Faculty Manual - COST Home Page - Texas Southern University

salary, in accordance with University guidelines and procedures; monitoring the collections of
the University Library, ordering appropriate new books, periodicals, and other materials for the
library collection, and constantly evaluating library holdings on the basis of their relation to the
department’s needs and the University’s goals; hearing informal faculty grievances and
cooperating in formal grievance procedures; supervising the department’s program of
instruction, including curriculum, scheduling, faculty workload, and departmental research and
public service; ensuring that students’ rights are preserved; supervising the advising of
departmental majors and graduate students; monitoring student evaluation of instruction, courses,
and programs; providing leadership in student recruitment, student advising, and student
placement; coordinating and supervising summer school programs; making recommendations
concerning applications for professional travel and sabbatical leave; arranging meetings of the
departmental faculty; meeting with the departmental Advisory Committee and appropriate
constituent and advisory groups for the discipline; establishing accreditation, and ad hoc
departmental committees; and carrying out other such duties as shall be assigned by the dean of
the college or as established in University policy, or in collegiate bylaws, school or departmental
bylaws. All chairpersons of academic departments hold faculty rank.
2.9 Selection/Election of Department Chairpersons
A. Selection Process
The department chairperson shall be determined by the following process: First, the
members of the department shall nominate, through an electoral process, at least
three (3) persons for the position of division/departmental chairperson. If there are
fewer than three (3) faculty members in the division/department, then, upon mutual
consent by the members of the division/department, only one (1) person shall be
nominated for the position of chairperson. The Dean of the involved college or
school shall select from the submitted nominees the person to serve as
division/department chairperson, subject to the approval by the Provost.
In the event that the Dean or the Provost rejects all of the nominees, the rejecting
parties shall provide a written explanation for the rejection (veto) to the affected
department; and the entire process shall be repeated until a nominee is appointed. A
department chair must be eligible for tenure in the academic departments in the
school to which he/she is to be appointed.
If a majority of department’s faculty and the Dean agree that no internal candidate
is suitable or available for the position, an external search may be undertaken. The
resulting candidate shall be subject to the same rules as candidates selected from
within.
The term of office shall be three years, if the chairperson remains a member of the
department faculty. Individuals may succeed themselves. Unless vacancies occur
at other times, appointments shall be made during the last four weeks preceding
spring graduation. The terms of office shall begin on the first day of September
after appointment. Unless a department chairperson vacancy occurs at a time other
than at the end of an academic year, the Dean of the School or College shall notify
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