Department head term limits proposed
Department heads may have to step down after a set number of years, if a proposal by Utah State University administrators is approved.
There is currently no limit to department head terms. The proposal, as presented to the Faculty Senate on Monday, mentioned five years as a possible limit. Provost Stan Albrecht said the administration hears concerns from students and faculty that long-term department heads run out of speed.
“There are some advantages to having new ideas, new energy, new leadership in some of these assignments,” Albrecht said.
Randy Haupt, department head of electrical and computer engineering and chair of the Department Head Executive Committee, said the proposed policy is unfair.
“I think it should be applied to all administration, not department heads alone,” Haupt said. “If a department head is limited, the deans should be limited to five years, the assistant provosts, vice presidents, everybody to five years.”
Haupt said the proposal is a “definite” move to centralize power in the university. If the policy would limit all administration terms, he said he would then probably support it.
“What we’re doing is [saying] upper administration can stay as long as they want,” Haupt said. “It’s saying there’s something wrong with the department heads. I don’t like that and neither do any of the other department heads.”
Albrecht said one benefit of the policy is giving younger faculty and females a chance to be department head. He said it is a “great embarrassment” that USU currently has no female department heads.
“If we go to this kind of system, I view it as a tremendous training ground for our own faculty,” Albrecht said. “I would see many of these positions being filled by younger faculty members who desire to have a period of administrative appointment.”
Haupt said USU has had female department heads in the past, many of whom were promoted to deans at this or other universities.
One concern is that department heads who step down will also step down in pay, Haupt said. The stipend department heads receive, as well as pay year-round rather than on a semester basis, will not continue once their term ends.
“When you’ve devoted time to administration, like myself, I haven’t kept up with research grants and it would be several years when I could get research grants to cover my summer funding again,” Haupt said.
Albrecht cited the experience of peer institutions to refute the main criticism of the policy: that it might hinder USU’s external searches to fill positions.
“If you look at other really good universities, our peers, almost without exception, have a term policy for department heads, and they seem not to have difficulty,” Albrecht said.
One department head said he can see the merit in the proposal.
“You’d avoid burnout. It’s a hard job. It’s a high-stress position and it’s hard to maintain peak performance for prolonged periods,” said John Shervais, department head of geology.
Jeff Smitten, English department head, said the proposed policy poses some problems.
“It’s a question of what’s best for the institution and what’s best for the faculty,” Smitten said. “Given my knowledge of how this institution works, [the position] requires a great deal of long-term memory and experience to work it effectively.”
Haupt said the university now holds five-year reviews for department heads, and if they are not performing well, they are asked to step down. He said the proposed policy might force good people to step down.
“After five years, you only start getting the hang of being department head,” he said.
Smitten said he was uncertain why the proposal was being brought up now.
“My question would be, is this a policy designed to solve a problem? If it is, what is the problem?” he said.
Smitten said an effective compromise between lifetime appointments and five-year appointments could be to give department heads the option of two terms.
The Department Head Executive Committee plans to meet with Albrecht next week to discuss the matter further, Haupt said.
The proposal must be approved by President Kermit L. Hall and the Board of Trustees before becoming policy.
– heidithue@cc.usu.edu