Handbook Table of Contents | Constitution | Faculty Policies | Degree Policies
Approved by College Council 11 October 1991;
revised 30 January 1992,
29 October 1992,
6 October 1994,
17 October, 1996
18 February 2000,
4 May 2004 (Policy on Joint Appointments revised)
Reviewed by University Committees 17-18 December 1991;
24 November, 2 December 1992;
Ref.:
Among the most important decisions made by the administration and the faculty of a university are those involving the status of faculty members. Decisions on initial appointment, reappointment, promotion, the granting of tenure, and salary all shape the kind of faculty we build, and the faculty will determine how well Carnegie Mellon and the Mellon College of Science fulfill their goals. The criteria and procedures prescribed in the present Policy for appointment and tenure decisions are intended to help to make decisions that are fair, timely, clearly understood, and effectively related to the long-term needs of the University, the College, and the individual faculty members. They are also designed with the intention of assisting members of the faculty in planning their own personal and professional development.
The present Appointment and Tenure Policy of the Mellon College of Science (hereinafter referred to as this Policy) supplements the provisions of the Appointment and Tenure Policy of Carnegie Mellon University adopted on 10 December 1990 and in effect from 1 January 1991 (hereinafter referred to as the University Policy), and constitutes the College Appointment and Tenure Policy mandated by the University Policy. Terms in this Policy that are not defined here are as defined in the University Policy. To the extent of any inconsistency between this Policy and the University Policy, the latter shall prevail. When citing provisions of the sections of the University Policy entitled "Faculty Appointments: Term of Appointment and Timing of Decisions", "Faculty Appointments: Criteria" and "Faculty Appointments: Procedures", the respective abbreviations, UP Term and Timing, UP Criteria, and UP Procedures will be used, followed by a subsection title if appropriate.
This Policy shall be applicable on and after 1 January 1992 to all existing and future regular faculty appointments in the Mellon College of Science; except that a person holding a regular faculty appointment in the College on that date shall continue, so long as he or she holds regular faculty appointments in the College without interruption, to be governed by the College policies on faculty appointment and tenure that were applicable to him or her immediately before that date, to the extent only that such policies conflict with this Policy. A person entitled to this exception may, however, opt in writing to be governed by this Policy without exception.
The sections of this Policy entitled "Criteria" and "Procedures" are intended to apply to the formulation of all College recommendations on appointment decisions (including decisions on initial appointment, reappointment, and promotion) and tenure decisions regarding regular faculty appointments in the Mellon College of Science. A section entitled "Joint Appointments" contains the modifications to these criteria and procedures that apply to joint faculty appointments either within the College or with other units of the University. A section entitled "Research Faculty" contains the adaptations of the criteria and procedures to research faculty appointments in the Mellon College of Science, as mandated by the University's policy on Research Faculty Appointments.