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Policy of Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure
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(I.) B. PROCEDURE

  1. Initial Appointments to the Temporary Instructional Staff:

    1. Initial appointments ordinarily shall originate in the department concerned, which, in consultation with the President, shall define the position to be filled.

    2. Upon authorization of a position by the President, notice of the position shall be widely publicized, in a form and manner consistent with the College's policies as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

    3. In exceptional circumstances, an appointment may be authorized by the Dean of the Faculty for a term of no longer than one year without a widely publicized search process. An individual so appointed is not eligible for further appointment without being a candidate in such a process and shall be informed of this at the time of initial appointment.

    4. Departments shall examine the qualifications of candidates and, if possible, interview them. If the appointment contemplated is at the rank of Assistant Professor or higher, it is desirable that each candidate shall be interviewed by the President also.

    5. Recommendations for appointment to the Faculty shall require the approval of a majority of all present and voting members at a meeting of the department of which reasonable notice has been given, and the approval of the Dean of the Faculty. If the President finds reason to question the wisdom of a departmental recommendation for appointment to any rank, the Committee on Tenure and Promotion shall be consulted before a recommendation is made to the Board of Trustees.

    6. In special cases appointments may be initiated by the President, with a view to conserving and enhancing the educational standards of departments or of the College as a whole. Before submitting such appointments to the Board of Trustees, the President shall seek formal approval of the department(s) concerned. In cases of doubt or disagreement, the Committee on Tenure and Promotion shall be consulted before the appointment is recommended to the Board of Trustees. Persons so appointed shall be subject to the same regulations of tenure as apply to other members of the staff.

    7. Before the search for an Associate Professor or full Professor is initiated, the Dean of the Faculty shall seek the advice of the Faculty Council as to the desirability of an appointment at that rank. Before the appointment is recommended to the Board of Trustees, the Dean of the Faculty shall seek the advice of the Committee on Tenure and Promotion.

    8. Procedures for appointment to the Faculty of a person who will not be a member of any department should be modeled as closely as possible upon regular procedures by the President with the approval of the Committee on Tenure and Promotion.

    9. If a member of the immediate family of a person on the Faculty is a candidate for appointment, that person shall absent herself or himself from all discussion of the relative's case and shall have no vote in the matter.

    10. With respect to any recommendation for appointment in which the Chair of the department is ineligible to participate, the senior member of the department eligible to vote in the matter shall carry out the responsibilities of the Chair.

  2. Reappointment to the Temporary Instructional Staff:

    1. Recommendation for reappointment of a temporary instructional staff member shall be made by a majority vote at a meeting, of which reasonable notice has been given, of those members of the department whose rank is above that of the candidate for reappointment, and requires approval of the President. A departmental recommendation must be communicated in sufficient time for the Dean of the Faculty and the President to consider the recommendation and for notification to reach the individual by the dates specified below. (See also I.B.1.c.)

    2. An individual on an initial one-year appointment shall be notified in writing no later than January 15 whether he or she will be reappointed.

    3. An individual on an initial two-year appointment or a second one-year appointment shall be notified in writing no later than December 15 of the second year whether he or she will be reappointed.

    4. An individual who at the end of his or her current appointment will have served the College more than two years, shall be notified in writing no later than June 1 preceding the final year of the appointment whether he or she will be reappointed.

    5. As a normal procedure appointment at the rank of Instructor shall not be continued beyond a period of three years. Departments shall be required to recommend either a promotion to Assistant Professor or a one-year terminating appointment by May 1 of the candidate's second year as Instructor, so that notification of the recommendation may reach the candidate by June 1 of that year. Promotion to Assistant Professor of candidates who have completed the terminal degree and who have given evidence of satisfactory teaching performance at Smith College will require a