Procedures for Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure

Overview And Faculty Structure

Figure 1 provides an overview of the appointment, promotion, and tenure procedures for the College of Medicine. The College of Medicine mission forms the basis for proposed job descriptions for, and recruitment into, the College. The College of Medicine has a system of faculty designations characterized by the activities of, and expectations of, the faculty member. This designation is incorporated into the letter of appointment. Every faculty position is either tenure-eligible or contractual. Consistent with University regulations, each faculty member also is assigned to a University title series.

The seven faculty designations include three tenure-eligible positions: Academic Basic Scientist, Academic Clinician/Scientist, and Academic Medical Educator. The seven faculty designations also include four contractual positions: Research Faculty Member, Clinician Faculty Member, Medical Educator Faculty Member, and Community-Based Faculty Member. All of these positions are necessary and valued in the College. Differences in the designations are intended to reflect differences in areas of work and responsibilities, not differences in importance or value to the institution. The word "academic" as part of a position designation reflects the requirement that all faculty members in these positions be involved in scholarly activity and produce scholarly work.

The letter of appointment incorporates the faculty designation, the expected activities of the faculty member, the resources that the College will invest in the faculty member, and the expectations for success, including promotion, in the College. Ongoing faculty development and regular faculty review must occur. Faculty members should be evaluated in accordance with fair and consistent performance measures. All faculty members must meet the commitments stated in their letters of appointment, and must demonstrate excellence in their areas of emphasis. In addition, academic faculty members in tenure-eligible faculty designations must also meet the expectations of scholarly activity and productivity for their faculty designation and title series.

Throughout this document, the term "junior faculty member" is used to refer to Assistant Professors, and the term "senior faculty member" is used to refer to Associate Professors and Professors. Full-time is intended to imply full professional effort and includes nine- and 10-month appointments.

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