Department Procedures for Appointments and Promotions

For junior faculty ranks (Associate, Sr Associate, Instructor, Assistant Professor), new appointments require approval of the Dean and will be effective upon date of employment and can occur throughout the academic year.

For senior faculty ranks (Associate Professor, Professor):

• Appointments on the clinical, research, and medical educator and service tracks and appointments as Associate Professor, tenure track (not with tenure) require approval by FCAP, COC, and Dean.
• Appointments with the grant of tenure require the same review and approval as those on the other tracks plus review and approval at the University level by the Provost, President, and Board of Trustee.

New appointments at senior rank can be proposed throughout the academic year and are effective upon completion of the review/approvals process. If these approvals are not completed prior to the date of employment, the faculty member will hold a transient title as Acting Associate Professor or Acting Professor until successful completion of the approvals process, at which time the intended senior rank/title will become effective. Failure to complete the process within six months of the date of hire will result in the new faculty member’s rank being converted to Assistant Professor and proposal for promotion to senior rank can occur in a subsequent year.

New Faculty Appointments: Recruitment Procedures

• Department chair submits to the Dean’s office a "preliminary recruitment packet" (checklist and templates provided in paragraph F., below); this packet will be reviewed in the Dean’s office by Faculty Administration and Fiscal Affairs and returned to department upon approval.
• Upon approval of the preliminary recruitment packet by Dean’s office, the department chair will finalize the recruitment letter that includes terms of the proposed appointment and send to the recruit; the recruit will counter-sign and return a copy of that letter to the chair indicating her/his agreement to go forward with the proposed faculty appointment.
• Upon receipt in the Dean’s office of a copy of the recruitment letter signed by department chair and recruit, the Dean will officially confirm the faculty appointment in a letter to the recruit, copied to the department chair. The employment will be finalized by completion of the established HR electronic hiring process, including Dean’s office approval signature on the eHRAF.
• While the recruitment and employment procedures for senior faculty are the same as those for junior faculty, there is an additional and lengthy review process for approval of the intended senior rank that follows the same process as that for promotion to senior rank (paragraph E.).

Endowed and Distinguished Academic Appointment

• These titles are typically reserved for faculty holding senior rank.
• Proposals are submitted in writing from the department chair to the Dean’s office, along with a current CV (in the SOM standard format, provided below). Dean’s office will review the proposal as well as the terms of the donor agreement or endowment agreement.
• Upon approval of the Dean, the Dean’s office will prepare a letter from the Dean to the Provost requesting University level approval. The Board of Trustees is advised of these actions and the confirmation letter will come from the President upon final review and approval.
• These requests can be put forward at any time throughout the academic year for current faculty members. Requests for these appointments for newly recruited faculty can be proposed by the department chair concurrent with the submission of the senior rank appointment packet, but the Dean will not put the proposal forward to the Provost’s office prior to completion of the approvals process for the associated senior rank.

Junior Faculty Promotions

• Proposals for promotion within the junior ranks can be put forward to the Dean’s office at any time throughout the academic year and will be effective upon Dean’s approval, which will be confirmed by letter from the Dean to the faculty member, copied to the department chair.
• The proposal to the Dean should include a letter commenting on the credentials, accomplishments, and career trajectory of the faculty member and a corresponding justification for the promotion, along with a current CV (in the SOM standard format, provided below).

Senior Faculty Appointments and Promotions (to Associate Professor or Professor)

• Promotions to a senior rank are effective only on September 1 of each academic year.
• These proposals are put forward by the department chair to the Dean’s office following a timeline established by the Dean’s office.
• The packets will provide specific documentation as stipulated by the relevant checklist samples provided in paragraph F., c.
• The review process is lengthy, taking 2-3 months for non-tenured actions, and somewhat longer for tenured actions that move on to the Provost’s office for University-level review/approval following SOM approval.
• In addition to the approvals process for the recruitment and employment of a faculty member intended to hold a senior rank, a separate proposal and packet must be submitted to the Dean’s office that will follow the same course as that for a proposed senior promotion.

New faculty appointments

Resources for submitting appointment and promotion packets : checklists, sample documents, and timelines:

• Checklist for New Faculty Appointment
• Checklist for New Faculty Appointments/Hires, Secondary/Joint Appointments, Volunteer Appointments, Emeritus Appointments, and Junior Rank Promotions
• Jr. Faculty Promotion Guidelines
• Department Procedures for Volunteer Faculty Appointment, Reappointment and Promotion
• Faculty proposal form template
• Recruitment letter template

• Deadlines for Submission to Dean’s Office of Proposals for Senior Promotions and Proposed Track Changes to MEST for Review in 2013-2014
• Checklist for appointment or promotion to senior rank, MEST
• Checklist for appointment or promotion to senior rank, CT/RT
• Checklist for appointment or promotion to tenured senior ranks (including appointment as Associate Professor, tenure track, not tenured)
• One-page curriculum vitae sample
• Full curriculum vitae standard SOM format
• Teaching Portfolio format
• Service Portfolio format – under construction, can be prepared in a fashion similar to that used for the Teaching Portfolio
• Example of a tenure track schedule (9 yr clock) for promotion of assistant professor to associate professor with tenure