|
||||||||||||||||||
|
ADMINISTRATION
EDUCATION
RESEARCH
CLINICAL SERVICES
|
The Appointment Process A first step toward establishing a strong and successful faculty community is to recruit and appoint outstanding faculty members. The mission of the College has three equal and interrelated parts: education, research, and service, with the provision of health care to the commonwealth of Kentucky as a fundamental service activity. Because the success of all three missions is crucial to the organization, faculty members should be appointed in a variety of capacities designed to meet the goals of the College. Job Descriptions and Recruitment In general, before a faculty member is recruited, a job description should be developed. This job description should evolve from the mission and strategic plan of the College and the Department. The job description should reflect the anticipated activities and expectations of the faculty member and the resources that will be invested in this faculty member. The faculty designation should be included in the job description. Faculty searches and recruitment should be based on the job description that has been developed. Several faculty designations are in tenure-eligible positions. Faculty members who will be in tenure-eligible positions (whether currently tenured or not) will be expected to devote their full professional efforts to the University. Most contractual faculty members, except for Community-Based Faculty members, devote their full professional efforts to the University. All faculty members are expected to demonstrate excellence in their professional activities. In addition, faculty members in tenure-eligible designations are expected to produce scholarship as part of their academic roles. Several faculty designations correspond to long-term contractual positions, usually of a full-time nature, with the College. These positions are not eligible for tenure. These positions are appropriate for excellent researchers, clinicians, and educators who are enthusiastic about participating in the academic environment but do not wish to pursue tenure; faculty members in jobs that reflect primarily a service role, including most administrative roles, and do not have a requirement of scholarly productivity; participants in certain clinical, educational, and research programs that are essential to the institutional mission and projected to be limited in duration. In addition, all secondary appointments (joint appointments) in the College of Medicine are contractual in nature. The faculty designation of Community-Based Faculty member corresponds to a contractual relationship with the college, frequently long-term, in which the faculty member maintains his or her primary professional activities outside the college. The faculty members play a critical role in the education of medical students, make other important contributions to the mission of the college, or both. When a Department considers a faculty appointment for an individual who is a specialist in a discipline represented in other departments or schools of the University, a proposal regarding the plan and process for promotion (and tenure, if appropriate) should be negotiated with the appropriate administrators. Optimally, the Department that best represents the faculty member's principal discipline should agree to a dual appointment; this possibility should be explored. However, these faculty members may be hired into a faculty position that is or may be tenured without a dual appointment in the Department of the faculty member's principal discipline. All faculty members should be allowed and encouraged to teach within the limits allowed by University regulations. All faculty members should be encouraged to participate in appropriate College of Medicine, Hospital, and Kentucky Medical Services Foundation (KMSF) committees. The academic community benefits from full participation of all faculty. A letter of appointment should be completed for, and signed by, every new faculty member before he/she begins work at the College of Medicine. The letter of appointment will come from the Department Chair and also will be approved and signed by the Dean or the Dean's designate. The letter of appointment should include a description of the prospective faculty member's activities and also the faculty designation and University Title Series. The letter of appointment should include the College and departmental expectations of the faculty member and a description of the resources, including time, that will be afforded to the faculty member to meet these expectations. The letter of appointment should outline the specific guidelines by which the faculty member's performance will be judged. The appointment letter will form the basis for work assignments (Distribution of Effort [DOE] allocations). Faculty members sign the DOE document. The performance of the faculty member as judged by the guidelines in the appointment letter should form the basis for reappointment and promotion decisions. Institutional Investment in Faculty Members The College of Medicine is committed to working together with faculty members to advance institutional goals and the professional and personal goals of faculty members. The College recognizes the value of investing in the professional development of all faculty members. The type of investment made is dependent, in part, on the developmental stage of, and the expectations placed on, a particular faculty member. An initial investment of significant institutional resources in a faculty member is particularly important at the Assistant Professor level in tenure-eligible positions, given the limited time available to these faculty members in which to be promoted and the requirements for promotion. Commitment to this investment of resources, including time, is particularly important for faculty members who are expected to develop and conduct independent research that is externally funded. Ongoing and careful reviews of the faculty member's success in using allocated resources, including time, must be conducted. Institutional Investment in Junior Faculty Members Specific discussion of institutional investment in junior faculty members who are in tenure-eligible faculty designations is warranted given the requirements for promotion and the time-limited nature of probationary periods. Academic Basic Scientist, Academic Clinician/Scientist, and Academic Medical Educator faculty members in the University Regular Title Series are expected to demonstrate scholarship in a research area; demonstrate excellence across the areas of research, service, and teaching; and have an expanding national reputation in their areas of expertise. Faculty members in the Regular Title Series usually are involved in the scholarship of discovery (research). There is an expectation that Regular Title Series faculty members will develop individual research programs that generate their own external funding. Clearly, junior faculty members who will be judged by these expectations must have certain preparatory training, and the institution must make a significant initial investment in their careers. No faculty member should be appointed to one of these designations in the Regular Title Series without research training or experience adequate to prepare that person to succeed in the assigned position. Post-doctoral experiences may be desirable for some basic scientists. Fellowships with significant research training, or other extensive research training, are probably necessary for clinical faculty members. If an otherwise promising applicant does not have this training, appointment in an alternative position for a defined period of time should be considered. This appointment may allow the faculty member the opportunity to gain skills that will be necessary for success. Academic Basic Scientist, Academic Clinician/Scientist, or Academic Medical Educator faculty members appointed in the Regular Title Series must devote most of their time to research. Early in the faculty member's career, this research time should be financed by the institution or the department as an investment in the faculty member. For faculty members conducting basic science research, this time allocation should be no less than 75 percent during years one through three of a six-year probationary period. For faculty members conducting clinical research, this time allocation also should be no less than 75 percent during years one through three of a six-year probationary period. However, recognizing that clinical service activities may be a synergistic and necessary part of clinical research, the 75 percent time allocated to research may include a portion of time (up to 25 percent of the total 100 percent allocated faculty time) allocated to clinical duties, as long as those clinical duties directly relate to the faculty member's research activities. For faculty members conducting educational or administrative research, this time allocation should be no less than 75 percent during years one through three of a six-year probationary period. However, recognizing that educational or administrative activities may be a synergistic and necessary part of educational or administrative research, the task force proposes that this 75 percent time allocated to research may include a portion of time (up to 25 percent of the total 100 percent allocated faculty time) allocated to educational or administrative duties, as long as those duties directly relate to the faculty member's research activities. These time commitments should be reflected in the faculty member's DOE. If this degree of institutional investment is not available, or is not appropriate for the position, the faculty member should not be appointed in the Regular Title Series. Faculty members in the Regular Title Series also must demonstrate excellence in teaching and service activities before they are promoted to the Associate Professor level (see discussion of promotion later in this document). However, these activities should not require more than 25 percent of the junior faculty member's time during the first three years of a six-year probationary appointment. These activities may be carried out in increasing amounts during the last three years of a probationary appointment so that the faculty member can demonstrate excellence and scholarship in these areas as well. To be promoted, Academic Basic Scientist, Academic Clinician/Scientist, and Academic Medical Educator faculty members appointed into the University's Special Title Series must demonstrate excellence in their areas of emphasis, meet specific requirements of their letters of appointment, and be involved in scholarly activity with production of scholarly work in their areas of emphasis. College of Medicine promotion expectations for ALL faculty members in tenure-possible positions (regardless of University Title Series) include the production of scholarly work. Faculty members in designations in the Special Title Series may conduct their scholarship in the area of discovery (research), but more frequently their scholarly activity will be in areas of integration, application and teaching. Certain types of clinical research, the development of clinical techniques, educational and program development, policy research, and development of clinical practice guidelines are a few examples. In addition, and distinct from the expectations of most faculty members in the Regular Title Series, it is expected that the scholarly activity of faculty members in the Special Title Series will include ongoing activities, apart from research, in the faculty member's primary area of emphasis (usually clinical patient care, education, health policy, administration). As a result, faculty members in the Special Title Series need specific time allocated toward pursuit of their scholarly activities, but the overlap between their service or teaching activities and their scholarship is such that less time need be reserved solely for scholarly activity. Junior faculty members in the first three years of a probationary period in a Special Title Series position should be allocated a minimum of 25 percent time to conduct scholarly activity. This 25 percent time allocation should be specifically devoted to activities designed to produce the scholarly activity in their areas of emphasis (e.g., collaborative research, production of new and innovative clinical techniques, experimental curricula) rather than routine work activities in their areas of emphasis. It is expected that ongoing allocation of this amount of time devoted to scholarly activity should continue throughout the probationary period, with increasing expectations of productivity. Junior faculty members appointed in the Special Title Series may be expected to devote a greater percentage of their time to service and teaching activities in the first three years of their probationary appointment than faculty members in the Regular Title Series. However, most of these activities should directly relate to the faculty member's area of emphasis and should be performed in limited amounts. Teaching and service commitments should increase with the faculty member's time in the institution. Institutional Investment in Senior Faculty Members Faculty members recruited to the College of Medicine at a senior faculty level frequently will need institutional investment of resources, particularly time, early on. In general, these faculty members should need this investment for a shorter period of time than junior faculty members. It is expected that all tenured faculty members will continue to be engaged in scholarly activity throughout their careers and will produce scholarly work throughout their careers, so that they may contribute to the College, University, and larger community. Periods of bridge funding and other support for senior faculty members whose research programs have dropped below necessary levels of external funding may be appropriate. However, overly lengthy periods or continued support of programs that are not reasonably anticipated to regain a necessary level of external funding is inappropriate. In such instances, reallocation of the faculty member's time and activities and institutional resources in a manner most consistent with College and Department goals should occur. All faculty members are expected to be continually productive throughout their academic careers. Continued investment of time and resources in senior faculty members may be appropriate but will, in general, be less necessary. It is important, however, that senior faculty members, particularly at the Associate Professor level, have continued opportunities to pursue those activities necessary for promotion to the more senior levels. Institutional Investment in Faculty Members in Contractual Positions All faculty members must demonstrate excellence in their areas of emphasis. Achieving this goal will require ongoing faculty development opportunities for all faculty members. An ongoing dialogue between the Chair and all members of a Department about the best way to meet the departmental and institutional needs and to achieve a faculty member's personal and academic goals is necessary. These discussions should contribute to decisions about the allocation of time and other resources, including professional development resources, to faculty members in contractual positions. This discussion is particularly important for junior faculty members in the formative years of their careers. |
| Comments and Corrections | An Equal Opportunity University | Terms, Conditions and Accessibility Statements | Privacy | |
|
© 2008, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, 138 Leader Ave., Lexington, Kentucky, USA 40506-9983
Clinical Questions: (859) 257-1000 · College of Medicine Questions: (859) 323-6582 Page last updated Monday, December 08, 2008 |
|
