Associate Dean and Chair Hiring

Associate Dean and Chair Hiring 

There are two key elements for identifying and hiring faculty administrators within schools: the search/selection and the offer letter.

The search (selection)

There are several advantages to having an explicit “search” process, whatever level of formality is involved. 

Minimum for All Searches	Maximum for All Searches
A position description, with main duties as well as the percent of time for the position / relation to other duties.  Notification to faculty in the unit of the opportunity. For associate deans*, approval by Interim EVC Jay Gladden (send letter to ude[dot]ui[at]rhdaca). For chairs and directors, a copy of the appointment letter attached to the Administrative Post eDoc.	External, national search advertisement. Formal search committee. Interview schedule which includes meeting with constituencies.

Associate deans have administrator jobs (and have admin posts) while chairs remain in their faculty jobs and have admin posts added.  

What these steps allow: 

• Fair notice of an opportunity to all faculty. 

• Education for faculty about what is involved in a position. Even if a person is not yet ready, they can see what leadership roles entail. 

• The chance for the candidates to articulate their ideas about a position. 

• The chance for constituents to talk with candidates about their needs and ideas. 

Even if there is a clear and unanimous internal candidate, all of these other aspects are valuable for that person’s success and for modeling leadership for all faculty.   

The offer letter

Please see template for wording. Two points are critical: all administrative appointments are at the discretion of the dean and this must be stated clearly; the difference between the person's continuing-normal-faculty-salary and their administrative compensation must be stated ("as associate dean you will receive...should you return to your regular faculty load you will receive"). IU Indianapolis does not allow permanent/base salary increases if someone takes on an administrative role.  

*Please note:

     for School of Medicine, because of administrative differences, only ‘executive associate deans’ appointments need to have campus approval. Chairs are appointed after national searches and are approved as part of that process. Core school executive associate deans follow campus policy as much as possible.  

     for core schools (Kelley, Luddy, and O'Neill) the Bloomington-based dean should connect with IU Indianapolis OAA to make sure all IU Indianapolis factors are considered, though exact processes may differ from non-core schools.  

Position	Search Requirement	Approval
Dean	Full executive search process, managed by the Office of the Chancellor; participation by the unit and by faculty council. May or may not use PeopleAdmin Faculty Applicant Tracking system.	Executive Vice Chancellor, Chancellor, President of IU
Associate Dean	Can use PeopleAdmin; provide position description. Use vacancy, interview, and offer steps.    Can be internal-only: note this in the position TITLE as well as the DESCRIPTION Must submit offer letter for approval. If it supervises "academic affairs" or faculty, must be tenure-track faculty	Executive Vice Chancellor
Assistant Dean	If staff, follow staff recruitment process. If faculty:  Notice to faculty of the open position Need not use PeopleAdmin Can be tenure-track or clinical faculty	If faculty, attach letter to Admin Post eDoc
Chair	Notice to faculty of the opening. Only tenure-track faculty can be chairs.	Attach offer letter to Admin Post eDoc
Director	Notice to faculty of the opening. NTT faculty can be directors.	Attach offer letter to Admin Post eDoc

Information about qualifications for associate deans and chairs is in the IU Indianapolis Faculty Guide. For questions, contact ude[dot]ui[at]rhdaca. 

Reviewed and revised: 2/2024