Selecting the Unit Director

Process of selecting the Unit Director

1. A faculty member is eligible to serve as Director of the Communication Science Unit only if they satisfy all of the following:
   1. They have 1.0 FTE in the Media School;
   2. They are a tenured faculty member; and
   3. The Communication Science Unit is their home unit, as defined under the Media School Governance document.
2. All tenured, tenure track, and non-tenure-track faculty members of the Communication Science Unit shall have voting privileges for selection of the Unit Director.
3. The Communication Science Unit’s Advisory Committee, at least nine months before the expiration of the current Director's term, will:
   1. Ask the current Director if they wish to serve another term.
   2. Notify tenured members of the Communication Science Unit that they may request consideration for the position of Director.
   3. Ask the faculty for nominations of candidates from within the Communication Science Unit.
   4. Survey the faculty to determine if they wish to consider candidates for the position of Director from outside the Communication Science Unit.
4. The Advisory Committee will present the information obtained under paragraph 3 to the full faculty of the Communication Science Unit. If the faculty decides to search internally, that recommendation is made to the Dean of the Media School.  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; or
   2. The faculty may decide to search for a candidate outside the Unit who is not a tenured faculty member within Indiana University.

However, in order for a candidate to become Director of the Communication Science Unit, they must become a tenured member of the Media School for which Communication Science is their home unit.

1. If the faculty decides to search outside the Unit and funds to hire an outside an outside person are available, a search for an outside person will be conducted.  After the search is completed, the Advisory Committee will submit a list of candidates to the faculty.  Faculty members with voting privileges will decide which candidates to interview.
2. If funds to hire an outside person are not made available, the Unit will choose a Director from the list of tenured faculty members within the Unit who wish to be considered for the position. The Unit faculty may, if it chooses, request formal interviews with all these candidates.
3. The Director, whether an internal or an external candidate, will be selected by a two-thirds majority vote of the permanent faculty.  Up to three ballots may be taken to obtain a two-thirds majority of the permanent faculty.  If a two-thirds majority of the permanent faculty is not obtained, the results of the faculty vote shall be provided to the Dean of the Media School.
4. Normally, the Director's term will be three years, but the faculty may negotiate other terms.
5. In implementing this process of selecting the 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 Director.
   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 Director is filled by a new hire, faculty preference is expressed in the recommendation for appointment to the Dean.

(Adopted, September 14, 2016)