II. Contract Faculty Positions (K or J)

For Faculty
Introduction to Promotion and Tenure
712 Statements
School of Public Health
II. Contract Faculty Positions (K or J)

A. Appointment

1. Standards
The standards for appointment of contract faculty (K or J) shall be the same as for promotion of contract faculty (K or J) of the same proposed rank (Section II.C.1).

2. Procedures
Recommendations for contract (K or J) appointments normally are initiated by the Division Head.

a. Search Process
Recommendation for appointment to a contract (K or J) position must be through participation in the search process which is conducted in accordance with affirmative action and equal opportunity policies and procedures (see University of Minnesota Guidelines for Recruiting and Appointing Academic Personnel).

b. Documentation
The documentation to be submitted in support of a recommendation for appointment to a contractposition shall be of the same type and format as that submitted in support of a recommendation for appointment to a regular position (P or N), presented in Section I.A.2.b.,but taking into consideration the expectations expressed in the appointment contract.

c. Faculty Eligible to Vote
For the appointment to a contract (K or J) faculty position, regular (P or N), and contract faculty(K or J) at or above the rank being considered are defined to be the faculty eligible to vote, except that full professors vote on appointment to full professor rank (See Appendix IV).

d. Division Faculty Review and Vote
The requirements and procedures for the Division faculty review and vote for appointments to contractfaculty positions (K or J)shall be the same as for appointments to regular faculty positions (P or N), presented in Section I.A.2.d.

e. Division Head's Review and Report
The requirements and procedures for the Division Head's review and report for appointments to contractfaculty positions (K or J) shall be the same as for appointments to regular faculty positions (P or N), presented in Section I.A.2.e.

f. APT Review, Vote, and Report
The APT Committee must review, vote and report on all initial contractfaculty appointments (K or J) at the rank of Associate and Full Professor.  The requirements and procedures for the APT Committee's review, vote and report shall be the same as for regular faculty appointments (P or N), presented in Section I.A.2.f.

g. SPH Faculty Review and Vote
The SPH faculty eligible to vote must review and vote on all initial contractfaculty appointments (K or J)above the level of instructor.  The requirements and procedures for the SPH Faculty's review, vote and report shall be the same as for regular faculty appointments (P or N), presented in Section I.A.2.g.

h. Dean's Review and Report
The requirements and procedures for the Dean's review and report on initial appointment to contract (K or J)faculty positions shall be the same as for regular faculty positions (P or N), as presented in Section I.A.2.h., except that recommendation for initial contract (K or J) appointments of instructors shall be forwarded to the Office of the Senior Vice President for Health Sciences, Academic Health Center, only if approved by the Dean.

i. Rights of the Candidate
The rights of candidates for appointment to contractpositions (K or J) shall be the same as those for candidates for appointment to regular positions (P or N), presented in Section I.A.2.i., except that: a contract appointment (K or J) is for a specific time period; it carries no right to, nor presumption of, a right to renewal of a contract term or to consideration of indefinite tenure; the beginning and ending dates of employment are specified ontheir notice of appointment from the University.

B. Renewal
The reappointment of contract faculty (K or J) in the School of Public Health is made by the Dean, upon recommendation of the Division Head.  It is the responsibility of each faculty member to maintain a record of his or her teaching, scholarly activity, and community service.

C. Promotion
Contract faculty members (K or J) are eligible to be considered for promotion, without consideration of tenure, provided they meet the requirements set forth below. A recommendation or vote for an appointment or promotion to a contract (K or J) faculty position does not constitute a recommendation or vote for tenure.

1. Standards
Promotion of contract faculty (K or J) is made under Section 3.4 of the University of Minnesota regulations regarding Faculty Tenure.  Information on the candidate's performance expectations, contained in the candidate s contract, must accompany the documentation for promotion.  The primary difference between the standards for regular and contract faculty is that contract faculty must have demonstrated their ability to satisfy the performance criteria at some point in their career, and with sustained performance in all areas included in the candidate s contract, whereas promotion of regular faculty requires evidence of sustained performance in all areas.

a. To Instructor
Appointment to Instructor requires that a candidate has demonstrated potential in the area of teaching.

b. To Assistant Professor
Appointment/promotion to assistant professor requires that a candidate has demonstrated potential in the areas of teaching and scholarly activity.  An earned Ph.D., Sc.D., M.D., Dr.P.H., or equivalent degree is also required.

c. To Associate Professor
Appointment/promotion to the rank of associate professor requires clear and demonstrable evidence that the candidate has developed a program of teaching and scholarly activity which is innovative andof high quality.

1) Teaching
The documentation must include clear evidence of the candidate's impact and effectiveness as a teacher taking into consideration the expectations expressed in the appointment contract.  Teaching may take many forms, including but not limited to, independent teaching (i.e., sole responsibility for a course), co-teaching, student advising, distance learning, instruction in short courses and summer institutes.

2) Research
The documentation must include clear evidence that the candidate has mastered his/her discipline and has the ability to carry out independent inquiry consistent with the expectations expressed in the appointment contract.  Scholarly research may take many forms, including, but not limited to, publications in peer-reviewed journals, competitively awarded grants, and the publication of peer-reviewed books and book chapters and other scholarly activities as defined in the University of Minnesota regulations regarding Faculty Tenure (Section 7.11).

3) Service
Service is an important supplementary component of the candidate's activities for appointment or promotion to the rank of associate professor, and the significance of the candidate's service should be documented.  Service aimed at improving public health is particularly valued.

d. To Professor
Appointment/promotion to the rank of professor implies advanced academic maturity and requires clear and demonstrable evidencethat the candidate has achieved recognition as a national authority in his/her discipline through the development of an innovative program of teaching and scholarly activity.

1) Teaching
The documentation must include clear evidence that the candidate has excelled in his/her teaching activity, consistent with the expectations expressed in the appointment contract.

2) Research
The scholarly output of the candidate should have developed a theme or major area of expertise.  There should be one or more outstanding publications with the particular stamp of the personality and contribution of the candidate for full professorship.  Scholarly research may take many forms, including, but not limited to, publications in peer-reviewed journals, competitively awarded grants, and the publication of peer-reviewed books and book chapters and other scholarly activities as defined in the University of Minnesota regulations regarding Faculty Tenure (Section 7.11).  There should be evidence of sustained performance.

3) Service
Service is an important supplementary component of the candidate's activities.  This service should have had a demonstrated impact in his/her field within the framework of professionally related community activities which contribute to major, division, school and university functions, professional organizations, and the local, state, national or international community.  Service aimed at improving public health is particularly valued.

2. Procedures
Recommendations for contract (K or J) promotion normally are initiated by the Division Head.  A promotion recommendation to the APT Committee may be initiated by any member of the School faculty for himself/ herself or for other members of the School faculty.  Also, any faculty member may request the Committee to remove his/her name from consideration.  It is strongly recommended that a faculty member who believes s/he should be considered for promotion discuss these possibilities with the Division Head and obtain, if at all possible, the support of the Division Head for consideration.  The procedures for review of recommendations for promotion of contractfaculty members (K or J) shall be the same as for regular faculty members (P or N), presented in Section I.C.2.  Documentation for promotion should take into consideration the expectations expressed in the appointment contract.

D. Relationship to Regular (P or N) Faculty Positions
Contract faculty (K or J)are eligible to apply for regular positions (P or N) through participation in the search process which is conducted in accordance with affirmative action and equal opportunity policies and procedures.