The Department of Philosophy will follow the two-stage procedure described below in selecting a candidate for Chair. The Department will forward the name of the successful candidate to the Dean’s office for consideration. Except in an emergency, elections are held during a regular academic semester. Elections will be held within two weeks after the initial distribution of the nominating ballots.

All ranked faculty are eligible to serve as Chair, in accordance with the University Collected Rules and Regulations 20.110. However, the Department strongly discourages untenured tenure-track faculty from serving as Chair.

The term of Department Chair is three years, with the possibility of extending the term an additional three years if the Chair is willing and the Department and the Dean of the College of Arts & Science agree.

1. Selecting chair candidates

During the last year of a Chair’s term, and no later than the first month of the spring semester, the Chair Selection Committee will circulate the names of all department members eligible to serve as Chair. All faculty who do not wish to be considered for the position must let the current Chair know promptly (i.e., within a week).

2. Determining slate of candidates

The Chair Selection Committee will distribute the list of faculty who have agreed to stand for election to all ranked faculty by email ballot. Faculty will vote for one and return the nominating ballot to the Chair of the Chair Selection Committee.

Once all ballots have been returned, the Chair Selection Committee will tabulate the results. The three candidates who earned the most votes will constitute the slate of candidates. If there is a tie for third place, all persons in the tie shall be put
on the ballot (in which case the total number of candidates will exceed three). If only one or two people receive nominations, only that number will appear on the ballot.

3. Voting on candidates

The Department Chair will distribute the ballot with the slate of candidates at a regularly scheduled departmental meeting or call a special meeting if necessary (meeting must be accessible by video conferencing). The candidate who receives the majority of votes cast will be the department’s candidate for Chair. If no person receives the majority, faculty will vote on the two candidates who received the most votes in the initial election. If the second round of voting ends in a tie, a third ballot shall be taken. The Department’s candidate for Chair will be determined at this meeting.

4. Voting on additional term for current chair

When the current Chair is willing to extend their appointment for an additional three years, they will inform the Department by January of the third year of their current term. The head of the Chair Selection Committee will call a special meeting of the Department to evaluate the performance of the Chair and vote on extending the Chair’s appointment an additional three years.

If the majority of votes approves an extension, the Chair Selection Committee will announce the result of the election to the Department and to the Dean of Arts & Science. The Dean’s office must approve the extension.

If a request for an extension is voted down by the majority, the Department will select a new candidate for Chair using the procedure described above.

Approved 11/6/2026