Handbook Table of Contents | Constitution | Faculty Policies | Degree Policies
Latest Revision - adopted by College Council 15 September 1989; revised 30 January 1992, 17 October 1996, 5 May 2003
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Special faculty are members of the Mellon College of Science who hold full-time appointments conferring faculty status, for the purpose of performing certain specific academic functions in the University. These duties in some cases may overlap considerably with the activities of regular faculty members. However, special faculty are not subject to the regular faculty promotion and tenure policy of the University because they have a range of responsibilities that is typically more restricted in scope and more precisely defined in the terms of appointment, or because of the restricted nature of the funding for their positions.
This document describes the policies of the Mellon College of Science with respect to three issues:
I. Types of special faculty positions;
II. Appointment, reappointment and promotion of special faculty members;
III. Review of existing special faculty positions.
The College recognizes two categories of special faculty positions, renewable positions and positions not renewable beyond a specified term.
Renewable positions that are primarily for research include research associate; research biologist, chemist, mathematician, or physicist; senior research biologist, etc.; and principal research biologist, etc. The three ranks above that of research associate should be used for special faculty in research positions with qualifications and years of experience corresponding to assistant, associate, and full professors. Renewable positions that are primarily for teaching are classified as lecturer and senior lecturer.
Positions not renewable beyond a specified term include teaching positions for which the need is temporary, postdoctoral positions, and positions for visitors. The titles used for these positions include postdoctoral research associate, lecturer, visiting scientist, visiting assistant professor, visiting associate professor, and visiting professor.
Special faculty in the Mellon College of Science are subject to the University Policy on Special Faculty Appointments and to the procedures described in this document. In all other ways, special faculty in renewable positions participate fully in University activities and have the rights and privileges of regular faculty in both academic and personnel matters.
For an initial appointment and every subsequent reappointment and promotion, the Dean and Department Head are responsible for ensuring that the letter of appointment specifies the nature of the appointment, including the duties of the position, the term of appointment, the possibility of reappointment, and the statement that it is a special faculty appointment.
A special faculty appointment establishes no claim to consideration for reappointment. Nevertheless, timely notice shall be given to the appointee of the decision to reappoint or to let the appointment lapse. Timely notice is specified in the University rules on Special Faculty Appointments, which state that notice is timely if given four months before the expiration of the term, if such term is of less than two years, and six months before if the term is of two years or more.
In light of the principle that the quality and reputation of the University depend on all those engaged in the generation and dissemination of knowledge, a review process is essential. The review may be one of two types, Q or P. The type Q review is an evaluation of the qualifications of the special faculty member. This evaluation of qualifications is required for all special faculty whose duties closely resemble those of regular or research faculty members. A type Q review is required in any case for all special faculty who hold positions involving teaching* undergraduate students on a regular basis. The procedure for this type Q review is the subject of the remainder of Section II. The type P review does not involve the qualifications of the special faculty member, but is a review of the position and the suitability of retaining it as a special faculty position. If neither of the conditions requiring a type Q review is met, the Department Head may so stipulate, and in that case the P type of review is the only review to be conducted. The procedure for this review of type P is the subject of Section III.
A type Q review is conducted prior to any promotion for every special faculty member for whom it is required, as specified above. It is also required for reappointment, but not more frequently than at three year intervals.
When a review of qualifications is to be performed, the Department Head will consult with the appointee regarding the preparation of documentation supporting the case for reappointment or promotion. The documentation should conform as much as possible to that indicated in the document, Appointment and Tenure Policy of the Mellon College of Science. The Department Head will present the documentation to a meeting of all the associate and full professors and all the senior and principal research scientists in the department as well as those senior lecturers and senior and principal research biologists, chemists, mathematicians, or physicists in the department that have been reappointed or promoted following a type Q review. The Department Head may include other regular, research, or special faculty members that have been reappointed following an evaluation.
A letter summarizing the evaluation of the candidate will be prepared by the Department Head, signed by those present at the meeting and forwarded to the Dean together with the documentation.
An Ad Hoc Committee on Special Faculty Reappointments and Promotions will be selected by the Dean and shall consist of regular faculty members from at least three of the departments of the College. The Dean should also include on the committee special faculty members whose qualifications have previously been reviewed in the College. The committee members should be of rank equivalent or senior to that of the positions for which the candidates are being considered. If at all possible, Department Heads should not be selected for the committee. Each department whose special faculty members are being reviewed should be represented on the committee.
The committee will thoroughly review each of the cases and prepare written recommendations for each case, being as specific as possible in stating reasons for the decisions. The committee will use as criteria in its evaluation those of the Appointment and Tenure Policy referred to above, taking into account the special duties of the individual being considered.
For all cases evaluated by the Ad Hoc Committee, the documentation will be forwarded to the College Review Committee. This Review Committee is the same as the Review Committee referred to in the College document on Appointment and Tenure Policy referred to above, and it will follow the procedures described therein, again taking into account the special duties of the individual being reviewed.
The Dean will make the decisions on reappointments and promotions taking into account the advice of the Review Committee.
The need and justification for each renewable special faculty position will be reviewed at three-year intervals by an Ad Hoc Committee on Special Faculty Positions for the University's triennial review of MCS. The committee shall consist of at least one regular faculty member from each department in the College. Special faculty members should also be included.
In cases where the duties of the position appear to the committee to require a type Q review of qualifications, as specified above, the committee will so recommend to the Dean. The committee should also consider the suitability of converting the special position into a regular faculty position, and may recommend to the Dean that the individual currently holding that position be considered for a regular faculty appointment in view of the University Policy on Special Faculty Appointments. Any action taken will be in conformity with the individual's current terms of employment.
In order to discharge its duty, the committee may request information from the Dean, the Department Head, or from other sources deemed appropriate. In particular, if the justification for continuing a special position is the nature of the funding for that position, the committee must have enough documentation to make an informed recommendation.
The Dean will prepare independent recommendations and will transmit them to the University Committee on Special Faculty Appointments along with all recommendations and documentation prepared by the Ad Hoc Committee on Special Faculty Positions.
Adopted by College Council 27 April 1989; revised 6 October 1994
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The Appointment and Tenure Policy of Carnegie Mellon University, in addressing the issue of the timing of tenure decisions, refers to "special faculty appointments that qualify by having a rank equivalent to Assistant Professor or higher," with a view to mandatory inclusion of years of service under such appointments in the computation of the tenure decision deadline (100% of years of service in Type A appointments and 75% in Type B and Type C appointments). For the purpose of implementing these provisions, the following guidelines shall apply for special faculty appointments in the Mellon College of Science. "Type" refers to an appointment criterion as specified in the University's policy on Special Faculty Appointments. Job Class Codes are those in effect on 1 July 1989.
Adopted by College Council 16 April 1991
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The University policy on Special Faculty Appointments states:
The making of special faculty appointments (including reappointments) in a College, and the specification of their term and of salary arrangements are subject to the approval of the Dean...
When an appointment or reappointment is made, it is the responsibility of the Dean to ensure that the appointee is given clear and full information in writing concerning the terms of the appointment and his or her specific functions and duties, as well as concerning the special nature of the appointment...
In order to enable the Dean (and, by delegation of the Dean's authority, the Associate Dean) to meet the responsibilities specified by these provisions when making initial special faculty appointments, the following rules are to be observed in offering such appointments.
Every written communication offering a special faculty appointment is to be signed by the Department Head (or the Dean or the Dean's designee).
The offer will usually be made by a letter from the Department Head to the candidate. It is frequently desirable, however, that the offer be made by a letter to the candidate from another faculty member, e.g., from a principal investigator if the offer is for a position funded by a specific research contract. In such a case, the requirement in the preceding paragraph is met by including an endorsement or confirmation signed by the Department Head.
Normally, the draft of a written communication offering a special faculty appointment is to be submitted to the Dean together with the request for approval of the appointment, and the Dean or the Dean's designee must approve the draft before the communication is sent to the candidate.
In case the procedure in the preceding paragraph is not practicable, the communication offering the appointment must, to be valid, include the following statement: "This appointment is subject to the approval of the Dean, in accordance with University policy."
The offer of a special faculty appointment must contain a precise statement of the length of the term of appointment and the initial salary. The effective date should also be specified, but may be left to be agreed on more precisely later, within stated restrictions. The offer must also specify a deadline for its acceptance.
When it is intended to consider the possibility of a reappointment, it must be clearly stated that reappointment is at the discretion of the University. Where University policy, or the intended nature of the appointment, imposes a limitation of the aggregate term of service, the offer must also refer to the existence of such a limitation. An example of an acceptable statement on reappointment is as follows:
[Within the limits specified by University policy,] this appointment may be renewed at the University's discretion.
When it is not intended to consider the possibility of a reappointment, this should be clearly stated, e.g., by including the following sentence:
A renewal of this appointment is not contemplated.
When an offer of a postdoctoral appointment is made to a person who has not completed the requirements for the doctoral degree, the offer must state that it is contingent on the completion of these requirements before the effective date of the appointment.
Adopted by College Council 18 September 1987
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The University Policy on Research Faculty Appointments provides that
The research faculty, within the meaning of this policy, consists of persons with the ranks of Research Scientist or Research Engineer; Senior Research Scientist or Senior Research Engineer; and Principal Research Scientist or Principal Research Engineer. [ . . . ] These designations are specific to research faculty positions, and may not be used for any other positions in the University.
To implement this provision, the following measure is adopted:
No new appointment, reappointment, or promotion to a special faculty position in the Mellon College of Science shall carry a designation reserved to research faculty positions, with or without modifiers.