The dean of each school within the UTHSC-H reports to the president and is the leading academic administrator in his or her profession on the campus; the dean is expected to provide leadership in the profession and the community regarding relevant educational and scientific issues.
The president delegates authority and responsibility to the dean, within the limits set by the Regents' Rules and Regulations. The authority and responsibility of the dean is to direct and manage the schools and to develop plans for the future. The dean will recommend faculty appointments and promotion and tenure decisions; develop and propose the school budget, including individual salaries; administer the admission of students, the curriculum design, and its implementation and evaluation; and determine the progress of students through school and recommend them for graduation. The dean is expected to promote an environment conducive to the academic goals and objectives of the school, including developing human resources (students, faculty, and other employees), developing new knowledge, and, when appropriate, delivering service.
Departmental chairs and other major academic administrative unit leaders serve at the pleasure of the dean, who recommends to the president their appointments to and terminations from those administrative posts.
The dean is a major administrative officer of the UTHSC-H and as such is expected to support the president and his or her staff in carrying out the functions of the Office of the President. The dean sits on the Executive Council and reviews all university-wide policies before implementation and periodically thereafter. The dean is in a position to bring his or her concerns, or those of the faculty, about university-wide policies to the president and has a responsibility to do so; on the other hand, the dean has the mandate to explain university-wide policies to the faculty and to implement those policies once they are in place.
Updated 3/98