Search and Screen Procedures for Administrators

1. Administrative officers holding positions which bear directly on the teaching/research mission of the university shall be chosen through a formal process referred to as search and screen.

2. Administrative officers with university-wide authority and responsibilities, who are not included in Section 1, shall be chosen by the President or the appointing officer in collaboration with faculty representatives designated by the University Faculty Council’s Nomination Committee. During this collaborative process, the President or appointing officer will be expected to review with the faculty representatives the circumstances and needs of the position, consult with them about the selection procedures, and keep them informed of the progress of the search. The President or appointing officer will give the faculty representatives the opportunity to interview the final candidates and to offer their advice before the final selection is made.

3. When the position to be filled bears on the teaching/research mission of the University, a majority of the members of the search and screen committee shall be from the faculty. Further, in searching for the chief administrative officer for a particular campus, a majority of members shall be chosen by the appointing officer from a list of faculty on that campus recommended by an appropriate campus faculty body. In the case of system-wide officers, including the Bloomington and Indianapolis Executive Vice Presidents, the number of faculty recommended from among the Bloomington, Indianapolis, and regional campuses shall be in rough proportion to the degree these campuses fall under the jurisdiction of the administrative position being filled. The University Faculty Council’s Nomination Committee will be charged with submitting a list of prospective search and screen committees for approval by the University Faculty Council for submission to the appointing officer. The lists should contain roughly one-third more names than requested by the appointing officer so as to provide him or her some choice in appointing faculty to the committee.

4. Appointing officers shall make their requests for the creation of search and screen committees in such a manner that ample time is available for the process, so that “acting” appointments are minimized in number and duration. Whenever possible, the search and screen committee should be appointed at least a semester before the position is available, and no more than 30 days after the vacancy appears.

5. The appointing officer is the President of the University, unless he or she delegates that authority, except in the case where a search and screen committee is being appointed for the office of the President, in which case the President of the Board of Trustees is the appointing officer. In addition to receiving nominees for search and screen committees from the University Faculty Council, the appointing officer is expected to solicit nominees from appropriate representative student bodies as well as nominees drawn from other appropriate constituencies. He or she will also arrange for adequate staff and financial support for the activities of the search and screen committee.

6. The search and screen committee shall establish its own operating procedures including the responsibility, with the assistance of the University Affirmative Action Officer, of insuring that recruiting procedures are in compliance with the University’s affirmative action directives.

7. The search and screen committee shall make its recommendations in writing to the appointing officer. In the event that the appointing officer is unable or unwilling to appoint any of the nominees from those recommended by the search and screen committee, he or she shall communicate this result of the committee with a statement of the reasons why and shall request further recommendations.

(University Faculty Council, March 9, 1976, October 27, 1987)