Office of Faculty Affairs

Office of Faculty Affairs

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Faculty Appointments/Promotions

The Four Pathways 

Four parallel paths exist for the faculty of the College: Traditional Path, Clinician-Educator Path, Academic Clinician Path, and Research Path.  Promotion/Appointment to one of these paths is determined on the basis of the faculty member's activities and effectiveness in relation to the criteria.  

The Traditional Path
Faculty appointed to the Traditional Path are expected to make a major commitment to research and other scholarly activities in addition to achieving excellence in teaching and clinical or administrative service.  The measures for assessment of appointments to the Traditional Path are weighted in favor of scholarly accomplishment and potential. 

Guidelines for Associate Professor or Professor
Criteria for Associate Professor or Professor
Faculty Promotion Process
Timeline for Submitting Promotion Recommendations
 
The Clinician-Educator Path
Faculty appointed to the Clinician-Educator Path are expected to place emphasis on teaching and clinical excellence.  Research or other evidence of scholarly activities is required, although the measures for assessment of appointments are primarily focused on accomplishment and potential in teaching and clinical medicine.  This path is available to faculty in clinical departments (including Pathology).

Guidelines for Associate Professor or Professor
Criteria for Associate Professor and Professor
Faculty Promotion Process
Timeline for Submitting Promotion Recommendations
Recommendation for Educator Portfolio
 
The Academic Clinician Path

Faculty appointed to the Academic Clinician (AC) pathway are expected to devote their professional effort predominantly to clinical practice and/or clinical administration.  They are expected to teach as well, although the teaching effort may be broadly defined.  It is anticipated that generally 80% or more of their effort will be devoted to clinical practice and/or clinical administration, and 5 to 20% effort will be devoted to teaching activities.  Excellence in clinical practice (as demonstrated by criteria such as quality indicators, patient satisfaction measures, development of a referral base, development of clinical care pathways) is expected.  Although teaching is expected to comprise a modest percentage of total effort, a sustained commitment to and excellence in teaching are expected.  Individuals appointed to the AC pathway may participate in research, for example, by recruiting patients for studies or publishing clinical or educational observations, but research scholarship is not required and is not a criterion for promotion.  Faculty with significant effort or interest in research or other traditional scholarly activities are strongly encouraged to consider the appropriateness of this pathway relative to others.  Service to the broad MCW community, such as serving on committees of the college or of clinical or community partners, is encouraged.

Individuals appointed to the AC path have titles of the form Assistant Professor of Clinical XXX.  Such faculty will be eligible for promotion to the rank of associate professor after 10 years; outstanding performance may be recognized by earlier promotion.  There is no "up or out" policy that applies to individuals on this pathway.  Faculty will generally be eligible for promotion to the rank of professor 5 years after promotion to the rank of associate professor.  For individuals transferring from another academic center or from a non-academic position, relevant prior experiences will be taken into consideration with respect to time frames.  Individuals appointed on this path are not eligible for an award of tenure.  Individuals are permitted to transfer to this pathway from another MCW pathway, but the clinical and teaching requirements must be met, i.e., very strong clinical and/or clinical administrative and teaching performance will be required.
 

Criteria for Associate Professor or Professor
Faculty Promotion Process
Timeline for Submitting Promotion Recommendations  
Details about Referees

 
The Research Path
Faculty appointed to the Research Path are expected to place major effort on research with minimal requirement for teaching or service.  The measure for assessment of appointments to the Research Path is almost exclusively research effectiveness, usually in association with a specific project goal of the department.  Faculty appointed to the Research Path are ineligible for tenure or to become departmental chairmen.

Guidelines for Associate Professor or Professor
Criteria for Associate Professor and Professor
Faculty Promotion Process
Timeline for Submitting Promotion Recommendations
 
Award of Tenure

Tenure is awarded to faculty in the Traditional Path and Clinician Educator Path given preference to scholarly and teaching accomplishments and contributions intellectual quality of MCW through critical stimulation of others within the College.

Criteria for Award of Tenure
Timeline for Submitting Promotion Recommendations

Change of Pathway

Faculty may change path at any time with or without a simultaneous proposal for promotion in rank.  However, faculty denied promotion in one path must wait one year before being proposed for promotion in a different path.

Request for a change in path may be initiated by the faculty member or by the department chairman.

Recommendations for a change in path of Associate Professors or Professors are made by the department chairman and forwarded to the Dean, who transmits them to the Committee on Rank and Tenure, following the guidelines for promotion of senior faculty.

 

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Page Updated 02/04/2013