"There is a call for FTEs every spring, and departments must put in requests for the right to do a search," said William Crossgrove, associate dean of the faculty. "All those requests are put together and reviewed by the Academic Priorities Subcommittee. They are ranked according to academic priority, and that recommendation goes to the Academic Council. At some point a line is drawn based on how many openings we have. Those above the line are approved, the others aren't."
It's possible, Crossgrove said, that making faculty hiring independent of the cluster reviews helped faculty accept the process and focus on the academic priorities of their departments.
There is one exception. If a department refuses to grant tenure to a candidate, it is entitled to hire someone else for the same position. The University wants to make sure that tenure decisions are made solely on the basis of academic merit, Crossgrove said.