
      4. College of Education Dean
      5. Lundquist College of Business Dean
      6. School of Journalism and Communication Dean
      7. School of Law Dean
      8. School of Music and Dance Dean
      9. University Libraries Dean
      10. Vice President and Executive Director of Knight Campus (NOTE: The Vice President and Executive Director of Knight Campus will only remain on this list so long as the Knight Campus is directly offering academic programs with enrolled students.)

4. Hiring Officials

The hiring official is the person who is ultimately responsible for developing the hiring process and making the hiring decision. The President is the hiring official for a search for a provost and senior vice president, for example, and the Provost is the hiring official for searches for school/college deans.

5. Guidelines for Hiring Academic Administrators

The following general guidelines apply to searches for the positions listed above in Section III:

1. 1. Gathering Information
      1. Before constituting a search committee, the hiring official should consult with relevant advisory bodies (i.e., individuals or groups who have an in-depth understanding of the vacant position and its requirements, or those who have expertise in search processes, such as University Senate leadership, Academic Council, faculty and staff from any affected units, and human resources) to solicit input on the position and the hiring announcement, search committee membership, type of search (open or closed, internal or external; see below for more details), and projected search timeline.
      2. Such consultation should be face-to-face when practicable and should provide opportunities for meaningful involvement from campus stakeholders. For example, when preparing to hire a new dean for a unit, the hiring official could convene a unit-wide meeting for the express purpose of gathering information about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges facing the unit.

1. 2. Designing the Search Process

The hiring official is responsible for designing the search process. This includes determining whether the search is open or closed, internal or external, and if a search firm should be used. Furthermore, the hiring official determines what kinds of opportunities for participation should be available.

1. 1. 1. Search Firm
         1. If a search firm is employed, they will be involved in many aspects of the search process including, but not limited to, helping to draft the hiring announcement, direct recruitment of candidates, and planning for the interview process.
      2. Open or Closed
         1. In an “open” search, finalist candidates’ identities are disclosed, at the appropriate time, to the faculty and public. In a “closed” search, finalist candidates’ identities will only be known to those running the search, subject to the university’s legal obligation to produce public records.
      3. Internal or External
         1. In an “internal” search, only candidates who are employed at the university may apply. In an “external” search, candidates from inside and outside the university may apply.
      4. Opportunities for Open Campus Participation
         1. Except in the case of closed searches, the hiring official should put together a schedule for candidate interviews that provides for open, meaningful participation of campus community members. The search committee chair(s) are typically involved in helping develop this schedule.
2. 1. 4. 2. Examples of opportunities for meaningful participation include scheduling candidates for meetings with various campus constituencies, posting candidate CVs and supporting materials online, and recording public presentations.
      5. After designing the search process, the hiring official should announce the search via email to the campus community. In this announcement, the hiring official should provide information about the position being hired; the parameters of the search (open/closed, internal/external); the reasons for setting these parameters; and the planned opportunities for campus participation. In addition, the email should provide a link to the search web page and contact information so that input on the search process can be provided to the search committee.
      6. Search information should be posted on its own web page and include the position title, list of committee members and search timeline. Variations or deviations in the approach should then be posted to the web page with the accompanying rationale.
3. 3. Assembling the Search Committee
      1. The hiring official should select search committee members and the chair(s) based on consideration of expertise, diligence, willingness to invest time in the search, disciplinary representation, and diversity (e.g., demographic diversity; committee members who have contributed to diversity, equity and inclusion in scholarship, teaching, advising, or service).
      2. Faculty members should make up the majority of membership of the search committees.
         1. The hiring official may solicit nominations for the committee from the Faculty Advisory Council, University Senate Leadership, the Academic Council and other relevant advisory bodies.
         2. Other constituencies (e.g., officers of administration, classified staff, students, advisory board members) should be represented insofar as their academic and/or professional activities are influenced by the position being hired or they have expertise or experience closely related to the position.
      3. Search committee members should be clearly identified on a web page dedicated to the search.
      4. When searching for university-wide administrators, the following guidelines will help ensure meaningful participation and effective representation:
         1. At least one faculty member shall be a sitting member of the university senate, selected by mutual agreement of the Senate leadership and hiring official.
         2. At least one Officer of Administration shall be selected after consulting with the OA Council.

1. 1. 5. When searching for unit-specific administrators, the following guidelines will help ensure meaningful participation and effective representation:
         1. The majority of faculty members on the search committee should be, wherever possible, members of the academic unit and shall represent as diverse a cross-section of disciplines within the unit as practicable.
         2. At least one faculty member shall be a sitting member of the university senate (not necessarily from the unit in question), selected by mutual agreement of the Senate leadership and hiring official.
         3. At least one Officer of Administration from the unit shall be selected after consulting with the OA Council.
      6. When a “closed” search process is used, regardless if at the university-wide or unit-level, an additional faculty member will be added to the search committee by mutual agreement between Senate leadership and the hiring official. This additional faculty member does not need to be a member of the University Senate. In this case the Senate leadership is acting on behalf of the University Senate in the case of university-wide positions, or of the school or college faculty in case of unit-specific (i.e., dean) positions.

1. 4. Charging the Search Committee
      1. The hiring official should meet with the committee to deliver the charge to the committee and to provide information and guidance specific to the search. The general charge to all search committees is to identify qualified candidates.
         1. The hiring official also should describe what kind of evaluation of the candidates the committee should provide.
         2. For example, the hiring official may want a verbal report on behalf of the full convened committee detailing each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses, along with an overall rating of acceptable or unacceptable.
      2. The hiring official should provide the hiring announcement to the search committee for review and feedback before the position is finalized and posted.
         1. Typical materials required of applicants include a current vita, references, and letter of application that articulates suitability for the position, summary of relevant accomplishments (including contributions to diversity, equity and inclusion), management style, vision for the unit, and ideas for accomplishing that vision.
         2. Deadlines for applications should generally be at least 30 days from the date the position is first publicized.
         3. Even for open searches, it is understood that portions of the applicant materials will remain private, shared as appropriate during the process such as with search committee members for their review or a summary of qualifications with campus prior to on campus interviews. References will be contacted only after permission is obtained from candidates.

1. 5. Undertaking the Search
      1. Searches should be designed to identify talented candidates of diverse backgrounds, ensure that search criteria and processes do not create barriers to underrepresented candidates to participate in the search process, and are consistent with the university’s expected search practices.
2. 1. 2. The search committee should solicit input broadly from the university community and from external constituencies as appropriate. Such input may be collected by various means. For example, the search committee may make available surveys soliciting opinions regarding public presentations, group meetings, and one-on-one interviews with finalists.
      3. After the search committee has completed its review and provided its evaluation, the hiring official should meet in person with the full search committee to discuss the committee’s recommendations and evaluations of the finalists. This meeting should happen before the hiring official makes a hiring decision.
3. 6. Deviating from these Procedures
      1. All hiring officials and search committee chairs should be provided copies of these guidelines and checklist at the outset of every search that falls under the guidelines.
      2. Any deviation from practices delineated here, either on the part of the hiring official or the search committee chair, must be explained in writing and shared on a web page dedicated to the search.

6. Guidelines on Other University-Wide Academic Administrators

The guidelines in this section refer to vice provost and assistant/associate vice president positions that hold significant academic roles (e.g., oversight of the promotion and tenure process, research and innovation, or curriculum matters), that have roles that are anticipated to be filled by faculty members drawn either from within the UO or via external search, and that report directly to either the Provost or Vice President for Research and Innovation.

1. 1. If possible, an open search should be conducted for these positions.
      1. The hiring official should select search committee members and the chair(s) based on consideration of expertise, diligence, willingness to invest time in the search, disciplinary representation, and diversity (e.g., demographic diversity; committee members who have contributed to diversity, equity and inclusion in scholarship, teaching, advising, or service).
      2. When practicable, the search committee should be composed of a majority of faculty members.
      3. Composition of the search committee should be informed by consultation with groups with a broad perspective on the academic impacts of the given position (e.g., Senate Leadership, Faculty Advisory Council, Faculty Promotion Committee, Academic Council, Research Advisory Board).
      4. Other constituencies (e.g., officers of administration, classified staff, students, advisory board members) should be represented insofar as their academic and/or professional activities are influenced by the position being hired or they have expertise or experience closely related to the position.

1. 2. If a search committee is not appointed to assist in selecting a candidate for the position:
      1. Before an appointment is made, the hiring official shall make available the following:
         1. the rationale for not appointing a search committee;
         2. the vacancy announcement; and,
         3. the plan for faculty consultation that ensures meaningful faculty input from units most directly related to the position, as outlined above.
      2. After selecting a candidate, the hiring official shall make their vita available to the university community.

7. Implementation and Follow-Up

Unless expressly renewed or modified by the Senate in writing and signed by the University President, the policy shall automatically expire seven years after the effective date of the policy.