This Search and Screen procedure for administrative positions at UW-La Crosse is modeled upon the 1997 University Administrative Appointments Process recommended by the Faculty Senate and by the Chancellor on September 3, 1997.

2. PURPOSE

The purpose of a Policy on Administrative Searches is to ensure that the search process for senior administrators at UW-La Crosse is conducted in a manner that is consistent, fair, transparent, efficient, inclusive, and that allows for the input of relevant constituencies and governance groups.

3. APPLICABILITY

3.1 Limited Positions. The administrative search procedure delineated below must be used for all searches for positions statutorily defined as limited positions. A limited position is a position that serves at the pleasure of the Chancellor or chancellor designee. These include the following:

• Provost
• Vice Chancellor
• Assistant or Associate Chancellor,
• Assistant Vice Chancellor or Associate Vice Chancellor,
• Dean

3.2. Other Positions. It is recommended that the administrative search procedure delineated below be used for assistant/associate dean positions of a college or school, the Director for Murphy Library, and the Director of Affirmative Action. In addition, this procedure may be used for any director level position or other positions that are viewed as having a significant campus-wide influence. For searches for positions identified in this paragraph, the Vice Chancellor serving as the hiring authority will make a recommendation to the Chancellor regarding whether or not the administrative search procedure should be used, and the Chancellor will have the final approval over that decision. When the administrative search procedure is not being used, please see paragraph 5.3.

4. SEARCH COMMITTEE COMPOSITION

4.1 Stakeholders. Committee composition should reflect, as much as possible, both the stake various groups have in the outcome and the extent to which that group will deal with each particular administrator. Most importantly, the search and screen process should be designed to allow for maximum potential involvement by interested others (e.g., open forums) with an opportunity to provide feedback on the candidates.

4.2 Diversity. All committees shall include gender and racial/ethnic diversity within the voting membership. The Director of Affirmative Action and Human Resources will review the search and screen committee membership for gender and racial diversity and will strive to consider other forms of diversity.  If not sufficiently diverse, the Chancellor and the Director of Affirmative Action may modify the committee membership.

Specific Principles Associated with Administrative Search Membership:

4.3 Composition of committees searching for positions with faculty tenure. For positions such as provost/vice chancellor or dean, which are primarily academic in nature and in which the appointee receives tenure as a faculty member as part of the position, the search committee shall consist of 4 members nominated by the Faculty Senate, 1 member nominated by the Academic Staff Council, 1 member nominated by the University Staff Council, 1 member nominated by the Student Senate, and 2 members selected by the Chancellor (Total 9 members.) One of the Chancellor’s selections shall be an individual who serves in an administrative position (preferably of lateral or higher rank to the position being searched and preferably in consultation with the hiring authority).  However if after the Chancellor has appointed the committee, the faculty does not constitute the majority on the committee, the Faculty Senate shall nominate the appropriate number of members to ensure a majority. (For a Dean's search, a minimum of 3 of the faculty must come from the college which the Dean will represent.)

4.4 Composition of committees searching for positions without faculty tenure. For positions which are primarily non-academic administrative positions, the search committee shall consist of 4 members nominated by the Academic Staff Council, 1 member nominated by the Faculty Senate, 1 member nominated by the Student Senate, 1 member nominated by the University Staff Council, and 2 members selected by the Chancellor. (Tota1 9 members.) One of the Chancellor’s selections shall be an individual who serves in an administrative position (preferably of lateral or higher rank to the position being searched in consultation with the hiring authority). However, if after the Chancellor has appointed the committee, the academic staff does not constitute the majority on the committee, the Academic Staff Council shall nominate the appropriate number of members to ensure a majority.

4.5 Non-voting Members. The Chief Human Resources Officer and the Director of Affirmative Action shall serve as non-voting members of all administrative search committees, to ensure compliance with federal, state, UW System and UW -La Crosse policies and procedures. The Director of Affirmative Action is responsible for ensuring compliance with affirmative action regulations, compiling required AA/EEO data on each applicant and providing summary data as appropriate. The Chief Human Resources Officer serves as a resource in the search process, and facilitates the recruitment process in consultation with the Hiring Authority. In addition, the Chief Human Resources Officer may assign a HR liaison to work directly with the committee. The Chancellor may identify other non-voting members.

5. PROCEDURES

5.1 UWL Recruitment Policy. The complete procedures identified in the UWL Recruitment Policy document shall apply to administrative searches, unless any provision of that policy conflicts with this policy, in which case this policy shall govern.

5.2 Finalists. In brief, the search and screen committee identifies a pool of finalists (typically 3-5 candidates) to present to the hiring authority for potential on-campus interviews. The hiring authority, along with Affirmative Action, determines how many and which finalists will receive campus interviews. 

1. Search & Screen Procedures for Administrative Positions with Concurrent Tenure Lines (traditionally, Deans, Associate Deans, Provost, and Associate Vice Chancellor) 
   • Pre-Interview stage: Hiring authority is responsible for reaching out to candidates as soon as the interview day has been set (with cc to department chair and chair of the S&S). For an example on communication to the candidate prior to an on-campus interview, see Search & Screen Procedures for Administrative Positions with Concurrent Tenure Lines.  
   • Department:  Is responsible for proper open meetings notice (regardless of candidate decision) and conveying the results to the hiring authority. Tenured faculty only vote on tenure.  
   • Prior to offer: Hiring authority confirms departmental tenure decision prior to offer being made. Hiring authority determines rank of position. 
   • Contract: Contract should indicate rank of position and that any salary associated with promotion after hire would be applied to faculty 9-month base salary (upon return to faculty) rather than administrative base salary.  Contract should also indicate salary level for 9-month contract if faculty (if internal hires; base salary at time of appointment + any pay plan adjustments), for external hires (traditional method such as CUPA median by rank). A semester of paid leave for teaching development can be provided after a requisite number of years in service of the administrative role (e.g., three years). If tenure is not granted, contract should indicate alternative – see UW System Guidelines.
   • Notice to system:  When UWL reports on tenure to UW System, the successful candidate’s name should be included. 

After on-campus interviews, the committee verbally provides the pros and cons associated with each of the individuals who received an on-campus interview to the hiring authority. The committee does not vote on the suitability or rank the finalists. Typically, the hiring authority converses with the search and screen committee about their views after the consensus-based pro/con discussion has taken place.

For the purposes of public records requests, the names of all finalists for Vice Chancellor/Provost recruitments, are considered public record; for other administrative recruitments, only the identity of the successful candidate will be released (see Wis. Stat. §. 19.36(7)).

5.3 Additional steps for searches not using this policy. For director-level positions and other positions listed in paragraph 3.2, should this administrative search procedure not be utilized, the Vice Chancellor of the division in which the position resides will notify each governance leader of the general timeline of the expected search, the approximate expected committee size, and the key constituent groups (role/type) the committee is expected to represent. Each governance leader will have up to 7 calendar days after the notification to provide feedback to the Vice Chancellor about the proposed search committee composition for the Vice Chancellor to take into consideration before the final committee is determined.