Reappointment of Research Associate Professors & Research Professors
Note: This policy page DOES NOT address the reappointment of Research Assistant Professors. Reappointment guidelines for Research Assistant Professors are addressed here.
Overview
Research Associate Professors and Research Professors may be appointed to terms of one to five years in duration. There is no limit on the number of reappointments that may be made to these titles. Reappointments should be made 6 months prior to the end of the last year of an individual's term.
Since 12-month terms end on June 30 of each year, Research Associate Professors and Research Professors must be notified of renewal or non-renewal no later than December 30 of the last year of appointment.
Reappointments require a vote of faculty members who are superior in rank and concurrence from the Dean. In order to meet the December 30 deadline, the Dean's office requests that all reappointment documentation be received no later than December 15 of the last year of appointment.
Determining the Last Year of Appointment
An individual's last year of appointment is not formally recorded in any of the payroll or personnel systems at the University, and may vary in duration from 1 to 5 years. The only source for this information is a department "shadow database," or the most recent reappointment or promotion documentation. The Dean's office recommends the following steps for determining a reappointment year:
- Review any department tracking systems for the information.
- Review the department faculty file for the latest reappointment letter or notice of promotion. These may state the appointment term.
- Contact the CoE Dean's Office and request that they review their files for the information.
- Contact Academic Human Resources and request that they review their personnel files for the information.
Note that appointment or distribution end dates in the Online Payroll Update System (OPUS) are generally not a good indicator of the reappointment year since changes to the appointment dates may erroneously reflect an indefinite term (99-99-9999), the end date of a research fund, or a system-generated end date not reflected in reappointment documentation.
Clarifying Appointment Terms
In some cases, a Research Associate Professor/Research Professor's term was not clearly defined in prior reappointment or promotion documents. In this case, Departments should treat the current year as a reappointment year, and initiate a reappointment process for the faculty member concerned.
Setting Reappointment Years for Multiple Faculty Members
Because reappointments can be set for a period ranging from one to five years, Departments may want to consider reappointing all Research Associate Professors and Research Professors to a specific cycle, so that all terms end on the same year. For example, a department may establish a system where all Research Associate Professors/Research Professors are reappointed during the same year in 5-year intervals. This may improve reappointment tracking over time.
Faculty Voting Process
The Faculty Vote processes vary by department; however, certain rules must be observed during the vote. These rules are explained on the Academic Human Resources web page on voting procedures. Departments are responsible for determining which faculty are eligible to vote on a given case based on leave status, FTE, and rank.
The following materials may be useful to faculty members when considering reappointment of Research Associate Professors and Research Professors:
- An up-to-date Curriculum Vitae,
- Yearly activity report (if available, and only if it includes information not provided on the Curriculum Vitae), and
- An individual's self-advocacy statement, if available.
Reappointment Documentation
Reappointment documentation is described on the Academic Human Resources Web site. Note that the College of Engineering requires only the letter from the chair and report from the secondary department (if applicable). All other materials should be submitted if available, but are not critical to the reappointment process.
Deadline
Reappointment documentation should be submitted to the CoE Dean's office no later than December 15 of the last year of the term.
Community of Innovators
Nominate a student, faculty or staff member who makes exceptional and meaningful contributions to the College.
Nominations due 5 p.m. March 1.
Nominees and awardees will be honored at the Community of Innovators Awards reception.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
3:30 to 5:00 p.m.
Paul G. Allen Center,
Microsoft Atrium.
Forms and Letters
New Appointments
Request to Advertise a Faculty Position (procedure with links)
Offer Letter Templates
Appointment Cover Sheets
Postdoctoral Titles
(e.g. Research Associate, Senior Fellow)
Professorial Titles
(including Research)
Visiting Faculty
(other than scholar/scientist)
