Faculty Affairs

Appointment Procedures

The Office of Faculty Affairs in collaboration with the College of Medicine Dean’s office processes all aspects of the COM faculty members’ academic appointments. Listed below are guidelines for: appointing new paid faculty members, appointing new adjunct faculty members, promoting current faculty members, requesting a secondary appointment, changing tenure tracks, and accomplishing a departmental transfer.

For issues related to credentialing, please consult the Professional Staff Office. 

If you have questions regarding these procedures, please the Office of Faculty Affairs at 526.4661. All COM faculty appointment guidelines listed below require the use of the online Justification for Recruitment (JFR) system. If you are not familiar with the system, please contact Emily Freeman for information and training. Paper packets may no longer be used to process these procedures.
How to request a Tenure/Non-Tenure Pathway Change

Appointing a new, paid faculty member:

For assistance in determining the appropriate title, rank and tenure pathway for a new faculty member, please refer to College of Medicine Faculty Appointment Grid that lists the choices available within the College of Medicine.For a more detailed explanation of Tenure/Non-Tenure Pathways, refer to Tenured and Non-Tenured Faculty Tracks.

Required documents:
Instructor and Assistant Professor

• Candidate’s Curriculum Vitae
• financial information for the position
• (generate within the JFR database a) letter of recommendation from the Department Chair requesting the appointment

Associate Professor and Professor**

• candidate’s Curriculum Vitae
• three letters of recommendation, written by authorities in the candidate's field of expertise who are not UAMS faculty members and who have been neither the candidate's teacher nor employer
• financial information for the position
• (generate within the JFR database a) letter of recommendation from the Department Chair requesting the appointment

**These appointments will be processed through the Promotion and Tenure Committee within the online JFR system.

Appointing a new Adjunct Faculty Member (adjunct is the term used for all faculty members who volunteer their services to the College of Medicine):

 For assistance in determining the appropriate title and rank for a new adjunct faculty member, please refer to College of Medicine Faculty Appointment Grid that lists the choices available within the College of Medicine. Adjunct faculty members are now required to provide service to the College of Medicine and may receive the benefits as described within: Adjunct faculty members are now required to provide service to the College of Medicine and may receive the benefits as described within:
 
UAMS College of Medicine Principles for Adjunct Faculty Appointments
UAMS College of Medicine Principles for AHEC Adjunct Faculty

 Required Documents:

Instructor and Assistant Professor

• candidate’s Curriculum Vitae
• within the JFR database, generate a letter of recommendation from the Department Chair requesting the adjunct appointment

Associate Professor and Professor**

• candidate’s Curriculum Vitae
• within the JFR database, generate a letter of recommendation from the Department Chair requesting the adjunct appointment
• letter from Department Chair to P&T committee

**These appointments are processed through the Promotion and Tenure Committee within the online JFR system.

Promoting Current Faculty Members (This includes current adjunct faculty):
Instructor to Assistant Professor  

• letter from faculty member requesting promotion and demonstrating agreement of rank and pathway
• letter from Department Chair to the Dean requesting promotion
• candidate Curriculum Vitae

Assistant Professor to Associate Professor
Associate Professor to Professor
Promotions to Associate Professor or Professor must go through the regular Promotion and Tenure process. Please refer to the “Promotion and Tenure” link in the left column of this page for helpful information and the correct procedures.

Requesting a Secondary Appointment:

Required documents:

Instructor and Assistant Professor 

• letter from Secondary Department Chair to Dean requesting appointment
• letter from Primary Department Chair to Dean showing support of request
• Candidate's Curriculum Vitae

Associate Professor and Professor**

• letter from Secondary Department Chair to Dean requesting appointment
• letter from Primary Department Chair to Dean showing support of request
• Candidate's Curriculum Vitae
• letter from Primary Department Chair to P&T Committee

Requesting a Tenure/Non-Tenure Pathway change:
According to the Criteria and Guidelines for Faculty Appointments Promotion and Tenure: “A faculty member appointed to any of the four non-tenure pathways may request that his/her appointment be changed to the appropriate tenure-eligible pathway, with the approval of the Department Chair and the Dean, before the conclusion of his/her first 36 months of appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor.  It is permissible for a faculty member on a tenure-eligible pathway to switch to a non-tenure pathway anytime before the beginning of the final year of the probationary period  with the permission of the Department Chair and the Dean.  The switch from a tenure-eligible to a non-tenure pathway is a permanent change that cannot be subsequently reversed."   

Required documents:

• Letter from the faculty member to his/her Department Chair requesting a change in pathway that explains the reason for the request
• Letter from the Department Chair to the Dean requesting the pathway change
• Faculty member's Curriculum Vitae
• Pathway Change Document (found within the JFR system)

Required documents for requesting a departmental transfer:

• letter from the requesting Department Chair to the Dean
• letter from the current Department Chair to the Dean supporting the transfer
• faculty member’s Curriculum Vitae