Policy and Process for Requesting Tenure-Track Faculty Positions

With this policy, the Provost makes recommendations to the President about approving searches for tenure-track faculty. Outlined below are the steps to be followed by all parties involved in the request and approval of a tenure-line faculty position. Strongest consideration will be given to requests that are grounded in serving the academic mission of Earlham College, that support the College’s strategic academic priorities, and that align with the budget allocated for these purposes.

1. 1. 1. Request for Proposals

         1. In the spring semester, the Provost’s Office will release a request for proposals for positions.
            1. The President and Provost may choose to announce any limitations on tenure-line searches as well as any particular initiatives or priorities that involve the hire of new faculty; department conveners are also encouraged to meet individually with the Provost in advance of a department’s decision to request a tenure-track position.
            2. At this time, the Provost will announce what particular data the Provost’s office will ask for departments to include in their request as part of building their rationale for the position (e.g., student enrollment by FTE for the department). Departments do not need to source this data themselves. It will be posted and provided by the Provost’s office.
            3. If the Provost updates the list of data to be considered, that will be announced to the faculty and posted on Community Documents (or its equivalent).
         2. Any department, program, or individual faculty member(s) may submit a proposal for a tenure-track position.
         3. Proposals should include the following information:
            1. Department/program/faculty members requesting line and the primary contact person.
            2. Curricular need(s) to be filled by the (See also C.4. and C.5.) The curricular need should be well- articulated and supported with data and a rigorous argument. Strong proposals will articulate how the additional line would serve the student body as a whole, not just majors. An insufficient argument for a new position is that the major cannot continue in its current form without it. Major requirements may need to be reconsidered and should not be the sole reason for an allocation.
            3. How the additional position will strengthen the College’s mission, if not explicitly addressed above.
            4. Ways in which the current department contributes to or would contribute to existing College initiatives, programs, or priorities.
            5. If the President/Provost announced initiatives/priorities (see I.A.1), proposals should address how their program would contribute to such a request or (conversely) why the position they are requesting is critical despite not meeting the stated initiatives/priorities.
            6. Interdisciplinary programs
               1. If a department is submitting a proposal for a line recently vacated by someone who contributed to an interdisciplinary program, consultation among the relevant departments/programs should take place prior to proposal submission and program impacts highlighted.
               2. In the case of arguments that cannot be settled about whether the department should continue to support the interdisciplinary program, then members of the interdisciplinary program may submit their own proposal.
               3. Members of any interdisciplinary program can submit a proposal for a position, regardless of whether they previously held the
               4. In cases where it is uncertain if an interdisciplinary (or any) program can be continued without the hire of a faculty position, the Provost may consult with the CPC about program feasibility but should not expect CPC unilaterally to recommend discontinuance. (N.B. Section O of the Faculty Handbook is to be invoked to discontinue programs; the TT request process should not be used in lieu of the Section O process.)
               5. Interdisciplinary proposals should include information about how a hired faculty member would be mentored, supervised, and If there is an obvious home department, that should be noted.
            7. Proposal authors are free to lift heavily from five-year reviews or other existing documents.

    

   3. Process Transparency

      1. The Provost’s Office will post all proposals to Community Documents (or its equivalent).
      2. The Provost’s Office will post all data (or links to it) on Community Documents (or its equivalent).
      3. If initiatives/priorities were announced, the Provost’s Office will post them to Community Documents (or its equivalent).

4. Announcement of Decisions and Rationales

   1. By the end of the spring semester, the Provost will bring recommendations on all requests to the The two will then confer, seeking to agree on a rationale for the decision on each request; both the decision and the rationale will be shared with each requestor. The President will also announce the positions approved for search to the entire community via Community Documents. For each decision, the President and Provost will make every effort to adhere to the three principles laid out at the top of this document.
   2. The President is urged to consider the need to approve positions by approximately one month prior to the end of the school year so that faculty have time to consult with FISC and formulate plans that will lead to a strong and diverse pool of

5. Review of the Process for Requesting Tenure-Track Faculty

Nominating Committee will bring forward a review of this process after the process has been used for four hiring cycles.

In some exceptional cases, tenure-track lines may be approved without following the process outlined above. These exceptions should be well-articulated and clearly communicated to the faculty through multiple communication modes (email, Community Documents, announcements, etc.).

When a departure occurs in the first several years of a tenure-track hire (for example, a faculty member leaving after the 2-year review), an expedited process for filling that tenure-track vacancy may be undertaken at the Provost and President’s discretion.

This policy does not refer to the hiring process. That is, if the President approves a tenure-track line and someone is hired into it outside of the FISC process (conversion from VAP, spousal/partner hire, etc.), such a hire does not fall under this policy.

Approved by the Provost following discussion and consultation in the October 16, 2024 Faculty Meeting.