Department Letters vs Chair Letters: Understanding the Difference

Matt Huffman, Professor of Sociology

Personnel cases normally include a department letter and a Chair’s letter. The main purpose of the department letter is to summarize the Department’s level of support for a proposed personnel action. According to APP 3-60 (https://ap.uci.edu/policies-procedures/app/3-60/) the department letter, “should (1) set out and explain the recommendation of the department faculty for action on a personnel case, including the reasons for any dissent, and (2) should support the recommendation by evaluating analytically, not merely describing, the candidate’s performance in each of the areas of responsibility: teaching, research and creative activity, professional competence and activity, and University and public service."

There are strict limits on the length of department letters, depending on the type of action under consideration. For example, the Department Letter Short Form (UCI-AP-12) must be used for dean delegated merits and some other specific kinds of reviews. The department letters for other reviews, such as promotion to tenure and the mid-career assessment, do not have this strict length limit.

One purpose of the Chair’s letter is to convey his or her vote on the proposed action. Additionally, the department chair is responsible for presenting and documenting the departmental recommendation for those reviewing the case at subsequent, “higher" levels (or example, the Dean). To this end, the Chair’s letter will often summarize the department’s view of the strengths and weaknesses of the case, and points of agreement and disagreement among the faculty about the merits of the case.

It should be noted that there can be considerable variation in both the length and content of each of these letters. For instance, some Chairs write longer, more detailed letters than others.