Whether recruited from another institution or from among the members of a department’s faculty, an individual appointed to serve as a Department Chair has assumed a key position of academic and administrative leadership for UNC Charlotte.
However, the position of Chair places demand upon the time and energy of the individuals selected that may impede the professional development and advancement of Chairs within their academic disciplines. So that the institution can ensure the recruitment and retention of Chairs of high quality, it is important that there exist tangible and predictable financial and non-financial incentives associated with the position.
Length of Appointment
Under normal circumstances, Department Chairs are expected to serve on 12-month contracts. Contracts of from 9 to 11 months may be considered where, in the opinion of the dean, the assignment does not require a 12-month chair.
Teaching Load
It is important that Department Chairs maintain their currency in the classroom and their contact with students. However, the demands of being a Department Chair are so substantial that some relief from the teaching responsibilities ordinarily assigned to nine-month faculty is both appropriate and expected. Thus, while every chair will have some responsibilities for teaching and advising, the precise teaching workload should be a matter negotiated between the Dean and the Chair. Factors appropriate to be considered in that negotiation include the size and complexity of the Department to be administered; the number, enrollments, and relative difficulty of the courses to be taught; the Chair's scholarly activities; and the nature and extent of the Chair's other professional obligations and activities. In all cases, the total teaching load should be based upon some fraction of the normal teaching load of nine-month faculty.
Once the teaching load has been determined, the Dean and Chair shall negotiate the distribution of the courses to be taught over the fall and spring semesters and, in some cases, over the summer term as well. There is no separate teaching load associated with summer service.
Base Salary
The base salary for a Chair should be established by a formula that is based upon the nine-month professional salary. In the case of 12-month appointments, a Chair's nine-month salary should be prorated (9-month salary divided by 9 and multiplied by 12) to compensate for the additional 3-month appointment.
Administrative Stipend
The calculation of the base salary recognizes the time that chairs are asked to devote to administrative duties during the summer months. However, it does not recognize the additional responsibilities that the person appointed is being asked to assume. Because the assumption of administrative duties are essential to the effective operation of the University, it may also be appropriate to provide an administrative stipend that supplements the base salary. This decision is up to the Dean who may take into account the equity of salaries among the other chairs and/or the release from teaching responsibilities instead of providing a stipend.
Return to Faculty Provisions (Salary Fall-Back)
When an individual leaves a twelve-month position as Department Chair, the salary is adjusted to reflect the nine-month nature of a faculty appointment.
The Dean will recommend to the Provost the amount of the individual’s nine-month salary so that it will be comparable to the nine-month salary of faculty members with similar records of accomplishment, years of service and rank in the individual’s department and departments in other universities comparable to UNC Charlotte. The nine-month salary cannot be less than 75% of the last twelve-month salary (minus any administrative stipends).
In determining the appropriate nine-month compensation, the Provost and Dean shall take into account the quality of the individual’s administrative performance as chair; the extent to which the candidate’s academic accomplishments in teaching, research and service were compromised by service as Chair; and the individual’s promise for returning to productive academic activities after leaving the position of Chair. Upon returning to a faculty position and salary, the former Chair may apply for a Reassignment of Duties but would be subject to the rules and regulations of the College or Divisional Reassignment of Duties competition.