Section II.B Academic Rank

Tenure-Track Appointments

There are three ranks to which faculty holding tenure or on tenure track may be appointed: assistant professor, associate professor, and professor. The procedures for the awarding of tenure and promotion are different in the three schools. The relevant documents on promotion and tenure are found in the portion of the handbook applicable to each school. Faculty on tenure track should hold the terminal degrees in their respective fields.

Non Tenure-Track Appointments

Instructor

Teaching faculty without the terminal degree appropriate to their field normally hold
the title of instructor. An instructor should have completed at least 18 semester hours (27 quarter hours) in the subject or field in which he or she is hired to teach and hold the master’s degree. Appointments to this rank are for a stated term of service.

Lecturer

This title is used for faculty with renewable term appointments in areas of the curriculum not staffed by tenure-track faculty. Lectureships are half time or more and may be renewed for as long as the staffing need exists. Persons may be initially appointed as senior lecturers based on their record of achievement or may advance to that position upon review and after five years of service. Persons holding these positions usually carry some administrative responsibilities in addition to teaching and often carry an additional descriptive designation such as “Director of Orchestra” or “Program Head of Photography.”

Faculty with Term

This title (e.g., associate professor with term) refers to faculty appointed for multiyear (generally more than two years) half-time to full-time contracts with specified or indefinite term, but not on tenure track. Qualifications are generally comparable to those for appointment at the corresponding tenure-track rank and compensation will be determined by the relevant dean. The rank to which term faculty are appointed will range from instructor to professor, as appropriate.

Clinical Faculty (Graduate School of Education and Counseling)

This title (clinical instructor or clinical assistant, associate, or full professor) refers to faculty appointed on an annual basis, with an FTE of .5 or greater. They are voting members of the Graduate School faculty. Reappointment or renewal is based on the decision of the dean.

Visiting Faculty

Visiting faculty generally occupy a full-time (or full-time for one-half year) position that is temporarily vacant. The title (e.g., visiting assistant professor) may also be used for a faculty member hired from another institution to hold a specifically funded temporary position. In the latter case, the visiting faculty member is assigned to a school over and above the number of tenured positions in the staffing plan of the school. Qualifications are generally comparable to those for appointment at the corresponding tenure-track rank and compensation will be determined by the relevant dean. Visiting faculty will be appointed at the appropriate rank from instructor through professor. Visiting appointments are not normally renewed beyond three years and in no case may be renewed beyond six years.

Adjunct Faculty

An adjunct position is created to meet a specific need on a course-by-course basis. Appointments are for a specified period of one year or less, and may be renewed provided the College needs the adjunct’s services and performance meets the College’s standards. Adjunct appointments may be made at any appropriate rank.

Determination of Initial Rank

• The dean of the College of Arts and Sciences determines the academic rank of a newly appointed faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences.
• The dean of the Graduate School, upon recommendation from the appropriate department chair, determines the academic rank of a newly appointed faculty member in the Graduate School.
• The dean of the Law School, upon recommendation of the voting faculty, determines the academic rank of a newly appointed faculty member in the Law School.