End of Appointment
An appointment as a faculty member may end as a result of any of the following actions: a decision not to reappoint in a nontenured rank, resignation, the discontinuation of a unit of instruction, dismissal, or retirement.
A full-time nontenured faculty member whose appointment will not be renewed beyond its stated term is entitled to clear and unambiguous notice of nonrenewal in writing. Such notice may not be contingent upon any subsequent decision regarding the officer, such as the outcome of a tenure review or an evaluation for reappointment in a nontenured rank.
Full-time faculty who hold a non-tenure-track term appointment, with the exception of full-time officers of instruction who hold appointments with the at CUMC title, must be given notice in advance of the expiration of their appointment informing them that their appointment is not be to renewed as required by the University Statutes as follows:
- not later than March 1 of the first academic year of full-time service;
- not later than December 15 of the second academic year of full-time service, if the appointment expires at the end of that academic year;
- at least 12 months before the expiration of an appointment after two and up to seven years of full-time service;
- at least 18 months before the expiration of an appointment after seven and up to 12 years of full-time service; and
- at least 24 months before the expiration of an appointment after 12 or more years of full-time service.
Full-time faculty who hold a tenure-track appointment, must be given notice in advance of the expiration of their appointment informing them that their appointment is not be to renewed as required by the University Statutes as follows:
- not later than March 1 of the first academic year of full- time service;
- not later than December 15 of the second academic year of full-time service, if the appointment expires at the end of that academic year;
- at least 12 months before the expiration of an appointment after two and up to seven counted years of full-time service for those on an eight-year clock, and up to 10 counted years of full-time service for those on an 11-year clock;
Some full-time instructional officers are appointed for a single term. Faculty with these appointments are informed in their offer letters of the date on which their appointments will end. They, therefore, do not need additional notice according to the schedule described above. However, anyone appointed for more than one year must receive a letter of nonrenewal.
Full-time officers of instruction in the Faculties of Dental Medicine, Medicine, Nursing and Public Health who hold appointments with the at CUMC title need to receive written notice when their appointments are not going to be renewed, except when nonrenewal results from the termination or modification of an affiliation agreement between the University and another institution, the closing of an affiliated institution, or significant curtailment of its operations. The time frame within which they need to receive letters of nonrenewal depend on how long they have served.
- Faculty who have held a full-time appointment for up to two years must receive written notice that their appointment will not be renewed at least three months before the expiration of their appointment.
- Faculty who have held a full-time appointment for more than two years and up to eight years should receive written notice that their appointment will not be renewed at least six months before the expiration of their appointment, provided that the appointment will terminate on December 31 or June 30.
- Those who have held a full-time appointment for more than eight years should receive written notice at least 12 months before the expiration of the appointment. This notice may be given at any time during the academic year with the appointments ending on the date 12 months from the notice of nonrenewal, whether or not that date falls on June 30 or December 31.
Clinical faculty of law who do not pass their first-year review must receive notice of nonrenewal by March 1. If they do not pass any of their subsequent reviews, they should receive one year’s notice of nonrenewal if they have held an appointment for more than two and up to seven years of service; 18 months’ notice of nonrenewal if they have held an appointment for more than seven years and up to 12 years of full-time service; and at least 24 months’ notice of nonrenewal if they have held an appointment after 12 or more years of full-time service.
With the exception of those faculty who are appointed for single terms, full-time faculty on the Morningside and Manhatanville campuses are normally appointed through the end of the academic year. They may be given notice that their appointments will end on dates other than June 30 only in unusual circumstances and only with the prior approval of the Provost.
Part-time faculty are not entitled to notice of nonrenewal. The duration of their appointment is specified in the offer letter they receive from their chair or dean.
Resignations are normally effective on June 30, the last day of the academic year. A full-time faculty member who wishes to resign should give notice in writing as early as possible but no later than three months before the resignation will be effective. In cases of hardship, situations in which a faculty member would otherwise lose an opportunity for professional advancement, or other special circumstances, the Provost may waive the requirement of notice on the recommendation of the dean or executive vice president. For faculty in the Faculties of Dental Medicine, Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health, the Provost has delegated this responsibility to the Executive Vice President for Health and Biomedical Sciences. Departments and schools cannot withhold pay for unused vacation if a faculty member provides less than three months' notice of their resignation.
Faculty cannot be mandatorily retired. The decision regarding when a faculty member retires rests with the individual, subject to the following limitations: The minimum age of retirement for all officers of the University is 55. However, individuals who have not completed at least 10 years of full-time appointment after age 45 are not eligible to participate in the University’s benefits plans for retirees.
Faculty are ordinarily expected to retire at the end of a term of instruction in order to avoid disrupting the curricular programs of their departments and schools, unless illness prevents them from performing their normal teaching duties. Retirement during a term of instruction requires the special permission of the Provost or, for faculty at the Irving Medical Center, the Executive Vice President for Health and Biomedical Sciences, to whom the Provost has delegated this responsibility.
Faculty should inform their chair or dean in writing of the decision to retire. To avoid a gap in benefits, they should also talk with a retirement specialist in the Human Resources Benefits Service Center. To ensure a smooth transition into retirement, they should do both as early as possible but not fewer than 90 days prior to the intended date of retirement.
Qualified faculty may take advantage of the University’s Incentive Plan for Tenured Faculty Retirement. All faculty may develop phased retirement agreements with their chair, dean, or executive vice president. Faculty may consult with the Office of Faculty Retirement for questions regarding incentives and phased retirement agreements, retirement benefits, housing and parking.
Rights and Privileges of Retired Faculty
Faculty with the titles of professor, professor at the Columbia University Medical Center (at CUMC), professor of clinical, clinical professor, professor of professional practice, and adjunct professor may be given the distinction of emeritus/emerita by the Trustees in recognition of eminence in their fields and of length of service, typically more than a decade. Faculty retiring with other titles are not eligible for the emeritus distinction.
Retired members of the Columbia faculty may be appointed special lecturers to offer instruction on a part-time basis. Retired faculty members ordinarily may not serve as advisors to graduate students, but they may be asked to serve on dissertation defenses and other examination committees.
Retired faculty members who are appointed as special lecturers and who served on a Faculty immediately prior to retirement may continue as members on that Faculty until the end of their appointment, if the Faculty’s stated rules so permit. They may also participate in the governance of a department of instruction according to the provisions of its bylaws.
A retired faculty member whose participation is essential to externally funded research may be appointed for part-time service as a special research scientist/scholar (see Section Officers of Research Titles). If they were the principal investigator or project director of a funded research project prior to retirement, they may, with the approval of the chair, director, dean, or executive vice president and the Provost, continue in that capacity until the first renewal of the grant or contract after retirement. In special circumstances, and with the prior permission of a representative of the Provost, they may serve as the principal investigator or director of an existing project for an additional period of time (see Section Principal Investigators). With the prior permission of the chair, director, dean, or executive vice president and the authorization of the Provost, they may also submit new grant proposals.
Retired faculty who do not hold an instructional or research appointment cannot be guaranteed office or laboratory space, owing to its limited availability. Retired faculty get a Retiree ID card, retain their Columbia LionMail email address, continue to have use of the Columbia libraries, have access to events on campus, and have access to Columbia’s gyms when they obtain a membership.
Faculty may be removed from the classroom or suspended from their responsibilities when the continued performance of their normal duties poses a threat to the individual or to others. The President, after consultation with the University Senate’s Committee on Faculty Affairs, Academic Freedom, and Tenure, may suspend a faculty member during the dismissal proceedings described in Section §75c of the University Statutes.
During either type of suspension, the faculty member continues to receive full base salary. The proceedings described in Section §75g of the University Statutes may end with the decision to suspend rather than dismiss the faculty member. In that case, salary is stopped for the period of the suspension.
An appointment with tenure may be terminated for cause only when a faculty member is found to be professionally unfit, as demonstrated, for example, by gross inefficiency, habitual and intentional neglect of duty, other serious breaches of academic conduct, or serious personal misconduct. The same grounds must exist in order to dismiss a nontenured officer before the end of their stated term of appointment.
Before the procedures for dismissal are initiated, every effort will be made to resolve the problems with the faculty member informally. If the chair, dean or executive vice president, Provost, and President cannot find a solution, the University Senate’s Committee on Faculty Affairs, Academic Freedom, and Tenure will attempt to mediate. If all conciliatory efforts fail and the President decides to proceed with formal action against the faculty member, the procedures specified in the Code of Academic Freedom and Tenure (Section §75c of the University Statutes; ) must be followed to determine if there is adequate cause, except when the faculty member is charged with a breach of the Rules of University Conduct. In this case, the faculty member may elect to be judged under the procedures described in either the Code of Academic Freedom and Tenure or the Rules of University Conduct. Once made, that choice cannot be changed.
A faculty member in the Faculties of Dental Medicine, Medicine, Nursing, or of Public Health who holds an at CUMC appointment may have their clinical salary discontinued immediately, may be suspended with or without pay, or may be terminated immediately if they are found to be unfit to practice medicine, dentistry, or nursing based on suspended or terminated hospital privileges; loss of their New York State medical, dental, or nursing license as a result of a process before an official or accrediting body; voluntary relinquishment of a New York State medical, dental, or nursing license as part of a legal procedure; or loss of DEA certification after a formal federal proceeding.
Under Section §74 of the University Statutes, the appointment of a tenured member of the faculty may be terminated when serious financial need forces the University to discontinue their unit of instruction, provided that the unit is large enough to exclude the possibility that its closing is aimed at specific individuals and attrition over a period of time is not a reasonable alternative. The reorganization of two or more units into one does not, for these purposes, constitute a discontinuation if the new unit continues to provide instruction in the same subject areas as the old ones. The closing of a unit must be reviewed by the University Senate before any termination may be made on these grounds.
Every effort will be made to place a tenured member of the faculty in a suitable position elsewhere in the University when their unit is discontinued. In the extreme case where these efforts are not successful, the faculty is given at least 12 months’ notice of termination or one year’s salary as severance. Before any tenured professor can be terminated in this manner, the University Senate’s Committee on Faculty Affairs, Academic Freedom, and Tenure will be informed of the reasons why reassignment is not feasible and given the opportunity to state its views.
The position of a tenured faculty member who is terminated due to the discontinuation of a unit of instruction will not be filled by a replacement for at least five years, unless they have first been offered reappointment and given a reasonable time in which to accept or decline.
Faculty members holding appointments with a stated term (i.e., without tenure or tenure of title) may not be terminated when their unit of instruction is discontinued unless they have been given proper notice, as described above under “Notice of Nonrenewal.”
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