Article III

The recruitment and initial appointment process shall be carried out according to the following rules and procedures.

All department members shall be eligible to take part in the recruitment and initial appointment process described in this article, except:

1. the incumbent in the position to be filled if declared ineligible by vote of the department, and
2. candidates for the position who are already department members.

If the vacancy is that of a department chair, the department shall elect one of its eligible members to act as department chair in all matters relating to recruitment and initial appointment.

By majority vote of the full department membership (defined in Section 1 above), a statement shall be adopted specifying:

1. the responsibilities to be assigned,
2. the corresponding competencies required in the person filling the vacancy, and
3. what type of contract is desired.

The vote may reaffirm a previous statement of such responsibilities and competencies.

The college dean and the department chair, in consultation with the Chancellor, the Vice Chancellor, and the department, will then determine whether the appointment will be a regular academic year (or twelve-month) contract, or an academic staff contract.

After the type of contract has been determined, the department shall then invite appropriate faculty and appropriate students to recommend candidates, and the position shall be advertised widely in suitable media. That notice shall include a statement of the university's commitment to Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity recruitment policies, and a statement indicating whether the appointment is to be filled by someone holding a regular academic year (or twelve-month) contract, or an academic staff contract.

The department will keep in mind that where layoffs have occurred because of fiscal emergency, no person may be employed at the institution within three years to perform reasonably comparable duties to those of a faculty member laid off, without first offering reappointment to the laid-off faculty member without loss of tenure, seniority, or other rights.

The evaluation of candidates and the final selection to be proposed to the Chancellor will now proceed under one of two sets of circumstances:

1. If the number of department members who may participate in the evaluation of candidates is reduced to fewer than three (3) because of:
   1. the size of the department, and/or
   2. the limitation on department membership for the purposes of this article that are identified in Section 1 above, and/or
   3. the physical unavailability of department members because of illness, being on vacation, or like cause, then the dean shall, after consultation with all the remaining department members, appoint additional faculty to the search and screen committee to make a committee of at least three (3). The additional faculty member(s) so appointed shall be members of a department or departments whose academic discipline is as nearly related as possible to the discipline of the department with the vacancy.
2. If the number of department members who may participate in the evaluation of candidates is not reduced to fewer than three (3) because of any or all of the factors identified in a, then the department shall vote to constitute itself as a search and screen committee, or to designate certain members of the department to constitute such a committee, provided that in the latter case at least two are so designated.

By whichever means (a or b) that a search and screen committee is established, the college dean shall, at his or her discretion, serve with the committee as consultant. Faculty and students shall be invited to offer their evaluation of the candidates. If condition a prevails, the final selection shall be made by a majority vote of the three (or more) member committee on an affirmative motion. If condition b prevails, the final selection shall be made by a majority vote of the entire department on an affirmative motion.

The department's recommendation shall be forwarded to the dean for consideration. If the dean finds the department's recommendation acceptable, the dean will forward the recommendation to the Vice Chancellor. If the Vice Chancellor finds the dean's recommendation acceptable, the appointment procedure outlined in Section 5 below will commence.

If the dean does not find the department's choice acceptable, the dean shall ask the department chair to convene a meeting of all department members, and they shall discuss the matter together. If, after the consultation, the dean's adverse judgment remains unchanged, the department shall retrace whatever steps outlined in Sections 2 and 3 above are necessary, and offer another recommendation.

If the Vice Chancellor does not find the dean's recommendation acceptable, the dean and Vice Chancellor shall discuss the matter together. If the Vice Chancellor's adverse judgment remains unchanged, the department will retrace whatever steps outlined in Sections 2 and 3 above are necessary, and offer the dean another recommendation.

When the Vice Chancellor accepts the dean's recommendation, the department chair and the dean, in consultation with the Vice Chancellor, shall negotiate the terms and conditions of the appointment, including duration of the appointment, salary, rank, starting date, ending date, probation, tenure status, and any credit that shall be given to prior service, among other matters they may regard as appropriate. If the candidate offers a verbal acceptance of an appointment on these terms, the Vice Chancellor, as the Chancellor's designee, shall send to the candidate a letter of appointment including the terms as specified above, a copy of the department's profile of duties to be performed, and an explanation of institutional and system rules and procedures relating to faculty appointments, as well as a form for the appointee to sign indicating formal acceptance of the appointment. If the appointment is subject to advance approval of the Board of Regents, a statement to this effect must be included in the letter.

Faculty appointments may be for the academic year or twelve months and shall be probationary or tenured.

The maximum probationary period shall be seven (7) years as provided in UWS 3.04. The maximum for a part-time position of at least half-time shall be ten (10) years. No one holding less than a half-time appointment is eligible for tenure. A leave of absence, sabbatical leave, or teacher improvement assignment shall not constitute a break in continuous service, nor shall it be included in the probationary period. Any shortening of the probationary period or counting of prior service must be based upon the recommendation of the department or its functional equivalent and approved by the Chancellor or his designee.

All initial academic staff appointments shall be of a type specified in Policies and Procedures Governing Academic Staff.