Office of the Provost and VP for Academic Affairs

1. The Department/Division Chair will seek approval from the College Dean, who will then seek approval from the Provost, to commence a faculty search.
   1. Approval is sought by using the Request to Post a Faculty Position form: https://wvlfforms.tamiu.edu/Forms/prov-rtpap
   2. Position descriptions (job advertisements) should solicit feedback from respective department/program/unit faculty. 
2. Once the Provost gives approval, the Department/Division Chair will assemble a Search Committee (SC) from the discipline/unit/division for which there is a vacancy (or an approval for a new position). No more than 5 committee members are needed for a faculty search. At least three members must be from the respective disciplinary area, and one should be external to the disciplinary area.
3. The SC will elect a SC Chair who will be the liaison between the SC, prospective candidates, finalists, the Department/Division Chair, Dean, and Provost. He/she will coordinate meetings, schedule interviews including campus interviews, and submit all required paperwork on a timely basis.  The SC Chair should be at a higher rank than the position being advertised. Ex: For Assistant Professor positions, the SC Chair should be a tenured Associate Professor.
4. The OHR posts the position on Workday, the Chronicle of Higher Education, The Texas A&M University System Career Site, Higheredjobs.com, and the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium Job website.
   1. If the SC plans to advertise on other job sites, the SC Chair will contact the OHR before posting externally as approval must be given by the OHR. Once approved, the SC Chair will work with the department administrative assistant/associate to process proper paperwork and requisitions.
   2. If posting on other job sites requires payment, it is normal practice for the department/division to pay.
5. The SC Chair schedules a meeting with search members and the OHR to discuss hiring guides, required hiring documents, maintaining confidentiality during the search, and any additional requirements and resources.
6. The SC Chair schedules a meeting with search members to review applications and together, the SC Chair and the committee review applications, screen applicants, and develop a short list of candidates for initial interviews.
   1. A DEI statement may not be required by applicants. If one is provided, preferential consideration may not be given on the basis of the provided statement.
   2. The SC, including the SC Chair, determines the protocol for interview questions and reference checks.
   3. Initial interviews may be conducted via phone or virtual meeting.
   4. The SC Chair must be present. SC members should strive to attend all interviews and give priority to this service role before scheduling other meetings. If one interview is missed, the SC member must recuse him/herself from any recommendation for campus interviews.
7. Once finalists for campus interviews are selected, the SC, via the SC Chair, submits the completed Faculty Recruitment Travel Estimation Form, the completed Faculty Request Form for Interview, the CV and Cover Letter to the Department/Division Chair (or administrative associate) for each finalist who will be interviewed on-campus.
   1. At least three finalists should be invited to campus interviews per position posted.
8. Once the Department/Division Chair reviews all documents, he/she signs the Faculty Recruitment Travel Estimation Form and the Faculty Request Form. Those signed forms plus the CV and Cover Letter must be sent to the College Dean who then approves/disapproves the candidate’s travel and request for campus interview.
   1. If the College Dean does not approve, he/she must notify the SC Chair.
   2. If the College Dean approves, he/she submits forms plus other documents to the Office of the Provost’s Executive Assistant who will verify information on forms and then send to the Provost.
9. If the Provost approves bringing finalists to campus, the Office of the Provost’s Executive Assistant will send notice to the college’s administrative assistant/associate, the SC Chair, and the College Dean. The SC Chair will then coordinate travel and campus-interviews for each finalist.
   1. Interviews for the three finalists should be scheduled within a two-week timeframe.
10. The SC establishes suggested interview questions, forums, and research/teaching demonstrations.
    1. A research demonstration is required for finalists applying for a tenure-track or tenured position.
    2. A teaching demonstration is required for finalists applying for non-tenure track positions.
11. After all finalists have completed campus interviews, the SC Chair convenes a meeting with the SC to discuss the finalists. After discussions, the
    1. SC must provide a memo to the Department/Division Chair with strengths/weaknesses of each finalist no later than one week after the last finalist has visited campus.
    2. Department/Division Chair must provide the College Dean with their assessment of each finalist no later than 3 days after receiving information from the SC.
    3. Dean must provide the Provost with his/her assessment no later than 3 days after receiving the chair’s assessment.
    4. Once the Provost gives approval to make an informal offer to the selected finalist, the Office of the Provost will provide CUPA salary to the College Dean.
    5. The College Dean is responsible for contacting the selected or sole finalist to begin an informal negotiation process (i.e., discussions about start-up funds and salary). If the College Dean is emailing the finalist, he/she must state in email correspondence that the offer is informal. Official offers are only sent by the Office of the Provost.
       1. If a finalist is asking for credit toward tenure, the College Dean must seek approval from the Provost.
       2. If a finalist is asking for a modification to teaching loads, the College Dean must seek approval from the Provost.
       3. If an offer of appointment intends to involve tenure upon arrival, the College Dean must seek approval from the Provost. For tenure upon arrival, the finalist should be an Associate Professor (with tenure) or Full Professor (with tenure) at their current institution. A letter of recommendation is needed by the tenured professors of the TAMIU unit/department together with a letter for the Department/Division Chair and College Dean.
12. Once the selected finalist and the College Dean come to an agreement, the College Dean drafts an appointment /offer letter (with start-up funds included) and sends it to the Office of the Provost for review and Provost signature.
13. The Provost will review the draft appointment letter, sign it, and then send it to the College Dean so that he/she can send it to the finalist.
14. Once the appointment letter is signed by the candidate, the candidate should send the signed letter to the College Dean who will forward to the Office of the Provost. The Office of the Provost will then distribute copies of signed letter of appointment to HR and the Office of Budge and Payroll. The search will not be closed until the SC submits all paperwork to HR and/or completes Workday processes.

Guidelines for Faculty Searches (PDF)