University of Rochester

SMD Faculty Regulations

Jan. 2001; rev. Oct. 2009; rev. July 2014; rev March 2016; rev October 2017

PROCEDURES FOR APPOINTMENTS AND PROMOTIONS

FULL-TIME AND ACADEMIC PART-TIME APPOINTMENTS (rev. July 2014)

Appointments, promotions, and reappointments of all full-time faculty are initiated by a letter of

recommendation from the department chair to the Dean. For any such anticipated action, the faculty member

should consult with the chair of the academic department in which their primary appointment resides.

Departmental administrative offices have all the necessary information, and checklists with respect to the

length of the process, the types of documents that need to be completed by the candidate, letters of

recommendation for each type of action, and other information that needs to be assembled prior to finalizing

the chair’s recommendation to the Dean.

All faculty are responsible for maintaining a record of their past and current teaching

activities. For promotion to Associate Professor and above, faculty are responsible for completing and

submitting the following documents: an up-to-date curriculum vitae prepared in accordance with the format

given in the Appendix; the Self-Assessment of Research or Scholarly Contributions form (relevant for faculty

with activities in those components); and the Self-Assessment of Teaching Contributions form. A list of

names and addresses of internal and external faculty or other individuals who can be requested to write

letters of recommendation should be developed by the chair and should include leaders in the faculty

member’s clinical or scientific discipline, who have not previously served as the faculty member’s advisor or

mentor. When soliciting letters of recommendation from referees, the chair should include a copy of the

candidate’s curriculum vitae and of the completed Self-Assessment of Research and Scholarly Contributions

form, as well as an explicit statement of the activity components for which the faculty member’s

accomplishments are to be assessed.

The letter of recommendation to the Dean from the chair (and center director when appropriate)

should be accompanied by supporting documentation including the candidate's curriculum vitae and

bibliography and an evaluation from other faculty of the department who are at or above the rank to which the

appointment or promotion is being recommended. In those departments that utilize a departmental

promotions committee to assist the chair in evaluating the faculty member’s credentials for promotion, the

chair may include a synopsis of the committee’s recommendation in the chair’s letter to the Dean.

For appointments and promotions of full-time faculty up to and including Assistant Professor, the

recommendation of the chair, accompanied by the requisite number of supporting letters from internal

referees, is presented to the Dean and the Steering Committee of MEDSAC for its review and

recommendation. For appointments and promotions to the Associate Professor and Professor ranks, letters

from faculty in other institutions should be submitted. Objective evaluations from faculty at other academic

institutions, particularly those who are viewed as leaders in the faculty member’s field of research or clinical

interest, are considered important in assessing the candidate’s academic contributions and national or

international recognition.

The Dean will review the recommendation and the supporting documentation. If there are questions

about the appointment or the documentation, the Dean will return the recommendation with comments to the

chair. If the recommendation of the chair and the supporting documentation are in order, and if the Dean

approves, one of two procedures will be initiated:

For reappointments for up to five years at the same rank, the recommendation of the chair is

presented by the Dean to the Steering Committee of the MEDSAC. If the recommendation of the Steering

Committee is positive, the candidate is recommended to the full MEDSAC (which is advisory to the Dean). If

the Steering Committee believes the reappointment is not justified, and the Dean concurs, the department

chair should notify the candidate, in writing, in a timely fashion of the negative decision to reappoint.

SMD Faculty Regulations

Jan. 2001; rev. Oct. 2009; rev. July 2014; rev March 2016; rev October 2017

For appointments and promotions of full-time academic faculty to the rank of Associate

Professor or Professor, or for the granting of tenure, or for a proposed change in status at these

ranks from part-time to full-time, the Dean or Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will appoint

an ad hoc committee of faculty to review the recommendation and the supporting documentation

received from the department chair. This committee will normally consist of three members of the

full-time faculty whose academic rank is equal to or higher than the candidate’s proposed rank.

Faculty from the candidate’s own academic department or center are not eligible to serve on the ad

hoc committee. The chair of the ad hoc committee shall also be a regular member of the Steering

Committee. Other members of ad hoc committees are selected by the Senior Associate Dean for

Academic Affairs from the faculty at large in order to provide appropriate balance with respect to

discipline, research focus, and activity components. The ad hoc committee’s deliberations are

confidential.

The Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs may assign a junior faculty member (e.g., assistant

professor) as an observer of the ad hoc committee’s deliberations, on condition that strict confidentiality will

be maintained. Such junior faculty will be selected from a list submitted by chairs or center directors.

Assignments will be made based on the view that observing an ad hoc committee’s deliberations would be

most beneficial to the junior faculty member if the candidate under review is active in similar activity

components, provided, however, that the observer is not in the same department as the candidate under

review, and does not have other personal connections to the candidate.

The ad hoc committee will review the material submitted by the department chair and may solicit

additional information considered of value in reaching a judgment. This may include additional information

from the chair, other faculty in the School or elsewhere in the University. Further, the committee may seek to

obtain, through the Dean, its own evaluation of the candidate from persons in other institutions in addition to

any persons previously contacted by the recommending chair. These referees are selected on the basis of

their scholarship and expertise in the relevant field and may not be individuals who are previous mentors of

the candidate. The ad hoc committee will judge the evidence in support of the appointment or promotion

based on whether the criteria are met for the identified activity components.

The ad hoc committee will submit a written confidential report to the Senior Associate Dean for

Academic Affairs (SADAA). The report should include a description of all documents reviewed, the

committee’s activities in gathering information, a critical evaluation of the available information and a

recommendation with respect to the proposed appointment or promotion. The SADAA will transmit the ad

hoc committee’s report to the department chair (and center director, when appropriate) who, in turn, will

convey the essence of the committee’s assessment and recommendation to the faculty member.

If the ad hoc committee concurs with the department’s recommendation with respect to the

appointment or promotion, the report will be presented to and reviewed by the Steering Committee in

accordance with review procedures established by that committee. Before making a final recommendation

the Steering Committee may request, through the SADAA, additional information or seek to clarify the basis

of the department’s decision to request consideration of the specified activity components. For faculty

actions, a minimum of ten of the eighteen voting members of the Steering Committee must be in attendance

for a quorum. A YES vote by three quarters of those present will be considered a positive or favorable vote.

The Steering Committee’s vote on the proposed departmental recommendation will be recorded and is

advisory to the Dean. The Steering Committee’s recommendation and a summary of any relevant discussion

points will be communicated by the SADAA to the chair, in writing, and the Dean will be so advised.

If the ad hoc committee disagrees with the department’s recommendation, the department chair (and

center director, when appropriate) will be so informed by the SADAA and the chair has the following options:

1) accept the ad hoc committee’s report and recommendation without challenge;

2) provide further documentation to the SADAA in support of the faculty action and request reconsideration

of the case by the ad hoc committee, or 3) appeal directly to the Steering Committee, in writing, with or

without additional documentation; 4) depending on the outcome of this appeal, the case may be appealed

directly to the full MEDSAC.

SMD Faculty Regulations

Jan. 2001; rev. Oct. 2009; rev. July 2014; rev March 2016; rev October 2017

If the Steering Committee’s recommendation with respect to the proposed action disagrees with the

department’s or the ad hoc committee’s recommendation, the SADAA shall report to the chair, in writing, the

substance of the Steering Committee’s comments, and will include in the communication the final vote tally

on the department’s original proposal or on any alternative recommendations made by the Steering

Committee. The chair at this point may: 1) withdraw the recommendation for appointment or promotion; 2)

accept an alternative recommendation, if any, that the Steering Committee may make; 3) assemble

additional documentation in support of the original departmental recommendation and request

reconsideration by the Steering Committee; or 4) appeal the decision, in writing, to the full MEDSAC with or

without additional documentation.

With the Dean’s concurrence, positive Steering Committee recommendations for appointments and

promotions will be presented to the full MEDSAC for information, then forwarded to the Senior VP for Health

Sciences, to the Provost, President and Board of Trustees for action. Negative Steering Committee

recommendations will be returned to the department for further action.

When negative Steering Committee recommendations are subsequently appealed to the full

MEDSAC, they will be presented by the department chair (and center director, when appropriate) for further

discussion and a final recommendation by that body, provided that any additional information or

documentation that the chair assembles and plans to present in support of the appeal must be first submitted

to and reviewed by the Steering Committee. A written summary of the Steering Committee’s discussion of

the case will be included as part of the documentation presented to MEDSAC. The MEDSAC will judge the

evidence in support of the candidate’s appointment or promotion and will make a recommendation, which is

advisory to the Dean. In cases involving unlimited tenure, once a recommendation is made by the MEDSAC

and the Dean concurs, it is considered final and no further appeals are possible. In non-tenure cases, the

department may elect to resubmit the case for consideration, with or without a change in activity components

for consideration, after a period of two years.

The department chair (and center director, when appropriate) will provide periodic feedback to the

faculty member, as necessary, regarding the status of the faculty member’s case as it progresses through the

review process. The final decision concerning a faculty member’s appointment, reappointment or tenure will

be communicated to the faculty member, in writing, by the department chair (and center director, when

appropriate).

PROFESSIONAL, SERVICE, SPECIAL, AND NON-ACADEMIC PART-TIME APPOINTMENTS

Appointments and promotions of these faculty are made on the recommendation of the department

chair to the Dean and to MEDSAC, where appropriate. Appointments at the Associate Professor level

and above require approval of the Office of the President and Board of Trustees.