Generally, appointment start dates can be at any point needed in the year for all track and appointment types except for tenure-track. 

Tenure-track appointments must start on July 1 or January 1. Please contact BMFA if this is a concern.

Standardized end dates have been established to aid in the pursuit of consistent appointment and reappointment cycles when possible. We ask that appointments have the following end dates within their appropriate context:

End Dates for January 1 Start Dates

If the start date is January 1, the year of the end date must allow for the term to be less than the term limit maximum. The faculty member's second term will start July 1, allowing for a full second and third term as they have naturally aligned with the regular reappointment schedule at the end of their first appointment term. 

For example, if appointing a faculty member to a full term as an Assistant Professor effective January 1, 2024 the end date must be June 30, 2026 rather than 2027. If the appointment term ended June 30, 2027, the appointment would be for 3.5 years which is above the maximum term allowance per the Handbook of Academic Administration and BioMed's Standards and Criteria.

The Date Duration Calculator is an excellent resource for quickly calculating or double-checking the term length.

Faculty Titles

• Instructor
• Assistant Professor
• Associate Professor
• Professor

Additional Titles

• Lecturer
• Senior Lecturer
• Distinguished Senior Lecturer

Faculty Tracks

• (Research)
• Tenure
• Lecturer

Academic Faculty Requirements and Limitations

Materials Required

All junior and senior academic appointments must be submitted through the Search or Pre-select process.

Please note: all senior-level (Research) appointments require further review through CMFA and all senior-level tenure-track appointments require review and approval by TPAC. 

Searches and Pre-select Processes

Faculty Titles

• Instructor
• Assistant Professor
• Associate Professor
• Professor

Faculty Tracks

• Pre-Track
• Clinician Scholar
• Research Scholar
• Teaching Scholar
• (Research)

Academic Faculty Requirements and Limitations

Materials Required

All junior and senior academic appointments must be submitted through the Search or Pre-select process.

Please note: all senior-level appointments require further review through CMFA.

Searches and Pre-select Processes

Materials Required

• Chair's letter/memo with:
  • Appointment title, rank, and track
  • Start and end dates
• Adjunct Responsibilities Memorandum of Understanding form
  • Responsibilities specifically delineated
  • Signed by the Department Chair
  • Signed by Adjunct Faculty member in agreement
• Candidate's CV
  • Ideally in Brown format
  • Pages numbered
  • Dated for the most recent update
• Candidate's DOB and gender
  • This information is only used to build their profile in WorkDay
• Candidate's email address if their CV does not include one

Adjunct Appointment Requirements and Limitations

Affiliate Titles

• Senior Research Associate
• Research Associate
• Senior Teaching Associate
• Teaching Associate
• Investigator
• Visiting

Affiliate Appointment Requirements and Limitations

Materials Required

• Chair's letter/memo with:
  • Appointment title, rank, and track
  • Start and end dates
  • Justification for appointment (need, qualifications, projects, etc.)
  • Who the affiliate will be working for/with (Biology Departments)
  • Funding source (Biology Departments, Brown-paid appointments)
• Candidate's CV
  • Ideally in Brown format
  • Pages numbered
  • Dated for the most recent update
• Candidate's DOB and gender
  • This information is only used to build their profile in WorkDay
• Candidate's email address if their CV does not include one

Faculty Titles

• Instructor
• Assistant Professor
• Associate Professor
• Professor

Clinical and Clinician Educator Appointment Requirements and Limitations

Materials Required for Junior Appointment

• Chair's letter/memo with:
  • Appointment title, rank, and track
  • Start and end dates
• Candidate's CV
  • Ideally in Brown format
  • Pages numbered
  • Dated for the most recent update
• Candidate's DOB and gender
  • This information is only used to build their profile in WorkDay
• Candidate's email address if their CV does not include one

Materials Required for Senior Appointment

Senior Faculty Appointments of Associate Professors and Professors require CMFA review. 

Eligibility

Please note: The University Policy regarding eligibility criteria changed effective July 1, 2024.

Faculty members must meet the following criteria upon their departure from Brown University to be considered for appointment as emeritus/a:

• Be sixty (60) years of age or older
• Faculty at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor (all tracks)
• Has held a faculty rank and title at Brown University for a minimum of 15 years
• Be retiring or resigning from their full-time position of appointment at the University prior to assuming appointment as Emeritus or Emerita

Materials Required

• Chair's letter/memo with:
  • Appointment title, rank, and track
  • Start date
• Candidate's CV
  • Ideally, in Brown format
  • Pages numbered
  • Dated for the most recent update
• Candidate's email address if their CV does not include one

Submitting an Emeritus/a Appointment

All requests for emeritus/a appointments should be submitted to BMFA through the BMFA Faculty Actions site.

If approved by the Dean, the request will be submitted to the President for approval and subsequent presentation to the Corporation. 

BioMed Faculty Administration works in conjunction with departments and the Office of International Student and Scholar Services (OISSS) to sponsor affiliates for H-1B or J-1 Visas.

Department administrators should follow OISSS instructions to secure a visa for affiliates in their department.

Visa Resources

Title Naming Conventions

All Departments

• H-1B for Department Administrators and Affiliated Hospital Administrators

Biology Departments

• J-1 Visa - Researcher Scholars, Professors, & Short-Term Scholars

Clinical Departments

• J-1 Exchange Visitors at Brown Affiliated Hospitals

Eligibility

Due to the complex nature of international universities' curricula, it is important to note that the University and OISSS require that a visiting scholar have a minimum of a bachelor's degree for Visa appointments through BioMed. 

Required Materials

Departments are required to provide the necessary visa paperwork to BMFA as part of the original appointment or reappointment packet to ensure the appropriate faculty action documentation is provided for the visa application. 

• Visa-related documents
  • J-1 Visa application materials are required with the reappointment packet
  • H-1B Visa application materials can be submitted to BMFA after OISSS accepts them; please communicate with BMFA that the reappointment or appointment is H-1B-related so we can ensure the correct letter is provided for the application and visiting scholar.
• Appointment documents for title and rank

Faculty Titles

• Instructor
• Assistant Professor
• Associate Professor
• Professor

Additional Titles

• Lecturer
• Senior Lecturer
• Distinguished Senior Lecturer

Faculty Tracks

• (Research)
• Lecturer
• Tenure

Materials Required for Tenure-Track Reappointments

All tenure-track faculty are reappointed through TPAC.

Resources

Tenure & Promotion

Standards, Criteria, and Reviews

Materials Required for (Research) Reappointments

• Chair's Letter with:
  • Appointment rank, track, and title
  • Start and end dates
  • Funding source
• Candidate's CV
  • In Brown format
  • Pages numbered
  • Dated for the most recent update

Faculty Titles

• Instructor
• Assistant Professor
• Associate Professor
• Professor

Academic Tracks

• Pre-Track
• Clinician Scholar
• Research Scholar
• Teaching Scholar
• (Research)

Limitations

• Pre-Track faculty must select a track by the beginning of their third term.
• All junior-level academic faculty on the Clinician, Research, or Teaching Scholar tracks must be promoted to Associate Professor by the end of their third term.
  • Clinical Departments: If the junior faculty member is not eligible for promotion to Associate Professor, it is recommended that the department consider transitioning the faculty member to a Clinical or Clinician Educator track.

Materials Required

• Chair's Letter with:
  • Appointment rank, track, and title
  • Start and end dates
  • Funding source (if Brown-paid)
• Chief/Director Letter of Support (If Applicable)
• Hospital Support Letter with:
  • Appointment rank, track, and title
  • Start and end dates
  • Signed by the Hospital CEO
  • (Research) must state "contingent upon the availability of external funding"
• Candidate's CV
  • In Brown format
  • Pages numbered
  • Dated for the most recent update
• Annual Review
• Teaching Evaluations - summary preferred

Materials Required

• Chair's Letter with:
  • Appointment rank, track, and title
  • Start and end dates
  • Funding source (if Brown-paid)
• Adjunct Responsibilities Memorandum of Understanding Form
  • Responsibilities specifically delineated
  • Signed by Department Chair
  • Signed by Adjunct Faculty member in agreement
• Candidate's CV
  • In Brown format
  • Pages numbered
  • Dated for the most recent update

Affiliate Titles

• Research Associate
• Senior Research Associate
• Teaching Associate
• Senior Teaching Associate
• Investigator
• Visiting

Affiliate Appointment Requirements and Limitations

Materials Required

• Chair's Letter with:
  • Appointment rank, track, and title
  • Start and end dates
  • Justification for appointment (need, qualifications, projects, etc.)
  • Who the affiliate will be working for/with (Biology Departments)
  • Funding source (Biology Departments, if Brown-paid)
• Candidate's CV
  • In Brown format
  • Pages numbered
  • Dated for the most recent update

Faculty Titles

• Instructor
• Assistant Professor
• Associate Professor
• Professor

Clinical and Clinician Educator Appointment Requirements and Limitations

Materials Required

• Chair's Letter with:
  • Appointment rank, track, and title
  • Start and end dates
• Candidate's CV
  • In Brown format
  • Pages numbered
  • Dated for the most recent update
• Annual Review
• Teaching Evaluations - summary preferred
• Teaching and/or Service Hours Breakdown
  • Submitted via a Teaching/Service form or stated within the Chair's Letter
    • Clinical - 100 hours
    • Clinician Educator - 200 hours

BioMed Faculty Administration works in conjunction with departments and the Office of International Student and Scholar Services (OISSS) to sponsor affiliates for H-1B or J-1 Visas.

Department administrators should follow OISSS instructions to secure a visa for affiliates in their department.

Visa Resources

Title Naming Conventions

All Departments

• H-1B for Department Administrators and Affiliated Hospital Administrators

Biology Departments

• J-1 Visa - Researcher Scholars, Professors, & Short-Term Scholars

Clinical Departments

• J-1 Exchange Visitors at Brown Affiliated Hospitals

Required Materials

Departments are required to provide the necessary visa paperwork to BMFA as part of the original appointment or reappointment packet to ensure the appropriate faculty action documentation is provided for the visa application. 

• Visa-related documents
  • J-1 Visa application materials are required with the reappointment packet
  • H-1B Visa application materials can be submitted to BMFA after OISSS accepts them; please communicate with BMFA that the reappointment or appointment is H-1B-related so we can ensure the correct letter is provided for the application and visiting scholar.
• Reappointment documents for title and rank

Extensions (Clinical Departments)

Academic Tracks

• Clinician Scholar
• Research Scholar
• Teaching Scholar

Purpose

An appointment extension allows junior faculty on the Clinician Scholar, Research Scholar, or Teaching Scholar track more time to meet the requirements for promotion to Associate Professor. 

Extensions are for one year and can be requested once per three-year appointment term, for a total of three years over the entire length of their junior academic appointment.

Limitations

Assistant Professors on the above-listed academic tracks are limited to three 3-year terms before they are required to be promoted to Associate Professor or switch to a (Research) or Clinical track. The term clock starts at the time of the original academic appointment. For example, if the faculty member switched from Assistant Professor, Teaching Scholar to Assistant Professor, Clinician Scholar, their promotion timeline is based on their original academic appointment as a Teaching Scholar. This includes when junior faculty transition from Pre-Track to a designated track.

Materials Required

• Chair's Letter with:
  • Brief explanation for the purpose of the extension
  • Appointment rank, track, and title
  • Start and end dates
• Candidate's CV
  • In Brown format
  • Pages numbered
  • Dated for the most recent update

Off-cycle salary increase requests that fall outside of the merit review process or for positions not part of the merit review process can be submitted to BMFA for review and approval.

BMFA provides salary reviews for any campus-based, non-tenure faculty and affiliate appointments in the departments we serve to help build and ensure salary equity across the Division of BioMed.

Salary review meetings occur every two weeks which may delay the appointment or reappointment process, so please plan accordingly and let our team know if you need the review sooner than the projected timeline.

Materials Required for Salary Increase

• Chair's letter with:
  • New salary requested
  • Justification for salary increase
  • Funding source
• Updated CV
  • In Brown format
  • Pages numbered
  • Dated for the most recent update

Requests can be submitted directly to BMFA via the BMFA Faculty Actions site. 

International Scholars on Brown Sponsored Visas

Departments requesting salary reviews or who are hiring for a campus-based appointment that involves an international scholar will need to also consider the prevailing wage or financial minimums required for obtaining a J-1 or H-1B Visa through Brown. BMFA encourages departments to work closely with the Office of International Students and Scholars Services to determine a minimum salary before submitting the appointment, salary review, or salary increase request to BMFA.

Although BMFA attempts to provide guidance on equitable salary ranges for our campus-based faculty and affiliates, we defer to the minimum requirements outlined in the J-1 and H-1B visa applications. 

BMFA provides salary reviews for any campus-based, non-tenure faculty and affiliate appointments in the departments we serve to help build and ensure salary equity across the Division of BioMed.

Salary review meetings occur every two weeks which may delay the appointment or reappointment process, so please plan accordingly and let our team know if you need the review sooner than the projected timeline.

Materials Needed for Review Request

• Informal email that:
  • Requests the review
  • Provides funding source
  • Provides a deadline of when a figure is needed by, if any
  • Optional: the salary or range the department would like to
• Updated CV
  • In Brown format
  • Pages numbered
  • Dated for the most recent update

Please note: This review is different than submitting a salary increase request and is only meant to be informative. No action will be taken on the faculty or affiliate member's record until the Department formally requests the increase. 

Departments can submit a salary review request directly to BMFA by emailing BMFA@brown.edu.

International Scholars on Brown Sponsored Visas

Departments requesting salary reviews or who are hiring for a campus-based appointment that involves an international scholar will need to also consider the prevailing wage or financial minimums required for obtaining a J-1 or H-1B Visa through Brown. BMFA encourages departments to work closely with the Office of International Students and Scholars Services to determine a minimum salary before submitting the appointment, salary review, or salary increase request to BMFA.

Although BMFA attempts to provide guidance on equitable salary ranges for our campus-based faculty and affiliates, we defer to the minimum requirements outlined in the J-1 and H-1B visa applications. 

Primary Departments need to communicate with the Secondary Department to initiate the secondary appointment request, which includes both Department Chairs' signatures on the Secondary Appointment Request form.

This form should be submitted with appointment paperwork to BMFA via the Faculty Actions site.

Adding a Secondary Appointment to an Existing Active Appointment

Required Materials

• Signed Secondary Appointment Request form
• Candidate's CV
  • In Brown format
  • Pages numbered
  • Dated for the most recent update

Multiple Secondary Appointments

In the rare case that a faculty member or affiliate has multiple secondary appointments, primary departments should submit a signed Secondary Appointment Request form for each secondary department. 

Switching Primary and Secondary Departments within BioMed

If a faculty or affiliate member retains their affiliation with the original BioMed Department as secondary and adds a new BioMed Department as primary with the same title and rank, BMFA will process this request as a Title Change.

Materials Required

• Chair's Letter requesting the appointment (from the new Department Chair)
• Signed Secondary Appointment Request form
  • New department listed as the primary, original department listed as the secondary
• Updated CV

Submit this action as a Title Change to the BioMed Faculty Actions site. 

If a faculty member or affiliate already has a secondary appointment(s) at the time of their regular reappointment date, it is assumed the secondary appointment(s) is also being reappointed. 

We recommend the Primary Department connect with the Secondary Department(s) to confirm they need to continue the secondary appointment as part of their reappointment processes before submitting the reappointment request to BMFA.

If a faculty member has a secondary appointment(s) at the time of their promotion, a Secondary Appointment Request Form is required for the promotion materials presented to CMFA. This ensures that the secondary department(s) can conduct its own promotions committee review to confirm if the faculty member meets their standards for the prospective promotion.

We recommend the primary department connect with the secondary department(s) as early in the promotion discussion or dossier collection process as possible to allow the secondary department(s) enough time to discuss the candidate. 

Multiple Secondary Appointments

In the rare case that a faculty member has multiple secondary appointments, Primary Departments should submit a signed Secondary Appointment Request form for each Secondary Department. 

If a faculty member or affiliate has a secondary appointment(s) at the time of their primary appointment termination, it is assumed the secondary appointment(s) is also being terminated. 

We recommend the terminating department notify the other department of the termination as part of their termination processes before submitting the request to BMFA. This ensures the other department an opportunity to retain their appointment by working with BMFA as part of the process for updating the faculty member or affiliate's record. 

Resources and Requirements

Please refer to Chapter 14: Leaving the University of the Brown Faculty Handbook for detailed information regarding processing retirements, expirations of contracts, resignations, and terminations.

On rare occasions, departments or principal investigators will encounter mid-contract problems with non-regular faculty, including postdocs. Problems can arise from an unexpected loss of funding or from a failure of the faculty member to meet professional expectations. For guidance on termination related to non-regular faculty, please refer to section 14.3.2 found in Chapter 14: Leaving the University of the Brown Faculty Handbook.

Regular Faculty Terminations

Under Faculty Rules, procedures more involved than these need to be followed when the contracts of regular members of the junior faculty are not being renewed. If a department is recommending the termination of employment of someone who is in the penultimate year of the probationary period, then the procedures for a complete tenure review must have already been followed (see Chapter 10), except in those cases where the untenured faculty member has stated in writing that no tenure review is desired.

All academic faculty must receive notice of non-renewal 12 months (if a faculty member for 3 or more years) or 9 months (if a faculty member for less than 3 years) preceding the expiration of their current faculty appointment if their appointment will not be renewed.

Materials Required for Termination

• Termination Form
• Copy of appointment termination notification sent to faculty or affiliate
  • This can be a letter or email exchange with the individual and includes resignation communications

Please note: Retroactive termination requests that are 180 days past the current date will result in immediate loss of University services (email, library access, etc.) If you have access concerns for the above-listed faculty member, please reach out to BMFA.

All faculty track changes from affiliate or clinical tracks to academic tracks must be requested through the pre-select process. Faculty already on an academic track do not require the pre-select process as they were recruited through either a search or pre-select. 

Please note: All senior-rank appointments must be reviewed by CMFA.

Types of Track Changes

• FROM Academic Track TO Clinical Track 
  • Example: Clinician Scholar or Teaching Scholar or Research Scholar or (Research) TO Clinician Educator or Clinical
• FROM Academic Track TO Academic Track
  • Example: (Research) TO Clinician Scholar, Research Scholar, Teaching Scholar TO Research Scholar, etc.
• FROM Clinical Track TO Clinical Track 
  • Example: Clinician Educator TO Clinical, Clinical TO Clinician Educator

Materials Required

• Chair’s memo detailing why the change is being requested
• Updated CV
• Teaching Hours Breakdown (for changes to and within clinical tracks)

Since these are junior-rank appointments, CMFA is not required to review the track change request. Instead, these requests can be submitted directly to BMFA through the BMFA Faculty Actions site.

The following track change requests for senior-rank faculty (Associate Professor, Professor) do not require a CMFA review:

• FROM Clinician Scholar or Teaching Scholar or Research Scholar or (Research) TO Clinician Educator or Clinical
• FROM Clinician Educator TO Clinical

In these cases, the criteria for the requested track have already been met based on the criteria for the current track.

Materials Required

• Chair’s memo detailing why the change is being requested
• Updated CV
• Teaching Hours Breakdown (for changes to and within clinical tracks)

These requests can be submitted through the BMFA Faculty Actions site.

All other track changes require a dossier and CMFA review. It is recommended that track change requests be combined with promotion requests when possible.