Section IV.A: Appointment Policy and Procedure - Law School
I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
The objectives of Lewis & Clark Law School can be achieved only by the enlistment and retention of a distinguished faculty. Prospective faculty members should be, or should show promise of becoming, effective teachers, sound and creative scholars, and dedicated participants in the varied activities of legal education and the legal profession. A faculty member should possess a high degree of personal and intellectual integrity, and he or she should be dedicated to the search for truth in a climate of intellectual independence. It is expected that those who receive academic appointment shall have concern for both the intellectual and ethical growth of students.
II. INITIAL APPOINTMENT
A. Appointment to a tenure-track faculty position requires an 80-percent vote of the voting faculty, and student representatives to the faculty, present and voting either in person or by electronic means at a regularly scheduled or duly noticed special meeting of the faculty [hereinafter “the 80% hiring rule”]; approval of the dean of the law school (the “dean”); and approval of the president of Lewis & Clark College (the “president”). Candidates for tenure-track faculty positions must have completed their professional or academic training as evidenced by a juris doctor or equivalent degree in law, or a doctorate in a related academic discipline. Ordinarily, candidates for appointment to the rank of assistant professor will be expected to have a record of successful teaching or practice in addition to their academic qualifications. Candidates for appointment to the rank of associate professor should have a record of substantial success as a teacher, scholar, practitioner, or judge. Ordinarily, candidates for appointment to the rank of professor must have demonstrated outstanding success as a teacher and as a scholar.
B. Appointment to a faculty position that is neither a tenure track nor a clinical or LAW faculty position requires approval of the dean. Candidates for appointment to the rank of instructor should have completed their professional training as evidenced by the juris doctor or equivalent degree in law, or a doctorate in a related academic discipline, and should demonstrate the promise of success in teaching and research. Appointment to the rank of adjunct professor requires a record of substantial success or promise as a practitioner, judge, or scholar. The title of professor emerita or emeritus is an honorary title given to retiring faculty members of distinction. In such cases, the designation of a retiring faculty member as professor emeritus requires the approval of the dean, the president, and the Board of Trustees of Lewis & Clark College.
III. FACULTY CONTRACTS
The terms and conditions of every appointment shall be subject to the policies and procedures of Lewis & Clark Law School and any specific terms stated in an initial letter of appointment or thereafter in an annual contract or salary agreement between Lewis & Clark College, Lewis & Clark Law School, and the faculty member. Tenure-track appointments stated to be “without tenure” shall continue into the succeeding academic year unless:
- the faculty member is notified in writing, prior to December 1, that his or her appointment will terminate at the end of the current academic year;
- the faculty member has been previously notified in writing that his or her appointment will terminate at the end of the current academic year; or
- the faculty member is terminated in accordance with Termination and Nonrenewal of Faculty Appointments.
Appointments “with tenure” or “tenure in position” may only be terminated in accordance with Termination and Nonrenewal of Faculty Appointments with the additional considerations set forth in the tenure document of the Law School.
Non-tenure-track appointments shall only continue into a succeeding academic year if the faculty member is so notified by the dean.