INFORMATION FOR TENURE TRACK FACULTY

Qualifications and standards for faculty appointments, reappointments, promotions, and granting of tenure are described the Faculty Handbook of Case Western Reserve University. Specific qualifications and standards applying to the School of Medicine are described in The Bylaws of the School of Medicine, which may be found at http://casemed.case.edu/facultyaffairs. This website also has a complete listing of Medical School committees, for faculty who seek membership on one of these committees. The tenure track in the School of Medicine is reserved for faculty who engage primarily or substantially in research, and the pre-tenure period is nine years. The Department Chair meets annually with each faculty member to review performance and to set future goals. Each faculty member is also expected to complete the Annual Faculty Activity Summary Form available on-line at http://casemed.case.edu/facultyaffairs. All faculty also receive feedback in the form of teaching evaluations completed by students enrolled in courses in The Department of Physiology and Biophysics. In the third year and in the sixth year of the pre-tenure period the department Committee on Appointments, Promotions and Tenure (CAPT) reviews each faculty member reaching this point and transmits the written summary of its review to the department chair and the faculty member. There are generally one to two informational meetings per year for pre-tenure faculty in the medical school.

YOUNG INVESTIGATOR CAREER DEVELOPMENT

The Department has established new guidelines for appointment to Instructor in the non-tenure track to provide for continued development of young investigators, sponsored by existing faculty with primary appointment in the department, who are committed to advancing their career in academic or equivalent research environments. Individuals appointed to this position will be sponsored in term of space and resources by existing tenured senior faculty but they are also expected to contribute to the department, school, university, community, professional societies, etc. These appointments, however, should be granted judiciously such that they are for the mutual benefit of the sponsoring faculty, the Department and the appointed individual. The number of Instructor appointments per faculty sponsor shall normally be limited to one, or under exceptional circumstances a maximum of two. This limit is in keeping with the mission of this appointment, which requires a considerable time commitment by faculty sponsors who are expected to provide substantial mentoring of individuals who qualify for these appointments. Appointment to Instructor in the non-tenure track is renewable on an annual basis, effective July 1. This position is limited to a maximum of four years, at which time it is expected that the candidate will be ready to advance to the next stage of his or her career. To be eligible for appointment to Instructor, the candidate must provide a written specific plan stating career goals, the planned interaction with the sponsor, and the contribution he/she can make to the department. At the time of appointment, the candidate will be assigned a mentoring committee comprised of the Chair and two other tenure-track faculty members with primary appointments to be appointed by the Chair, excluding the individual's scientific mentor. This committee shall meet at least twice a year with the candidate, to evaluate career development, and will convey the results of these meetings to the Chair in writing. This is in addition to the annual meetings between all faculty members and the Chair that take place to discuss Faculty Activity Summaries.

To be considered for appointment, the candidate must submit the following to the department chair: 1) A letter requesting consideration for appointment to Instructor which includes career plans, the nature of the intended interaction with the sponsor, and proposed contributions to the department; 2) An updated C.V.; 3) A letter of concurrence from the sponsoring faculty which must also include adequate commitment of space, and all financial resources as required by the Institution for the duration of the appointment, and a realistic mentoring and development plan; 3) Three copies of recent manuscripts; and 4) Names of two individuals, excluding the scientific advisor, to be used as references. It is also expected for candidates who are already in the department, that he or she is a regular member in good standing in one of the department's weekly journal clubs at the time of their request to appointment of Instructor. The candidate will present a research seminar based on his/her own work during the regular Department research seminar series. The candidate must arrange for at least two members of the departmental CAPT to attend and evaluate this seminar, which must be held before the CAPT will consider the application. The CAPT will also arrange for the candidate to be interviewed by at least three tenured faculty members in the Department who will advise the CAPT on the candidate’s suitability for appointment to Instructor before the application is considered.

Formal evaluation of the candidate will take place semi-annually with the mentoring committee, and annually with the Chair. The mentoring committee and Chair will consult with the Instructor’s faculty sponsor to discuss strengths and weaknesses. Evaluation will be based not only on scientific and educational merit, but also on the development of the instructor plan to achieve independence. Contributions to be evaluated include:

1. Capability and willingness to contribute to the educational programs of the department.
2. Evidence of effective research activity as supported by authorship on scientific papers and award of grants or contracts.
3. Although the Department expects that Instructors will continue to co-author papers with their scientific mentors, individuals in this position should also strive to publish manuscripts separate from their mentor as their independent projects mature.
4. Active participation in the cultural and scientific activities of the department, including journal clubs, department seminars, and research retreats.
5. Active participation in departmental committee work.

Successful candidates are also encouraged to raise concerns regarding their career development at any time with the Chair or with other members of the mentoring committee, or during regular meetings with the mentoring committee.