Chair Duties - Colorado College

Department chairs are appointed by the Dean of the College in consultation with the President and with the advice of the department. The term of appointment may vary, depending on the situation within the department, but normally an appointment is for a period of three years with the possibility of renewal.The duties of chairs are sufficient to warrant an additional block without teaching. In situations of extraordinary duties additional adjustments may be approved by the Dean. 

A.        The duties and responsibilities of department chairs are:

1.         to preside over the affairs of the department, its personnel, its academic program, its space allocation, its equipment and its budget;

2.         to represent the department in College affairs -- for example, at faculty meetings;

3.         to submit to the Dean departmental recommendations on reappointment, tenure, promotion, salary increases and leaves of absence for the faculty members of his or her department;

4.         to prepare and submit the department's budget requests and administer the budget after it has been approved;

5.         to prepare and submit the department's schedule of course offerings for the following year, and assign teaching duties to members of his or her department;

6.         to prepare and submit any course change requests and other curricular proposals;

7.         to assume the major departmental role in the process of recruiting, hiring and orienting new faculty members as prescribed in faculty hiring guidelines;           

8.         to advise and inform the department's newer members of their progress and their promise for the future. The new members should be counseled about their strengths and weaknesses, and provided with constructive suggestions for improvement. If a faculty member shows serious deficiencies in the performance of assigned duties, the chair should bring it to his or her attention as soon as possible;

9.         to advise and evaluate all department members with respect to their teaching, scholarship and College service according to criteria stated elsewhere in this handbook;

B. Release Time