Appendix 3: Faculty Policies

Appendix 3a: Faculty Contract Policies

3-1 Normal periods of appointment to non-tenured faculty positions are as follows:

  1. Professor:
    Distinguished Professor:
    Probationary period - 1 to 7 years or
    Schedule of renewal(s) will be part of the initial contract [see §4-05.02(e)].
  2. Associate Professor:
    Initial period of appointment - 2 or 3 years.
    Renewals - normally 2 years;
    Final renewal – normally 1 or 2 years up to end of probationary period.
    Law Faculty Renewals - normally 2 years; Final Renewal- normally 1 or 2 years up to end of probationary period. Faculty may elect to be considered for tenure in either their 5th or 6th year assuming no credit for prior teaching.
  3. Assistant Professor:
    Initial period of appointment - 2 or 3 years.
    Renewals - normally 2 years; Final Renewal – normally 1 or 2 years up to end of probationary period.
    Note: In cases where an Instructor is promoted to Assistant Professor during the term of an existing contract, any new contract shall take effect after the completion of the existing contract.
  4. Instructor (with tenure track contract):
    Initial period of appointment - 1 or 2 years.
    Renewal - 1 or 2 years up to a maximum of 5 years.

3-2 Normal periods of appointment to instructional staff positions are as follows:

  1. University Professor:
    See Statutes §4-05.06
  2. Visiting Professor:
    Distinguished Visiting Professor:
    Visiting Associate Professor:
    Appointment – 1 year may be renewed twice for a maximum of three years.
  3. Research Professor:
    Research Associate Professor:
    Appointment - as specified in Article 4, Chapter 2.
  4. Distinguished Lecturer:
    Lecturer:
    Appointment - 1 or 2 years, renewable.
  5. Adjunct Faculty:
    Appointment – each semester, renewable.
  6. Teaching Fellows:
    Graduate Assistants:
    Appointment - for a period not to exceed one year, renewable.
  7. Clinical Professors:
    Clinical Associate Professor:
    Appointments are made for fixed terms, not to exceed 5 years.
  8. Clinical Assistant Professors:
    Clinical Instructors:
    Appointments are made for fixed terms, not to exceed 3 years.

Appendix 3b: Equal Opportunity in Employment

Nondiscrimination

Fordham University is an academic institution that in matters of employment complies with federal, state, and local employment discrimination laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, age, gender, sex, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, sexual preference, citizenship, alienage status, veteran status, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic predisposition, carrier status, status as a victim of domestic violence or any other basis prohibited by law.

Equal Opportunity in Employment

The University is to provide the means to recruit, employ, and promote women and other under-represented minorities in the interest of realizing diversity in the workplace. The Director of Institutional Equity and Compliance is available to all members of the Fordham community for consultation and training on developing methods and initiatives that advance a more diversified workforce, access to equal employment opportunities, and the fair treatment of individuals. It is the responsibility of the Director of Institutional Equity and Compliance to monitor and report regularly on the University's efforts to attain diversity and maintain compliance with all laws pertaining to nondiscrimination. The Director of Institutional Equity and Compliance is a designated contact person for complaints alleging workplace discrimination, including complaints of sexual harassment.

Appendix 3c: Faculty Personnel Procedural Calendar

Part I: Calendar

September 1 - First day of contract year for faculty

September 15 - Applications for faculty fellowships to be sent to Chairs/Deans from faculty members

October 1 - Applications for contract renewal (2nd year of initial two-year contract) to Chairs/Deans from faculty members

October 1 - Applications for fellowships to Deans from Chairs (for Arts & Sciences departments and Business faculty areas)

October 15 - Applications for promotion to Chairs/Deans from faculty members

October 15 - Applications for faculty fellowships to Provost from Deans

November 1 - Applications for contract renewal (2nd year of two-year Contract) to Deans from Chairs (for Arts & Sciences departments & Business areas)

November 1 - Departments/Faculty submit merit norms to Senate Office, Deans, and Provost

November 15 - Applications for contract renewal (2nd year of initial two-year contract) to Provost from Deans

December 1 - Applications for promotion to Deans from Chairs (for Arts and Sciences departments and Business faculty areas)

December 1 - Applications for contract renewal (one-year contract with less than one year to termination) due to Chairs/Deans from faculty members

December 15 - Applications for promotion to Provost from Deans

December 15 - Faculty members notified of contract renewal decisions (2nd year of initial two-year contract) by Provost

December 15 - Faculty members notified of faculty fellowship decisions by Provost

January 1 - Applications for contract renewal (one-year contract with less than one year to termination) due to Dean from Chairs (for Arts & Sciences departments and Business faculty areas)

January 15 - Applications for tenure due to Chairs/Deans from faculty members

January 15 - Applications for contract renewal (one-year contract with less than one year to termination) due to Provost from Deans

January 15 - Applications from faculty member for research grants to Research Council

February 1 - Last day to withdraw from Summer Session commitment [see §4-05.02(f)]

February 1 - Faculty activity reports (with merit applications where required) due to Chairs/Deans and Provost

February 15 - Faculty members notified of promotion decisions by Provost

February 15 - Faculty members notified of contract renewal (one-year contract with less than one year to termination) by Provost

February 15 - Applications for contract renewal (after two years or initial three-year contract) to Chairs/Deans from faculty members

March 1 - Applications for tenure due to Deans from Chairs (for Art and Sciences departments and Business faculty areas)

March 15 - Applications for tenure due to Provost from Deans

March 31 - Department/Faculty merit committees submit recommendations to Deans

April 1 - Recommendations for appointments of Chairs and Directors to Deans

April 1 - Applications for contract renewal (after two years or initial three-year contracts) to Dean from Chairs (for Arts & Sciences departments and Business faculty areas).

April 15 - Recommendations for appointment of Chairs and Directors to Provost

April 15 - Recommendations for emeritus status due to Deans and Provost

April 15 - Applications for contract renewal (after two years or initial three-year contract) due to Provost

May 1 - Faculty merit decisions to Chairs/Deans from Provost

May 15 - Faculty members notified of tenure decisions by Provost

May 15 - Faculty members notify Chairs/Deans of their plans to apply for promotion October 15

May 15 - Faculty members (after two years or initial three-year contracts) notified of contract renewal decisions by Provost

June 15 - Faculty members notified by Provost of following year's salary (including merit increments)

June 15 - Notification of appointments of Chairs and Directors

July

August 31 - Last day of contract year for faculty

No Dates Specified

Grievances: Must be filed within 90 days of notification of action grieved. See relevant sections of Statutes.

Academic Year: For contract purposes, September 1 to August 31, unless otherwise specified. [see §4-05.02(b)]. For purposes of retirement, the academic year ends June 30 [see §4-05.09]. Actual dates of service for faculty members may vary depending on the academic calendar of the School to which the faculty member is appointed (see Academic Calendar of each School).

Changes in Payroll Options and Fringe Benefit Options:
Contact Human Resources Office and Payroll Office by datesspecified in notices from those offices.

Appendix 3d: Procedures for Faculty Meetings

Unless superseded by the University Statutes, the following basic rules of procedure should be followed in the operation of faculty meetings and committees. Academic units are not free to dispense with these rules, but can adopt more stringent rules. It is expected that meetings will be conducted in an orderly fashion, with due regard for the rights of all participants. In particular, care should be taken that:

  1. In addition to the usual procedures for calling a meeting by the chairpersons, there should be clearly stated procedures for calling a meeting by a representative faculty group.
  2. Normally agenda and committee reports should be published before the meeting.
  3. There should be clear procedures for faculty input into the agenda of the meetings.
  4. There should be provisions for minority reports from schools, divisions, departments, areas, or individuals.
  5. There should be provision for putting issues to a vote during a meeting if a member desires it.
  6. Minutes of meetings should normally be taken, approved, and published.

Appendix 3e: Faculty Development

  1. Each faculty unit (school or department) will draft or review a statement of procedures and standards for reappointment, tenure, and promotion, including appointments of current faculty to endowed or named professorships, for use in this unit. This statement must include a declaration of the modalities to be used for Personnel Committee meetings in that unit regarding reappointment, tenure, promotion, and personnel actions regarding non-tenure-track instructional staff. The modalities may be specified as either fully in-person, fully remote, or fully discretionary. A "fully in-person" meeting is one requiring all participants to be physically present together (in-person); a "fully remote" meeting is one requiring all participants to participate remotely; a “fully discretionary” meeting is one in which each member of the Personnel Committee is given the discretion to determine their own modality for participating (either in-person or remote). A single modality must be designated for each type of meeting (reappointment, tenure, promotion, and so forth), but different modalities may, but need not, be designated for different types. This statement will be approved by vote of the faculty of that unit by November 1 of each year. The unit will then file this statement with the Provost, the Dean(s), and the Faculty Senate Office. If the Dean disagrees with the procedures, standards, or modalities established by the Department or School, consultation and agreement between the Dean and the Department or School must occur by December 1. If no agreement is reached, the matter will be referred to the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate for resolution. All statements generated by a particular faculty unit must be in accord with the University Statutes, whatever further specifications they provide regarding procedure or standards.
  2. Once approved, the statement of procedures and standards for reappointment, tenure, and promotion, including the declaration of the modalities of Personnel Committee meetings, will be sent annually by the head of each unit to every member of that unit's faculty. The statement should give a clear account of the unit's procedures in personnel matters and should record the unit's understanding of expectations in the areas of teaching, scholarship, and service, in order to provide a set of standards upon which questions of re-appointment, tenure, and promotion will be examined. It is intended that these statements will thus support and promote good policies and practices with regard to faculty development.
  3. The standards that are in place at the time of original hiring will remain determinative for subsequent personnel decisions for a given individual through the time of a tenure decision, regardless of any changes that a department or academic unit may decide upon afterwards. The standards that are in place at the time of original hiring will also remain determinative for promotion at the time of tenure. For subsequent promotions, faculty will be subject to the standards currently in place, unless such standards have been changed within three years of the faculty member's application for promotion. In such cases, faculty can fill out a form (available from the Office of the Provost) in which they can choose to be judged against either the current standards or those in place before the recent change was approved. If a candidate for promotion chooses not to submit the form, the current standards will be determinative.