§18B-1B-6 Appointment of institutional presidents; evaluation.
§18B-1B-6. Appointment of institutional presidents; evaluation.
(a) Appointment of institutional presidents. -- Appointment of presidents of the state institutions of higher education shall be made as follows:
(1) The initial contract term for a president of a state institution of higher education may not exceed two years. At the end of the initial contract period, and subject to the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, the governing board may offer the president a contract of longer duration, but not to exceed five years.
(A) The provisions relating to initial contract periods do not affect the terms of a current contract for any person holding a multiyear contract and serving as president of a state institution of higher education or division of a state institution of higher education delivering community and technical education on the thirtieth day of June, two thousand eight;
(B) At the end of the current contract period and thereafter, the governing board shall make presidential appointments in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(2) The person who is president, provost, or divisional administrative head of the community and technical college on the thirtieth day of June, two thousand eight, becomes the president of the institution on the effective date of this section.
(3) The president of a state institution of higher education serves at the will and pleasure of the appointing governing board.
(4) Subject to the approval of the commission, the governing board of the institution appoints a president for Bluefield State College, Concord University, Fairmont State University, Glenville State College, Marshall University, Shepherd University, West Liberty State College, West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, West Virginia State University and West Virginia University.
(5) Subject to the approval of the council, the governing board of the community and technical college appoints a president for Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, The Community and Technical College at West Virginia University Institute of Technology, Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College, Marshall Community and Technical College, New River Community and Technical College, Pierpont Community and Technical College, Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, West Virginia Northern Community and Technical College, West Virginia State Community and Technical College, and West Virginia University at Parkersburg.
(b) Other appointments. -- The institutional president appoints a provost to be the administrative head of the Potomac campus of West Virginia University and a provost to be the administrative head of West Virginia University Institute of Technology.
(c) Evaluation of presidents. --
(1) The appointing governing board shall conduct written performance evaluations of the institution's president. Evaluations shall be done at the end of the initial two-year contract period and in every third year of employment as president thereafter, recognizing unique characteristics of the institution and using institutional personnel, boards of advisors as appropriate, staff of the appropriate governing board and persons knowledgeable in higher education matters who are not otherwise employed by a governing board. A part of the evaluation shall be a determination of the success of the institution in meeting the requirements of its institutional compact and in achieving the goals, objectives and priorities established in articles one and one-d of this chapter.
(2) After reviewing the evaluations, the board of governors shall make a determination by majority vote of its members on continuing employment and the compensation level for the president in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of this section.
(d) The commission and council each shall propose a rule for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of section six, article one of this chapter and article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code by the first day of September, two thousand eight, to provide guidance for the institutional governing boards in filling vacancies in the office of president in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The rule shall include, but is not limited to, clarifying the powers, duties and roles of the governing boards, the commission, the council, and the chancellors in the presidential appointment process.
(e) The Legislature finds that an emergency exists and, therefore, the commission and the council each shall file a rule to implement the provisions of this section as an emergency rule by the first day of September, two thousand eight, pursuant to the provisions of article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The emergency rule may not be implemented without prior approval of the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability.