Unit Director

Process of Selection of the Unit Director

What follows is the Cinema and Media Studies unit’s role in the selection of a unit director. In accordance with College policy, the role of the unit is to advise the Dean with a recommendation for unit director.

Eligibility

Faculty members are eligible to serve as unit director of the Cinema and Media Studies Unit only if they satisfy all of the following:

1. They have .50 FTE in the Media School
2. They are a tenured faculty member
3. Cinema and Media Studies is their home unit, as defined under the Media School Governance document

Voting Privileges

All tenured, tenure track, and non-tenure track faculty members of the Cinema and Media Studies unit shall have voting privileges for selection of the unit director as long as the unit remains in compliance with the College Policy Committee Policy on Appointment, Reappointment, and Dismissal of Unit Chairs or Directors.

Selection Process

1. Cinema and Media Studies unit’s Advisory Committee is tasked with managing the selection and election process.
2. In early February of the year that the current unit director’s term will expire, the advisory committee will perform the following steps:
   1. Ask the current unit director if they wish to serve another term. Should they wish to serve another term, the Advisory Committee will discuss the decision with faculty (without the Unit Director present) to assess: 1) if another candidate would like to run and/or; 2) to decide if the faculty would be willing to support another term for the current Director.
   2. Pending the above, the Advisory Committee will notify tenured members of the Cinema and Media Studies unit that they may request consideration (i.e. self-nominate) for the position of unit director
   3. Ask the faculty for nominations of candidates from within the Cinema and Media Studies unit
   4. Survey the faculty to determine if they wish to consider candidates for the position of unit director from outside the Cinema and Media Studies unit. If the faculty decides to search outside the unit, the Advisory Committee will ask the Dean for permission to advertise and recruit. With regard to a search outside the unit:
      1. The faculty may decide to search for a candidate outside the unit but who is a tenured faculty member within Indiana University.
      2. The faculty may decide to search for a candidate outside the unit who is not a tenured faculty member within Indiana University
      3. However, in order for a candidate to become unit director of the Cinema and Media Studies unit, they must become a tenured member of the Media School for which Cinema and Media Studies is their home unit.
   5. Once nominations have been received by the advisory committee it will then canvass all nominees to learn whether they are interested in and available to serve as unit director.
   6. The advisory committee will then share the nominations with the unit and Deans
   7. The advisory committee will ask the nominee/s to prepare a brief vision statement about the direction of the unit and goals to be achieved

Election Process

1. In early March a unit forum will be called by the advisory committee for the nominee/s to share their vision statements and engage in questions from the faculty
2. A secret ballot will be held one-week after the forum
3. The unit director, whether an internal or an external candidate, will be selected by a majority vote of at least 75% of the eligible faculty.
4. The advisory committee will share the results of the vote with the candidates and Deans
5. Pending a tie-vote, the advisory committee will only share the results with the Deans and contact the candidates based upon the Deans direction
6. The advisory committee will announce the new unit director to the unit once the position has been confirmed by the candidate and Deans.
7. The Deans will announce the new unit director to the MSCH faculty

Compliance

In implementing this process of selecting the unit director, compliance with the College Policy Committee Policy on Appointment, Reappointment, and Dismissal of Unit Chairs or Directors requires that:

1. A faculty meeting must be held for faculty discussion and a secret ballot.
2. The role of non-tenure-track faculty in governance within the unit shall be determined by vote of the tenured and tenure-probationary faculty of the unit. Moreover, where non-tenure-track appointees have voting privileges, their voting participation must be structured in a way that reserves at least 60% of voting weight to tenure track faculty.
3. Unit staff may be consulted during the process, but do not vote for chair.
4. The process must provide an opportunity for individual statements regarding the basis for support of individual candidates and these statements must be conveyed to the Dean.
5. When the position of chair is filled by a new hire, faculty preference is expressed in the recommendation for appointment to the Dean.

Ratified: 3/11/2021