Joint Appointment and Promotion Policies and Procedures Revised October 2017

Policies 

A faculty person’s first obligation is to the educational unit in which the individual has primary appointment. Therefore, it is proper and necessary for the faculty person to discuss the matter of secondary appointment with the unit administrator (chair or director) of the individual’s home unit. Of particular relevance to that discussion is the faculty person’s assessment of his or her range of responsibilities in the secondary unit (e.g., teaching a course, serving on theses and dissertation committees, etc.) and the likely time commitment associated with those duties. A secondary appointment shall require the administrative consent of the unit administrator and dean associated with the faculty person’s primary appointment. 

The Provost recommends that secondary appointments be limited to renewal terms of not more than five (5) years per term. A term-limited secondary appointment will help ensure that a periodic reappointment process assesses the future viability of the secondary appointment for the faculty member and the secondary appointment unit. Promotion from one rank to another need not be simultaneous with that in one’s home unit. It is important to note that promotion in the secondary unit is a separate promotion consideration. 

Procedural Steps – Secondary Appointment 

1. The faculty person shall provide the unit administrator with an updated CV and any other materials requesting by the administrator or the unit faculty. Letters of evaluation from faculty external to the University are not typically required for consideration of either secondary appointment at any academic rank.
2. The unit administrator shall consult with the unit faculty in the tenure eligible title series whose academic rank is at or above the academic rank of the faculty person being considered for secondary appointment. (In cases of secondary appointment pertaining to tenure-ineligible faculty, the educational unit administrator shall also consult with all full-time tenure ineligible faculty employees in the series of the individual under consideration who are at or above the rank to which the individual would be appointed or promoted.) The unit administrator shall invite the rank-appropriate faculty to review the CV and other materials, if any, and then convey their opinion on the matter of the proposed secondary appointment.
3. The unit administrator shall forward to the dean the administrator’s letter of recommendation, which must indicate the majority opinion of the consulted unit faculty (Actual vote results are expected), along with candidate’s CV and other materials submitted by the candidate, if any.
4. If the dean of the college supports the unit administrator’s recommendation, the dean shall notify the dean of the primary college and request that a Notice of Academic Appointment (EO2 form) be prepared and sent to the faculty person for signing. The Notice shall also be signed by the dean of the college in which the faculty person has primary and secondary appointments before the form is forwarded to the appropriate office for final processing. 

Procedural Steps – Secondary Promotion 

1. The faculty person shall provide the unit administrator with an updated CV and other appropriate materials that document the candidate’s performance in all areas of the secondary unit assignment. Letters of evaluation from faculty external to the University are not typically required for consideration of secondary appointment to any academic rank.
2. (2) The unit administrator shall consult with the unit faculty in the tenure eligible title series whose academic rank is at or above the academic rank of the faculty person being considered for secondary appointment. (In cases of secondary promotion pertaining to tenure-ineligible faculty, the educational unit administrator shall also consult with all full-time tenure ineligible faculty employees in the series of the individual under consideration who are at or above the rank to which the individual would be appointed or promoted.)The unit administrator shall invite the rank-appropriate faculty to review the CV and other materials and then submit a letter indicating their opinion on the matter of the proposed promotion in the secondary unit.
3. The unit administrator shall forward to the dean the administrator’s letter of recommendation and the letters submitted by the consulted faculty, along with candidate’s CV and other materials.
4. The dean shall seek the recommendation of the college advisory committee.
5. Upon receipt of the advice from the college advisory committee, the dean shall reach a judgment on the recommendation from the educational unit administrator. In promotion cases involving advancement from Instructor to Assistant Professor or from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor, a dean has the authority to (1) disapprove a promotion case and notify in writing the candidate and unit administrator of the dean’s decision to end the promotion review or (2) act favorably on the promotion case by forwarding to the Provost the dean’s letter of recommendation, along with the materials submitted by the unit administrator and college advisory committee. In promotion cases involving advancement from Associate Professor to Professor, the dean shall forward to the Provost the dean’s letter of recommendation (favorable or unfavorable), along with the materials submitted by the unit administrator and college advisory committee.
6. After the Provost has rendered a favorable decision in a promotion review involving advancement from Associate Professor to Professor, the dean shall notify the dean of the primary college and request that a Notice of Academic Appointment (EO2 form) be prepared and sent to the faculty person for signing. The Notice shall also be signed by the dean of the college in which the faculty person has primary and secondary appointments before the form is forwarded to the appropriate office for final processing.