Promotion & Tenure Policy: Academic General Faculty Members

Contact Office: Faculty Affairs, PO Box 800793, Charlottesville, VA 22908, phone: 434-243-4078 

Oversight Executive: Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development, PO Box 8007931, Charlottesville, VA 22908, phone: 434-924-9030 

Applies to: Faculty in the School of Medicine assigned to an academic general (tenure ineligible) track. 

Reason for Policy: Document the policies and process of academic advancement for academic general (tenure ineligible) faculty members. 

Policy statement: The assignment of academic rank safeguards the University’s intellectual standards, its academic integrity, and its academic freedom.  This document concerns faculty that report to the Dean of the School of Medicine and who have been appointed by the Board of Visitors.  It applies to faculty on the tenure ineligible tracks and addresses the awarding of promotions up to and including the rank of professor. 

All faculty are subject to annual evaluations, a system of merit pay, and to appropriate sanctions, including suspension or termination of employment, in the event of unacceptable performance of duties. 

Faculty on all tracks contribute to the School of Medicine mission of research, medical education and patient care.  The Dean’s letter of appointment includes detailed performance expectations in the relevant domains.  There are four tenure-ineligible designations within the academic general faculty: clinical faculty (CF), research faculty – research support (RF-S), research faculty – independent (RF-I), and instructional faculty (IF). Appointment to one of the tenure ineligible (ti) faculty tracks is made according to the major focus of faculty effort as specified in the initial or modified letter of appointment and a job description with time allocations.  The criteria for assistant, associate and professor appointments to the four tenure ineligible tracks and the three tenure eligible can be found within the detailed descriptions of each track (link). 

Criteria for appointing Academic General Faculty members (tenure ineligible) as assistant professors can be found within the individual track descriptions (link). 

Academic General Faculty members who hold professorial rank are generally eligible for promotion upon completing the sixth year of their appointment. 

Promotion to associate professor on the tenure ineligible CF, RF or IF tracks requires excellence in one domain and meeting expectations of the position statement.  Promotion to professor on the tenure ineligible CF, RF or IF tracks requires sustained excellence in one domain, the demonstration of substantial scholarship, and achievement of national/ international reputation.  Notice of termination will be consistent with University policy governing tenure ineligible positions (link). 

Academic General Faculty members at the rank of assistant or associate professor on the tenure ineligible CF, RF, or IF tracks are eligible to transfer to the tenure eligible CE or CI tracks.  A change of appointment track requires the development of an updated job description and effort allocation, as well as approval by the Dean of the School of Medicine.  As per University policy, Academic General Faculty members may not transfer to the tenure eligible AI track. A change to the tenure-eligible AI track requires application to an open search. 

Demonstration of scholarship requires:  dissemination of original ideas and findings to colleagues who critically evaluate the substance and implications of the scholarly work and its impact on the profession.  In the School of Medicine, concepts of scholarship have been defined as follows [1]: 

• Scholarship of Discovery contributes not only to the inventory of human knowledge, but also the intellectual climate of the school. 

• Scholarship of Integration seeks to interpret, draw together and bring new insight to bear on original research.  Scholarship of Integration synthesizes facts into new perspective. 

• Scholarship of Application is the application of knowledge to deal with consequential problems.  In clinical medicine, application of scholarship is tied directly to one’s special field of knowledge and relates to, and flows directly out of this professional activity.  Scholarship of application is serious, demanding work, requiring the rigor and the accountability associated with research activities. 

• Scholarship of Teaching transmits knowledge, transforms and extends knowledge.  Teaching both educates and stimulates future scholarship. 

• Scholarship of Engagement connects any of the above dimensions of scholarship to the understanding and solving of pressing social, civic, and ethical problems. 

All faculty within the School of Medicine must have an annual review with their department chair or the chair’s delegate.  For all faculty below the rank of professor, this review should include a discussion of progress toward academic advancement. Faculty who wish to seek advancement in an upcoming promotion and tenure cycle should consult with their department chair and designated promotion and tenure (P&T) administrative contact regarding internal and Dean’s Office deadlines, and consult the P&T website for supplemental documents (link). 

The Dean’s Office solicits all letters from internal and external referees to maintain confidentiality.  Neither the candidate nor the department should have any contact with selected referees after the list has been submitted to the Dean’s Office. 

Peer review by the School of Medicine Promotion and Tenure Committee requires review at the departmental level with recommendations by the Chair.  Departmental P&T committees are advisory to the department chair.  Guidelines for departmental P&T committees are on the P&T website (link). 

The School of Medicine Promotion and Tenure Committee completes their evaluation of all candidates with individual summary reports to the Dean early in January.  Department chairs may appeal the decisions of the School of Medicine Promotion and Tenure Committee, but only on the basis of new information not previously available to the Committee.  In February, the Dean will report to the provost in writing on the School of Medicine’s promotion and tenure recommendations.  The report of the Dean must include the Dean’s affirmative or negative recommendation on each candidate.  The Provost’s Promotion and Tenure Committee, with representation from experienced School of Medicine Promotion and Tenure Committee members, will review all actions for all candidates.  All positive actions are submitted to the Board of Visitors for final approval. 

For information on the Promotion and Tenure Committee structure, please review the Promotion and Tenure Committee section of the School of Medicine Bylaws – Policies and Guidelines. 

The Expedited Promotion & Tenure Subcommittee reviews (1) all faculty candidates seeking initial appointment at the rank of Professor and (2) off-cycle promotion and tenure requests as part of retention actions. 

Members are recruited from the pool of current and former School of Medicine Promotion and Tenure Committee members and appointed by the Dean.  The Chair Emeritus of the School of Medicine Promotion and Tenure Committee assumes leadership of the Expedited Promotion & Tenure Subcommittee, for a two-year term.  The Chair of the Expedited Promotion & Tenure Subcommittee reviews all faculty candidates for proposed appointments to the rank of associate professor or above, with or without tenure before a rank is preliminarily identified in a letter of offer.  This preliminary review does not replace a full review by the Expedited Promotion & Tenure Subcommittee at the time of the hire. 

Susan M. Pollart, MD, MS
Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development
sps2s@virginia.edu 

Robert K. Nakamoto, PhD
School of Medicine Coordinator of Academic Achievement
rkn3c@virginia.edu 

Emily J. Schneider, MILR
Associate Director of Faculty Affairs
yft2hj@uvahealth.org 

Ashley Dowhan
Assistant Director of Faculty Affairs
vwp6ww@uvahealth.org

[1]      Ref adapted from Ernest L. Boyer, Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate (The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Princeton University Press, 1990): 15625. 

Updated 13 December 2018