III. Establishment of Tenure at Columbia College Chicago

A. Objectives. The Board of Trustees formally adopted the system of faculty tenure set forth in this Statement on May 31, 1997, that would:

• ensure that considerations of academic and creative quality be the bases for faculty appointment decisions and thus contribute to continued academic and creative excellence at the College;
• foster and encourage risk-taking inquiry and creative expression at the frontiers of knowledge and convention;
• facilitate the attraction to the College of capable and highly qualified faculty members; strengthen institutional stability by enhancing faculty members’ loyalty to the College; and encourage academic and creative excellence by hiring, retaining, and rewarding only the most accomplished people;
• necessitate choice and selectivity in the appointment and retention of faculty members because of the requirements of academic, creative, and professional excellence; and
• confirm the high and valued academic stature of the College’s tenured faculty among their peers throughout the United States and the world.

B. Nature of Tenured Appointment. A faculty member at Columbia College Chicago who holds a Tenured Appointment has a right, subject to the terms and conditions in this Statement, to academic year employment for an indefinite period. A Tenured Appointment confers no employment or procedural rights beyond those set forth in this Statement.

C. Appointment as Provost, School Dean, or Department Chair. A person’s appointment as Provost, School Dean, or Department Chair is not a Tenured Appointment. A person who holds an appointment as Provost, School Dean, or Department Chair may also hold a Tenured or Tenure-Track Appointment as a member of the faculty, but, whether or not that is the case, such a person holds the position of Provost, School Dean, or Department Chair solely pursuant to the terms of the person’s letter of appointment or written contract of employment.