Board of Trustees Guidelines Regarding Approval of Appointments (AY2023-24)

For System-Wide Use

Purpose

 This document describes how different types of appointments are recommended by the President to the Board of Trustees for review and approval. These guidelines also inform more detailed process requirements issued by the Executive Vice President via memorandum dated December 4, 2023. 

Background

 As provided in the University Statutes, certain appointments recommended by the President require individual review and a vote to approve by the Board of Trustees via an individual board agenda item, going into effect no sooner than the day after the Board meeting where the approval vote occurs. Certain other appointments are grouped for consideration in an appointments item w/ HR spreadsheet or promotion and tenure item on the board meeting agenda and must also go into effect no sooner than the day after a vote to approve by the board. The remainder of appointments can go into effect prior to being reported to the board in the Secretary’s Report at each board meeting.

Appointment Groups

 All appointments fall into one of four groups, with each group having a specific combination of required steps. The four groups are as follows: 

Group I. High ranking administrative appointments

High ranking administrative appointments include the following: 

  1. President 
  2. Executive Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs 
  3. Secretary of the Board of Trustees 
  4. University Counsel 
  5. Executive Director of University Audits 
  6. Vice President 
  7. Chancellor/VP 
  8. Vice Chancellor (includes Provost/VCAA) 
  9. Dean 
  10. Chief Executive Officer of the Hospital 
  11. Director of Intercollegiate Athletics (including circumstances noted in 12 a,b,c) 
  12. Head Varsity Coaches of Football; Men’s Basketball; and Women’s Basketball, including:
    1. A new (first-time) multi-year agreement 
    2. Renewal of a pre-existing multi-year agreement that has expired 
    3. Any change to an existing multi-year agreement

 For all Group I appointments, the board office requires the following: 

  • President submits recommendation of appointment to Board Office for review by the Board of Trustees prior to the effective date of the appointment. (See EVP memo for routing information prior to this action.) 
  • Board completes review, Secretary of the Board reports to President that appointment may proceed. 
  • An individual board agenda item is prepared, properly routed, and submitted to Board Office, in accordance with deadlines established for title and item submissions for each meeting cycle. 
  • Group I appointments listed above include appointments with “interim”, “visiting”, and “acting” modifiers 
  • Public announcements of the anticipated appointment must:
    1. Be shared with the board office 24 hours prior to public release. 
    2. For initial appointments, include the position title with “Designate” appended at the end. 
    3. Include the phrase “…pending approval by the Board of Trustees”. 

Group II. Administrative Professional Appointments 

Administrative Professional Appointments are transmitted in the appointments item w/ HR spreadsheet each board meeting, except if the appointment includes “interim”, “visiting”, and “acting” modifiers. Effective date must be no sooner than the day after a vote to approve by the board. Group II appointments are split into two subgroups, as follows:

Group II.A.

  1. Associate Vice President
  2. Associate or Assistant Chancellor
  3. Chief of University Police
  4. Chief of Staff to the President or Chancellor
  5. Any position reporting directly to the Chancellor or President

For all Group II.A. positions, the Executive Vice President’s office has additional routing and approval requirements. (See EVP memo.) 

Group II.B.

  1. Vice, Associate or Assistant Provost 
  2. Deputy Associate or Deputy Assistant Chancellor 
  3. Associate or Assistant Vice Chancellor 
  4. Assistant or Senior Assistant Vice President 
  5. Regional Dean 
  6. Department Head or Chair 
  7. Director or Executive Director of a unit reporting to a Vice Chancellor or Chancellor 
  8. Executive Director for Enrollment Management 
  9. Executive Director of Labor and Employee Relations 
  10. Chief Information Officer 
  11. Healthcare System administrative staff, reporting to CEO of the Healthcare System 
  12. Multi-year Intercollegiate Athletic coach contracts and extensions, other than those listed in Group I, Item #12. 

Group III. New faculty appointments; faculty promotions & tenure

Board approval is required prior to the effective date for the following: 

  • New faculty appointments are submitted in the appointments item w/ HR spreadsheet each board meeting cycle. This includes: 
    1. Faculty newly hired with indefinite tenure. 
    2. Tenure-Track faculty and those on probationary “Q” appointments. 
  • Promotion and Tenure of current faculty are submitted in an annual promotion and tenure board agenda item each July. 
  • Off-cycle promotions that award a faculty member promotion in tenure rank or grant tenure at current rank are submitted as part of the appointments item w/ HR spreadsheet as needed each board cycle. 

Group IV. Appointments not included in Groups I – III

Appointments not included in Groups I – III will be presented to the Board via the Secretary’s Report at each meeting of the Board of Trustees. Such appointments may include effective dates retroactive to receipt by the Board. 

Note: These guidelines will update pursuant to any approved revision of the University Statutes and/or General Rules on applicable provisions. For additional information or questions regarding appointments, please contact the appropriate university office and/or the Board of Trustees Office. 

Revised 11/2023 with clarification 1/2024