Procedures for Appointment and Promotion of Faculty with Modified Titles
Full-time faculty with the following titles are not subject to the limits on nontenured service:
- professor of professional practice in the [department]
- associate professor of professional practice in the [department]
- assistant professor of professional practice in the [department]
- senior lecturer in [discipline]
- lecturer in [discipline]
- associate in [discipline]
- professor of [department] at CUMC
- associate professor of [department] at CUMC
- assistant professor of [department] at CUMC
- instructor in [department] at CUMC
- lecturer in [department] at CUMC
- senior lecturer in [department] at CUMC
- associate in [department] at CUMC
- assistant in clinical [department]
- clinical professor of law
- associate clinical professor of law
- assistant clinical professor of law
The Provost, with the concurrence of the Faculty Affairs Committee of the University Senate, has authorized the schools on the Morningside and Manhattanville campuses to make appointments as professor of professional practice, associate professor of professional practice, and assistant professor of professional practice in order to fill programmatic needs that are clearly distinguishable from the responsibilities of the research professorial faculty. These appointments are typically given to individuals with distinguished nonacademic careers whose professional experience allows them to meet curricular needs that fall outside the expertise and interest of the research faculty.
The backgrounds of these individuals vary among the schools authorized to make the appointments. They include, for example, artists, creative writers and filmmakers, professionals with active practices in such fields as architecture, journalism, engineering, and law, and other individuals with extensive experience in government, international agencies, the not-for-profit sector, and the corporate world.
While professionally distinguished, practice faculty normally do not have the academic qualifications for tenure and, therefore, are not subject to the statutory limits on nontenured service. They are appointed for a specified term of years, which is renewable, following a suitable review. The term of appointment and the nature of the review are determined by their length of service.
Given the purpose of these appointments, they may not be given to faculty who have been appointed in a rank that is subject to the limits on nontenured service. Conversely, practice faculty may not be given appointments with unmodified titles, nor may they be proposed for tenure. These limitations are not school-specific. They apply even when a faculty member who has served in one school is considered for appointment by another. Additionally, faculty may not be moved between appointments as professors of professional practice and lecturers in [discipline]. Exceptions to these policies are rarely permitted and only with the prior approval of the Provost.
Professors of professional practice may be appointed for longer periods of time than is permitted by the statutory limits on nontenured service, subject to their successful passage of reviews conducted at periodic intervals throughout their careers at the University.
Except in the Law School, as described below, practice faculty are initially appointed to a one-year term. Following a Confirming Review that is completed no later than February 28 of the first year, they may be reappointed for a three-year term or given notice that the appointment will end on June 30 of that year. After increasingly rigorous reviews in each of the third (Developmental Review) and fifth (Critical Review) counted years of service, practice faculty may receive further three-year appointments. After each of these reviews, the department or school may, at its discretion, appoint the officers for shorter terms or end their full-time appointments by giving them notice of nonrenewal.
No later than the end of the seventh year of counted appointment, members of the practice faculty undergo a Major Review whose outcome is either an offer of a five-year appointment or written notice of nonrenewal after an eighth and terminal year of full-time appointment. The school may conduct the Major Review before the seventh year of counted service, particularly in the case of practice faculty initially appointed at the full or associate professor level. Normally, the timing of the Major Review for professors and associate professors of professional practice is determined at the time the officer is recruited and is communicated to the officer in the offer letter. No one may hold a practice appointment for more than eight counted years of service without successfully passing the Major Review.
Following the Major Review, practice faculty are reviewed for reappointment at five-year intervals during the fourth year of the term of appointment. In the event that the faculty member’s performance is found to be unsatisfactory or the school no longer needs faculty in the area of the officer’s expertise, the dean initiates a Continuing Review, or its equivalent, before deciding whether to reappoint for a further five-year term or to give the individual notice of nonrenewal. Faculty should receive 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, as required by the University Statutes.
In the School of Law, practice faculty are appointed for terms of three years or less, both before and after the Major Review. Before they are offered reappointment, they are subject to a review no later than the end of the penultimate year of their current term of appointment. Normally, the third such review, occurring before the start of the ninth year of appointment, serves as the Major Review. If a subsequent evaluation suggests that a practice faculty member no longer meets the criteria for appointment, the school conducts a further Major Review before deciding whether to reappoint for a further three-year term. Practice faculty in Law who do not pass any of these reviews are given one year’s notice of nonrenewal if they have held an appointment for more than two and up to seven years of full-time 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 (two years) notice of nonrenewal if they have held an appointment after 12 or more years of full-time service as required by the University Statutes.
Each school that is authorized to make professional practice appointments has prepared a statement that describes the procedures and criteria it uses in deciding whether to appoint/reappoint in those ranks. Members of the professional practice faculty may obtain a copy of that statement by contacting the office of their dean or executive vice president.
Appointments as senior lecturer in [discipline], lecturer in [discipline], and associate in [discipline] are given to faculty whose instructional contributions to the programs of the departments and schools make it desirable to continue their full-time affiliation with the University beyond the eight counted years the University Statutes permit for faculty who are subject to the limits on nontenured service. As with professional practice faculty, the departments and schools need to obtain the authorization of the Provost and the concurrence of the Faculty Affairs Committee of the University Senate before starting to make these appointments.
These officers fill special instructional needs not covered by faculty in a professorial rank. Faculty with an unmodified professorial title may not subsequently be appointed to one of these ranks. Conversely, lecturers in [discipline] may not subsequently be given appointments with unmodified titles nor may they be nominated for tenure. Additionally, faculty may not be moved between appointments as lecturers in [discipline] and professors of professional practice. These limitations are not school-specific. They apply even when a faculty member who has served in one school is considered for appointment by another. Exceptions to these policies are rarely permitted and only with the prior approval of the Provost
While the statutory restrictions on nontenured service do not apply to faculty with these appointments, none may be appointed for more than eight years of counted service without successfully passing a Major Review conducted in a manner defined by the individual department and/or school. These officers are subject to periodic evaluations for reappointment both before and after the major review, which typically occurs in the seventh year of counted service.
Each school that has been authorized to make appointments as lecturers in [discipline] has established a set of procedures for reviewing faculty with these appointments, which are analogous to the methods they use for evaluating professional practice faculty. Faculty should contact the office of the appropriate dean or executive vice president for information on those procedures.
At the Irving Medical Center, faculty appointments at the associate professor at CUMC and professor at CUMC ranks are reviewed by the Committee on Appointments and Promotions (COAP) of the individual schools and must be approved by the dean of the individual school.
Faculty who hold appointments with the at CUMC title need to receive written notice when their appointments are not going to be renewed as detailed in the “Notice of Nonrenewal”.
Faculty with at CUMC titles who have questions about their appointments and the procedures used for evaluating them for reappointment and promotion should direct inquiries to their chair or dean.
Initial appointments as clinical faculty in the Faculty of Law are normally made for only one year. Before February 28 of the first year of appointment, the school’s Clinical Appointments Committee conducts an evaluation of the faculty member’s performance and makes a recommendation to the full-time faculty on whether the appointment should be extended. If the faculty approve an extension and the dean concurs, the clinical faculty member is reappointed for a term of up to three years. In the final year of the second period of appointment, the Clinical Appointments Committee conducts a review and makes a recommendation to the faculty on whether the individual should be promoted to the rank of nontenured clinical professor of law. Thereafter, renewals may be for periods of up to five years. Even though such faculty have been renewed for a period of several years, they are reappointed annually for the term of their appointment. Like other faculty not subject to the statutory limits on nontenured service, clinical faculty may not be given appointments with unmodified titles.
Clinical faculty in Law may obtain further information about their evaluations for reappointment from the Office of the Dean.
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