Resolution Calling for All Permanent Executive Managerial Positions to be Subject to an Open Recruitment, Search, and Hiring Process

Presented to the Mānoa Faculty Senate by the Senate Executive Committee for a vote of the full senate on February 17, 2021, a resolution calling for all permanent executive managerial positions to be subject to an open recruitment, search, and hiring process.  Approved by the Mānoa Faculty Senate on February 17, 2021 with 62 votes (98.41%) in support; 1 vote (1.59%) opposed; and 0 abstentions.

RESOLUTION CALLING FOR ALL PERMANENT EXECUTIVE MANAGERIAL POSITIONS TO BE SUBJECT TO AN OPEN RECRUITMENT, SEARCH, AND HIRING PROCESS

WHEREAS, The Mānoa Faculty Senate has directed that the Committee on Administration and Budget (CAB) “shall review […] the procedures for filling [major] positions” and “shall monitor the administration’s actions to ensure that they are open and give ample opportunity for faculty consultation and shall review University policies regarding academic decision making and policy development and propose modifications as required”; and,

WHEREAS, Board of Regents Policy (RP) 1.210 “recognizes the critical role played by faculty in the academic governance of the University, and authorizes the establishment of Faculty Senates to ‘advise the administration (primarily at the campus and unit level) on matters impacting and/or relating to the development and maintenance of academic policy and standards to the end that quality education is provided, preserved, and improved’”; and,

WHEREAS, the University of Hawai‘i Professional Assembly (UHPA) and the Board of Regents (BOR) entered into an agreement that spans from July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2021 (hereafter referred to as “2017-2021 UHPA-BOR Agreement”), which states in section R-20:

“the University will refer the following topics to Senates, or, where noted, to other shared governance entities. […]

8) Participation in recruitment, selection, and evaluation of academic executive leadership at the campus and the system level. This responsibility may also be shared with other shared governance entities.”; and,

WHEREAS, RP 9.201 and 9.212 establishes general guidelines for the hiring, recruitment, and appointment for EM positions; and,

WHEREAS, Executive Policy (EP) 9.212 states:

“All EM positions shall be filled through an open search process; provided, however, that an EM position may be filled without a search process (1) when reassigning an existing EM employee to a position, (2) when filling a position on an acting or interim basis up to one (1) year, or (3) by written approval from the President, in consultation with the University of Hawai‘i System Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)/Affirmative Action (AA) Office and OHR, to waive an external search process.  Waiver of recruitment for positions reporting directly to the President shall require approval of the Board.”; and,

WHEREAS, EP 9.212 does not foreclose the possibility where an individual could be appointed as an interim EM, and then reassigned into a permanent EM position, thereby evading a formal search process and faculty participation in recruitment, selection, and evaluation; and,

WHEREAS, it is likely, if not certain, that the qualifications and experience necessary for one particular EM position is unique in comparison to another EM position; and,

WHEREAS, an individual being searched for and hired into one EM position does not inherently make the same individual the “best qualified candidate” for another EM position; and,

WHEREAS, if an individual that currently holds an EM position is the “best qualified candidate” for another EM position, then the candidate would demonstrate such during a public search process should they choose to apply; and,

WHEREAS, if an appointment is made to a permanent EM position, rather than hired as a product of a recruitment and search process (including, but not limited to, an individual reassigned from an existing EM position, or the President “waiv[ing] an external search process”):

• such action is inherently not “open” and does not “give ample opportunity for faculty consultation”, especially if the “advice of knowledgeable and interested persons and groups” is not sought; and,
• such action does not communicate that the “University of Hawai‘i seeks to attract the best-qualified candidates who support the mission of the University and who respect and promote excellence through diversity”; and,
• such action forecloses the right for faculty to “participat[e] in the recruitment, selection, and evaluation of academic leadership at the campus and system level”; and,
• such action runs afoul of, at minimum, Regents Policy, 1.210, Regents Policy 9.201, Regents Policy 9.212, Executive Policy 9.212, and UHPA BOR 2017-2021 Contract Section R-20; and,

WHEREAS, in the rare circumstance when an urgent appointment must be made due to unexpected vacancy, an Interim EM appointment should be made in a manner that (1) ensures faculty “participation in recruitment, selection, and evaluation”, and, (2) ensures that an Interim EM appointment is a one-year expiry, temporary appointment, ultimately followed by an open recruitment, search, and hiring process for a permanent hire.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mānoa Faculty Senate supports an open recruitment, search, and hiring process for all permanent Executive Managerial positions; and,

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Mānoa Faculty Senate calls for Regents Policy 9.201, and 9.212, in addition to any other relevant or corresponding Regents Policy or Executive Policies (including, but not limited to, Executive Policy 9.212) to be amended to reflect that all permanent EM position appointments shall only be filled as a result of conducting an open recruitment, search, and hiring process.