Consideration of a Negative Recommendation from the Faculty Status Council to the President
If a candidate for tenure is not being recommended to the President by the Faculty Status Council, the Chair of the Council advises the candidate in writing within five (5) class days of the Faculty Status Council’s date of decision, always before February 28 of the academic year in which the tenure review has been scheduled, and in any case one year before the expiration of the candidate’s existing contract. Once the candidate has received the letter from the Chair of the Faculty Status Council, the candidate has five (5) class days to request a letter of explanation from the Dean of Faculty. The Dean of Faculty has five (5) class days to respond to the candidate’s request. Upon receipt of the Dean of Faculty’s letter of explanation, the candidate has a fifteen (15) class day period in which to request reconsideration of a negative recommendation on substantive grounds to the Faculty Status Council, or to make formal appeal on procedural grounds to the Faculty Appeals Committee. If no request for reconsideration or formal appeal is made, then the negative recommendation is forwarded to the President together with the candidate’s Tenure Review File by the Chair of the Faculty Status Council. If a request for reconsideration or formal appeal is made, no recommendation will be forwarded to the President until after the conclusion of the appeal process.
The President shall have thirty (30) class days from the date of receipt of the recommendation of the Faculty Status Council (following the disposition of any intervening request for reconsideration by the Faculty Status Council or appeal by the candidate before the Faculty Appeals Committee and any subsequent review of the tenure application by the Faculty Status Council) in which to accept or reject the Council recommendation regarding a candidate’s tenure application. In the course of those thirty (30) days the President has the prerogative to ask the Faculty Status Council to complete a reconsideration of its recommendation in the case. The President’s review of the candidate’s application for tenure is limited to a consideration of the Council’s recommendation and the Tenure Review File. No additional materials or information shall be considered. In addition, the entire Council provides to the President a formal, oral report of its reasoning about a case, with no further discussion to occur except questions of clarification about the oral report itself. The President may accept or reject the Council’s negative recommendation.
A decision by the President not to recommend tenure ends the tenure review process and results in the candidate’s separation from employment at the end of the candidate’s existing contract period. In such an event, the President will notify the candidate, the Chair of the Faculty Status Council, and the Dean of Faculty in writing before March 31 of the academic year in which the tenure review has been scheduled and in any case one year before the end of the candidate’s existing contract. If the President disagrees with the Council’s recommendation, the President may elect to recommend tenure. If so, the candidate and the Faculty Status Council are advised, in writing, of the President’s decision to recommend tenure and the tenure recommendation is forwarded to the Board of Trustees and acted upon as provided above.