Cyclical dean reviews every five years for all colleges will allow college faculty, staff and students to evaluate their dean’s job performance, John Jackson, vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and provost, says.

Elections every two or four years are good for the public, and a review of deans every five years is good for the colleges or the University, Jackson said.

He said some colleges already require dean reviews every five years, but that under the change, all deans will be reviewed.

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Unfortunately some colleges require reviews and some don’t, he said. One of the things I wanted to do when I first came into this office is get every dean on a five-year cycle.

If I were to stay in this job for five years, I would expect a full review, as well.

Jackson said the reviews will focus on job performance, and faculty, students and staff will participate and form the committees that administer the review.

Jackson said that during reviews, questionnaires will be distributed to faculty members. The questionnaires will ask various questions about the dean’s performance and the position. The questionnaires are being drafted.

The last question is, Do you recommend the dean continues in that position?’ he said. If there is a faculty demand for change and pent-up anger, then we will recognize the need for change.

Faculty opinion is considered very seriously in these matters, but ultimately I have to decide.

Carolyn Snyder, dean of Library Affairs, is scheduled to undergo a review in the spring, and Mass Communications and Media Arts Dean Joe Foote is scheduled to undergo review in the fall.

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Jack Parker, dean of the College of Science, said his college’s deanship already undergoes five-year reviews. Although Parker, who has been at the college for four years, has not yet undergone a review, he said he is looking forward to a review next year.

I can’t imagine any dean who would not want to be reviewed by both those faculty who work with him and those who he works for to determine what is going right and to identify problem areas, he said.

James McGuire, dean of the College of Agriculture, said although his college does not specifically review the dean every five years, the position is reviewed during the college’s five-year review.

I see it as a positive change because it gives both the administrator and those work under him feedback and the chance to identify goals for the college, he said.

Juh Wah Chen, the eight-year dean of the College of Engineering, said his college already reviews deans, and he was reviewed once before.

A review is important in the sense of what improvement can come out of it, he said. Faculty always have some comments, and [in my review] they recommended improvements, and that helps.