Duties and Appointments of Faculty

Each member of the faculty is appointed subject to the responsibilities detailed in Arizona Board of Regents Policy Manual 6-201. Duties of a faculty member, including teaching assignments, schedules, and other instructional or research responsibilities, will be assigned by the President or an appropriate administrator, such as a vice president, dean, or immediate administrative head. Duties and responsibilities will be related to the expertise and competence of the faculty member. Faculty and other instructors teaching University of Arizona courses for credit must meet Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) qualification guidelines; the WSCUC is the agency that accredits the University of Arizona. Teaching, research, and service performance will be subject to evaluations by the President or an appropriate administrator. Performance will be considered in decisions relating to compensation, retention, promotion, tenure, terminations, and renewals of appointments.

All faculty members will receive a Notice of Appointment or Reappointment, which is the University's official employment contract. Appointments may be for an academic year, a fiscal year, a portion of such academic or fiscal year, or for a multiple-year term for certain designated titles (see Section 3.1.02.A). Renewals of appointments for all faculty members on academic year appointments occur on or about August 15. Renewals of appointments for all faculty members on fiscal year appointments occur on July 1. No oral or written communication made prior to or after the execution of a Notice of Appointment or Reappointment that is inconsistent with the Conditions of Faculty Service in ABOR-PM 6-201 will become a part of the conditions of employment. Appointments and renewals of appointments will be for the period designated in the Notice of Appointment or Reappointment. Appointments become effective when approved by the President.

If faculty members require a license or certification to complete their duties, their appointments are conditional upon obtaining and maintaining the license or certification. Additionally, appointments of faculty members who provide clinical services as members of Banner University Medical Group or another faculty practice plan affiliated with the College of Medicine are conditioned upon maintaining such membership in good standing.

If an appointment depends upon funding from a source other than state appropriations, that fact will be stated in the Notice of Appointment or Reappointment. Such appointments may be reduced in FTE and/or salary or terminated to the extent the nonstate funding is no longer available. Termination based on lack of funds does not apply to tenured appointments.

A faculty member with tenure will be so indicated on the Notice of Appointment or Reappointment by the designation "with tenure." A faculty member without tenure will be so indicated on the Notice of Appointment or Reappointment by the designation "tenure-eligible," or if tenure is not an option, with the designation "career-track," "visiting," or "adjunct."

The University is not required to provide performance reviews or notices of nonrenewal for employees with "adjunct" or "visiting" appointments or to employees whose appointments are not intended to extend beyond six months.
 

3.1.01 Appointments of Tenured and Tenure-Eligible Faculty

a. Length of Appointments

Except for approved delays, a tenure-eligible faculty member's appointment will not be renewed more than five successive times, including any terminal year appointment, i.e., for a maximum of seven academic or fiscal years of service, regardless of rank or ranks held during the years of tenure-eligible service.

b. Computing Prior Service and Scheduling Tenure Reviews of Faculty Appointments

The schedules for retention, tenure, and promotion reviews vary according to the rank of the faculty member being appointed and the years of prior service at the University or another institution, if any. The schedule for retention and promotion reviews of tenure-eligible professors is in Section 3.3.01. If faculty members have prior service at the University or at another educational institution as a tenure-eligible assistant or associate professor, they may request that the Provost consider that prior service in scheduling their mandatory tenure reviews. At the time of appointment, faculty members will be notified in writing regarding how much of their prior service will be counted in scheduling their mandatory tenure reviews.

c. Assurance of Appointments with Tenure

An individual who holds a tenured appointment is assured that the President will offer an appointment to that individual for each succeeding fiscal or academic year until retirement, resignation, dismissal for just cause, or termination for budgetary reasons or as the result of educational policy change.

d. Legal Effect of Appointments with Tenure

It is within neither the President's nor ABOR's power to commit the State of Arizona to an obligation for which an appropriation has not been made. The use of the term "with tenure" neither constitutes nor implies a legal obligation that the President or ABOR is not empowered to undertake. In practice, renewals of appointments of tenured faculty members have been approved and funds have been allocated annually for these appointments.

e. Effect of Retirement, Resignation, and Part-Time Employment on Tenured and Tenure-Eligible Appointments

Tenured faculty members who retire or resign from the University relinquish their tenured status. Persons already granted tenure do not forfeit their tenured status by reason of changing to part-time employment, but tenure-eligible status may be forfeited by a change or appointment to part-time employment. Changes to part-time status are permissible only when approved by the immediate administrative head, dean, and Provost.

f. Effect of Administrative Appointments on Tenure and Other Rights

Members of the faculty serving in an administrative position will not lose academic rank or tenure status but will have no expectation of continued employment in administrative service. When a tenure-eligible candidate receives an administrative appointment, there will be a clear written understanding concerning the individual's faculty status, including how the schedule for any upcoming promotion reviews will be affected. Any change in rank or tenure status during the term of an administrative appointment is subject to the normal review procedures outlined elsewhere in University policy.

g. Changes in Appointments and Rehires of Tenure-Eligible and Tenured Faculty

Tenure-eligible faculty members may apply and be considered for other available appointed positions in the University before the year of their mandatory review. In the year of their mandatory review, they will not be considered for a change to a different faculty appointment, either tenure-eligible or career-track, other than that of career-track positions in the same discipline.

Individuals who were denied tenure or whose appointment was not renewed for other than reorganization or budgetary reasons will not be considered for other available appointed positions at the University, except as a result of an appeal to the President, which includes a determination by the President that the individual has distinctive expertise that meets strategic needs of the University.

Individuals whose faculty service was terminated for cause or who resigned in lieu of dismissal or investigation by any institution governed by ABOR will not be considered for employment in any position at the University, nor will they be considered for affiliate, associate, volunteer, or emeritus status.
 

3.1.02 Appointments of Career-Track, Visiting, and Adjunct Faculty

To recognize variations in the teaching, research, service, outreach, and other duties of career-track, visiting, and adjunct faculty who are not eligible for tenure, the University provides units with flexibility in using specified types of faculty appointments to fit differing employment conditions:

• Because annual performance reviews and 90-day notices of nonrenewal are not required for faculty with adjunct or visiting appointments, these types of positions should only be used for appointments that are temporary in nature or at a reduced FTE. 
• Adjunct should generally not be used for full fiscal or academic year appointments that are reasonably expected to extend beyond a single academic or fiscal year, though units have discretion whether or not to use adjunct when such appointments are at less than .75 FTE. Adjunct should never be used for full fiscal or academic year appointments at .75 FTE or greater.
• Visiting appointments should be given to faculty members whose nontenure track appointments are not expected to be renewed multiple times and who have sufficient stature with respect to research, creative activities, or professional or personal achievements such that a “visiting” title is appropriate.
• Appointments as instructor are generally made to career-track faculty whose workload is limited to teaching in a particular area.
• Faculty with appointments as lecturer may be promoted to senior lecturer and principal lecturer without university-level review.
• Professorial appointments of career-track faculty may carry the title of research, clinical, professor of practice, and other titles approved by the Provost. These titles require the full review process outlined in 3.3.03 for promotion.

Units making career-track, visiting, or adjunct appointments to positions of instructor, lecturer, and professor must have procedures for renewals and promotion that are approved by the Provost.

When justified by increased responsibilities such as expanded teaching or supervisory duties, instructors or lecturers at any rank may be converted to a ranked professorial title on the career track (such as assistant professor of practice), provided their annual performance reviews under Section 3.2 meet the criteria in Section 3.3.03.b. Such appointments are to be made following standard procedures.

a. Length and Types of Appointments

Career-track faculty appointments may be for a period of up to one fiscal or academic year or for multiple years for certain designated titles, as specified below. Adjunct and visiting titles should only be given to faculty members as described in 3.1.02, above.

ABOR-PM 6-201 states that career-track faculty members with designated titles may be awarded multiple-year appointments of up to three years and the total number of such appointments may not exceed 30 percent of all tenured and tenure-eligible appointments. Designated titles for such faculty include lecturer, senior lecturer, or principal lecturer. Multiple-year appointments may also be awarded to individuals holding faculty titles such as assistant, associate, or full clinical or research professors; assistant, associate, or full professors of practice; and other such titles approved by the Provost for career-track appointments. Multiple-year appointments of career-track faculty require approval of the Provost.

Career-track faculty appointments may be renewed an indefinite number of times subject to annual performance evaluations reflecting satisfactory levels of teaching, research, and service as appropriate. Faculty who perform at outstanding levels should be advised of promotion opportunities. Criteria for appointments and promotions of career-track faculty are included in Section 3.3.03.

“Adjunct” may not be used in titles for faculty on full-time annual appointments. All faculty members who are appointed with an "Adjunct" or "Visiting" title on their Notices of Appointment or Reappointment or who have an appointment period of six months or less have no expectation of employment beyond the appointment period stated on their Notice of Appointment or Reappointment. Therefore, the University is not required to provide notices of nonrenewal to employees with "Adjunct" or "Visiting" appointments or appointments the University has indicated are not intended to extend beyond six months.

b. Changes in Appointments Funded by Nonstate Funds

If a career-track, visiting, or adjunct faculty member's appointment is funded fully or partially by nonstate funds, i.e., funds from a source other than state appropriations, and any of those nonstate funds become unavailable, the faculty member's salary and/or FTE may be reduced or terminated to the extent such nonstate funds become unavailable. If such changes in appointments are to be made, faculty will be notified according to the procedures specified in Section 3.4.03.

c. Changes in Appointments and Rehires of Career-Track, Visiting, and Adjunct Faculty

Career-track, visiting, and adjunct faculty members may apply for other available positions at the University. Similarly, faculty members who have resigned or were not reappointed for budgetary reasons, or as a result of reorganization, also may apply for other available positions at the University.

Individuals whose faculty service was terminated for cause or who resigned in lieu of dismissal or investigation by any institution governed by ABOR will not be considered for employment in any position at the University, nor will they be considered for affiliate, associate, volunteer, or emeritus status.
 

3.1.03 Additional Faculty Appointments and Titles

a. Regents' Professors

The title of Regents' Professor may be awarded to current or newly recruited tenured professors of exceptional achievement that has brought them national or international distinction. The title serves as recognition of the highest merit. Candidates will be reviewed on the basis of whether their teaching, public service, and research, scholarship, or creative work have gained national or international recognition among leaders in the field. Following an appropriate review, an appointment will be made by the President, subject to approval by ABOR. The appointment carries a salary increment and a special annual allocation of funds for research or other professional activities.

• ABOR Policy 6-208 - Honored Faculty Positions
• About Arizona

b. Other Distinguished Professorships

The University has established several distinguished professorships, including University Distinguished Professors, University Distinguished Outreach Faculty, and Distinguished Scholars. The eligibility requirements and procedures for these awards are listed on the Faculty Affairs website:

• Faculty Affairs - Awards of Distinction

c. Endowed Professorships

An endowed professorship is a recognition bestowed on exceptionally distinguished and valued faculty members. To endow a professorship or appoint a faculty member to such a professorship, a college must have provisions for such procedures as appointing candidates, specifying the duties and privileges of the professorship, administering research or other related funding, determining the effects of changes in appointment such as retirement, and reviewing holders of the professorship. Such reviews may be required to renew a term appointment or to fulfill the requirements of annual or post-tenure reviews. Endowments may be established in coordination with the University of Arizona Foundation and following procedures outlined in University policy. Unless otherwise requested by donors, endowed professorships should be created following the provisions for Named Professorships.

d. Named Professorships

As with Regents' Professors and endowed professorships, named professorships are a recognition bestowed on exceptionally distinguished and valued faculty at the University. Named professorships can be offered to honor individuals whose exceptional achievements have earned an outstanding reputation or rendered exceptional services to the institution. To establish a named professorship or appoint a faculty member to such a professorship, a college must have provisions for such procedures as appointing candidates, specifying the duties and privileges of the professorship, administering research or other related funding, determining the effects of changes in appointment such as retirement, and reviewing holders of the professorship. Such reviews may be required to renew a term appointment or to fulfill the requirements of annual or post-tenure reviews. Faculty will be selected for named professorships according to the following criteria and process.

1. Selection Criteria for Named Professorships

Candidates for named professorships will have established a record of original, substantive, and influential research, scholarship or creative achievement. Appropriate measures may include, but are not limited to, the quality and quantity of publications, invitations to participate in significant national and international activities, frequency of citations in the scholarly literature, demonstrable impact upon the way in which a discipline views its subject matter, peer-selected awards and prizes, leadership roles in national and international organizations, externally funded peer-reviewed research awards, quality and number of graduate students, and support of prominent scholars in the field as well as integrative and applied forms of scholarship that involve cross-cutting collaborations with business and community partners, including translational research, commercialization activities, and patents.

Candidates' teaching may be assessed according to whether they have achieved a record of substantial, superior, and consistent recognition for excellence. Appropriate measures include, but are not limited to, student evaluations, peer evaluations, teaching awards, honors, and the degree to which teaching materials (e.g., cases, textbooks) developed by the individual are adopted by other institutions. Recommendations may be solicited from external sources, colleagues in the college or University, and students who have taken the individual candidate's courses, particularly from students who have graduated and can evaluate their education from the viewpoint of its contribution to their careers and lives.

Achievements in service to departments, colleges, university, or professional organizations may be assessed according to whether the candidate has established a record of sustained involvement and recognized leadership. Appropriate measures include, but are not limited to, membership on and chairing of committees, temporary or continued assumption of administrative duties, major participation in decision-making bodies, and service as a journal editor or on editorial boards. Service to the community is measured by a record of leadership on community boards, public service lectures, collaborations with businesses and state agencies, and similar activities.

2. Process for Appointing Faculty to Named Professorships

Appointments to named professorships will be made by the dean of the college, who will receive recommendations from a committee formed to evaluate the candidates. The dean's office will prepare a brief portfolio for each candidate, which will include nominating letters from two faculty colleagues, a current vita, and a summary statement prepared by the nominators with the assistance of the candidate. This summary of no longer than two pages will address the professor's principal scholarly, teaching, and service achievements as well as the impact of these achievements on the college, the University, and the professor's discipline.
 

3.1.04 Graduate Faculty

Members of the graduate faculty have special privileges and obligations within graduate education, especially related to thesis, dissertation and other culminating capstone project committee roles and membership, as well as graduate student advising and mentorship. Graduate faculty membership is automatically granted to tenured and tenure-track faculty and continuing-status and eligible academic professionals with faculty titles and may be granted selectively to career track faculty or others. The Graduate College, in coordination with the academic colleges and programs, oversees the criteria, processes, and procedures related to the granting, review, and in rare cases of unacceptable performance, the remediation or removal of graduate faculty membership to ensure the quality of graduate programs and delivery of graduate education.​

• Graduate Faculty Policy Supporting Information

3.1.05 Emeritus Faculty Status

With the approval of the President, faculty who retire from the University in good standing after serving 15 years or more may be given the title of emeritus. This status also may be granted to other retiring faculty upon recommendation of their immediate administrative head and dean and the endorsement of the President.

Emeritus faculty will be entitled to library services, email, and access to parking privileges, as well as all other benefits which may be granted by the University to retirees. Departments will endeavor to meet reasonable scholarly and academic needs of emeritus faculty in a manner consistent with continuing contributions to the mission of the department and University, within limits governed by the availability of resources, and balanced against other needs and priorities. Each department will negotiate specific agreements for each individual case, for a specific period of time, and document these agreements in writing.

Emeritus status is granted and continued at the discretion of the President and may be withdrawn when circumstances warrant. Emeritus faculty who do research or conduct other University business will be held to the same standards of responsible conduct as any other faculty and will face the same sanctions as other faculty when they do not follow compliance guidelines.

3.1.06 Additional Emeritus Titles

With the approval of the President, an administrator who returns to the faculty before retiring may be given the title of dean emeritus or other secondary emeritus title following a distinguished record of service to commemorate exceptional contributions to the university. Such titles do not provide the benefits given to emeritus faculty upon retirement.