Research Faculty Special Cases

Research faculty may request a track switch if the scope of their work becomes better aligned with a different track. Requests require support from the dean’s office and must be approved by the Vice President for Research and Innovation. The process is time-sensitive. Note that switches to the Instructional Tenure Track are treated as new hires.

Units may appoint a faculty member to a Research Professor Track or Research Scientist Track dry appointment (0% effort on all research faculty appointments) for up to three years without review. Subsequently, the School, College, or unit must determine whether the connection of the faculty member to the appointing unit justifies the renewal of the dry appointment. The unit must do this type of determination at least every three years.

Adjunct research faculty appointments are used when an individual’s primary employment responsibilities lie outside the University. An adjunct faculty appointment indicates that the individual is working for a limited, part-time portion of his/her work effort on research. Appointing units may offer adjunct appointments at any research faculty rank, consistent with the person’s professional qualifications as specified in this document.

The duration of an adjunct research faculty appointment is typically one year or less. Adjunct appointments are designed to support collaborative research activities and/or allow access to needed resources, such as systems or data, which require faculty appointment. There are circumstances in which it is desirable to allow for longer appointment duration, up to three years, however, conditions supporting longer appointment periods should be carefully evaluated. Individual units may place limits on the appointment duration and number of allowable renewals and, in general, these appointments are not intended to last in perpetuity. Continuation of appointments of adjunct research faculty is reviewed by the dean or director and the executive committee, if any, at the time of the appointment renewal. This guidance is consistent with the SPG 201.34-2, Classification and Appointment of Dry Faculty Appointees.

Visiting research faculty appointments are for scholars visiting the University for a predetermined time (one year or less) to conduct research. Typically such an individual holds his/her primary appointment at another academic/research institution, and the appointing unit expects him/her to return to that position. Appointing units may offer visiting research faculty appointments at any research faculty rank, consistent with the person’s professional qualifications as specified in this document.

Joint faculty appointments may occur when a faculty member’s sense of academic “home” crosses disciplinary boundaries. The faculty member may choose to establish and maintain two or more regular instructional, research, or clinical instructional appointments, including appointments of 0% effort (dry appointment). A unified process for evaluation for promotion and tenure is expected to ensure that both schools and colleges are represented in the promotion process while reducing the faculty member’s sense of double jeopardy from duplicate processes.

These guidelines set forth the procedures for obtaining approval to offer current University of Michigan faculty an additional RS appointment in another department or academic unit at the same, or equivalent, rank. Approval is required for additional faculty appointments with the following titles:

Appointments in School/Colleges, ISR, LSI, UM Dearborn & Flint:

• Associate Research Scientist
• Research Scientist

Appointments in units reporting to OVPR:

• Research Investigator
• Assistant Research Scientist
• Associate Research Scientist
• Research Scientist

Joint Appointment Procedures:

The school/college/research unit/academic unit approves the additional appointment.

Submit the following information to the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR):

• Endorsement letter co-signed by the Dean/Director of the unit in which the faculty member holds a current appointment and the Dean/Director of the unit that wishes to make the new appointment.
  • Please indicate the fraction of effort for each title.
  • Description of the new appointment in the context of the field and the specific needs of the academic department/program/unit.
  • Joint appointments at 0% fraction (“dry”) should include a brief account of how the dry appointment is a good fit for the new (requesting) department or school and why the appointment makes sense. This account might describe contributions the faculty member will make through research, collaborations, mentoring and advising, teaching, or other activities, as well as ways in which their work will advance specific aims of the unit.
  • Please summarize the evaluative comments of the review committee and/or executive committee and include the final vote tally and number of positive votes, negative votes and abstained (such as 4-2-2; please do not include names of committee members).
• A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is highly recommended for all joint appointments for research faculty. Template MOU (Note the MOU is required for all joint appointments with units reporting to OVPR.)
• Candidate’s updated curriculum vitae.

Once approved by the Vice President for Research, the appointing or requesting unit(s) will be notified.

(leave OVPR website for additional information on Guidelines for Joint Academic Appointments for Research Professor Track and Tenure Track)

Joint Appointment Promotions

Our office expects the primary unit to carefully coordinate casebooks for faculty members holding joint appointments in more than one unit with each of the respective units. This includes dry appointments without effort and joint appointments on different tracks. Respective units should have a preliminary discussion confirming internal processes, timelines, and agreed upon external reviewers for all appointments. The final solicitation letter should include all appointments held by the candidate.  Post hoc reviews and approvals by secondary units after the casebook has been submitted to our office is strongly discouraged. 

The cover memo for joint appointment casebooks should be signed by all of the appropriate chancellors/deans/directors. This cover letter should describe the processes used in each school/college/unit, as well as a description of the ways in which the two (or more) schools and colleges coordinated promotion processes in the case including each unit’s votes. If the individual is not recommended for promotion in any of the units in which the faculty member holds an appointment, the cover letter should clearly indicate the reason(s) for this decision. The relative weighing, and hence the detail required, for each of the items in the documentation for each candidate will vary across the different faculty tracks. However, all files must include documentation of teaching effectiveness and research or creative work.

• Performance-based terminations
  If the unit decides to terminate a candidate as the result of a review conducted pursuant to these guidelines, a disciplinary review conference under SPG 201.12 is not required.
• Reduction-in-force
  Research faculty reduction-in-force (RIF, layoff) actions are governed by Standard Practice Guide (SPG) 201.72 – “Reduction-in-Force.” In addition to the requirements established by SPG 201.72, the joint approval of OVPR and the Office of Academic Human Resources (AHR) is required before a unit may issue a RIF notification to a research faculty member. The appointing unit must submit the RIF proposal to OVPR HR, which will work jointly with AHR to review the proposal. All proposed RIF actions should be submitted to OVPR with sufficient lead-time to allow for the appropriate coordinated review. Additional requirements are provided below:
  • For all research faculty, appointing units must provide a minimum notice of 90 days before a RIF takes effect.
  • For RIF proposals that would affect research faculty with less than three years of service, the appointing unit must provide substantial documentation of why the unit is unable to fulfill its original three-year commitment.
  • Reduction of research faculty will be determined at the research group level. The order of reduction will begin with the research faculty member with the least University service, except that the University may retain research faculty, irrespective of service, who possess the necessary skills, knowledge, and abilities to perform the available work which are not possessed to the same degree by other research faculty members in the same research group.

  At a minimum, appointing units should provide the information on the list below in an RIF request:

  • Review/approval of the proposed RIF action from the units “designated authority.” (see Section 1). For the Ann Arbor campus this is the Dean/Director as defined in Section1, and for the Dearborn and Flint campuses this would be the Provost or Dean (if authority is delegated). This approval should include the units’ attestation that the faculty member is “an employee in good standing in all respects.”
  • Offer letter and hiring Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
  • Funding history
  • Status of all current sources of funds
  • Role (PI or Co-PI) on active grants, term of award and funding commitment
  • Role (PI or Co-PI), funding level and probability of success on all pending grants
  • Other known pending grants with support for research faculty member.
• Notice of Non-reappointment
  All term-limited appointments are considered terminal upon completion of the terms and conditions of employment. However, for research faculty it is the University’s intent that these individuals receive a notice of non-reappointment at least 90-days prior to their end date. For all other non-disciplinary actions (e.g. RIF, performance reviews) that result in a termination of the employment relationship the research faculty member should receive a notice of non-reappointment at least 90-days prior to their end date, but not for a period in excess of 1 year.Note: All layoffs due to lack of funding must be approved by Academic HR and OVPR HR.