Article V. The Subdivisions

A. Departments

1. Organization:
   1. The faculty shall be organized into departments representing the academic disciplines of the institution. Departments shall plan and execute programs of research, scholarship and professional activities and shall train postgraduate trainees, medical students, graduate students, and undergraduate students in its discipline.
2. Function:
   1. Each department shall provide a central administration for its academic discipline. Each department shall be responsible for the teaching in its discipline in the School of Medicine, School of Graduate Studies, and/or School of Allied Health Professions as determined by need and negotiation. Each department shall plan and execute programs of research and of professional activity.
   2. Each department shall hold regular meetings to transact business of the department and discuss activities of concern to LSUSHC-S. A record of the meetings shall be maintained in the Department Chair’s office and distributed to departmental faculty members.
   3. Each department shall establish a department committee on appointments, promotions, and tenure for the purpose of making recommendations concerning appointments and promotions and, if appropriate, awards of tenure. This designated department committee shall be comprised of faculty members holding primary appointments in that department at or above the rank of the individual(s) being considered. Recommendations of the department promotions committee shall be communicated to the Department Chair. The Department Chair shall then forward his/her written recommendation for appointment, retention and/or promotion to the LSUHSC-S Promotion and Tenure Committee. If the Department Chair’s recommendation differs from the majority opinion of the designated faculty members of the department, the difference and the reasons for this action shall be reported to the LSUHSC-S Promotion and Tenure Committee as well as to the applicable school’s Dean. The LSUHSC-S Promotion and Tenure Committee shall then consider the information considering institutional policies as they make their recommendations.Recommendations concerning appointment, promotion, and tenure shall be governed by the appointment, promotion, and tenure rules of the LSU System.
3. Department Chair:
   1. The Department Chair shall be responsible for the educational, research, and professional service, and administrative functions of the department and shall be the representative spokesperson for the department.
   2. The Department Chair, after consultation with the Dean of the appropriate school, will be responsible for fiscal management of the department budget and space utilization consistent with the goals of LSUHSC-S and projected departmental aims. Departmental budgets originate with the Department Chair in consultation with the Dean so that a total departmental budget figure is projected for the next fiscal year. Such a budget shall be subject to alterations based on the total allocation of monies from the State Legislature, Board of Regents, LSU Board of Supervisors, and any other financial source.
   3. Each department chair or an appropriate designee shall meet annually with each faculty member to review performance and to set future goals. The department chair or the appropriate designee shall then provide a written summary of each evaluation to the faculty member, with a copy provided to the applicable school’s dean and the provost.The results of such reviews shall be discussed by the Department Chair with the reviewed faculty member for department planning and faculty development purposes.
   4. When a Department Chair post becomes vacant, the Dean shall appoint an search committee to seek qualified applicants and consider candidates. The search committee shall assess the future role of the department and shall consult with members of the department and other persons whom they deem advisable, before submitting a list of recommended candidates to the applicable school’s Dean. In accordance with LSUHSC-S procedures, the applicable school’s dean shall recommend a candidate for appointment to the Chancellor.

B. Other Units:

Other units shall be administered in accordance with the same principles as those governing Departments