Joint Appointment Policy

Under certain circumstances, it may be both educationally and economically desirable for faculty members, both present faculty and future appointments, to have joint appointments with departments in the same college, with departments in different colleges, or with department and interdisciplinary or research centers in the same or different colleges. Specific conditions for each individual joint appointment must be detailed at the time of initial appointment in a written memorandum of understanding between the appointing units and the candidate.

While the faculty member and the appointing units should have the freedom and flexibility to negotiate individual agreements, certain fundamental guidelines need to be observed in all such appointment statements. Specifically, a memorandum of understanding must be prepared by the appointing units, and endorsed by the dean(s) to whom they report, at the time at which the position is offered. This document must specify the division of the faculty member's time and salary among each of the units, the weighing of factors (teaching, scholarship, and service to the university community and profession) in the faculty member's merit evaluations, all expectations for tenure and/or promotion, and the process by which all evaluations for salary increment, tenure, and promotion will be conducted. The memorandum of understanding will also specify the resources (space, research funds, teaching support, etc.) that each unit will be responsible for providing the appointee. A copy of the memorandum of understanding will be filed in the appointee's personnel file in the provost's office.

1. Tenure and Promotion
   
   General expectations for tenure and promotion must be agreed upon by the appointing units and communicated to the faculty member in the memorandum of understanding at the time of appointment. The ways in which tenure and promotion reviews will be conducted and the role appointing units will play in the evaluation process must also be specified in the memorandum of understanding. In addition, the memorandum of understanding must specify how "agreement at the department and college level" (in the sense of Article 6.3.4.1) is to be defined and what dispositions will be made in the event of disagreement between the units. The department chair(s) and/or center administrator(s) shall maintain regular communication with each other regarding the faculty member's performance in their units. Each unit will provide a written annual evaluation of the progress toward tenure, with special attention given to the written three-year review of candidates on a seven-year track. (See Article 5 of the Bylaws.) In these cases, the emphasis must be upon the extent of the faculty member's excellence in meeting the expectations for tenure and promotion specified in university and college personnel documents. These expectations must not exceed the overall requirements for faculty members not on joint appointment. Normally, a faculty member's rank is the same in all departments and titles for appointments in centers should be commensurate with the appropriate academic rank.
   
   
2. Annual Evaluation
   
   The memorandum of understanding accompanying the offering letter shall clearly specify how each unit is to provide the other(s) with an evaluation that will be incorporated into the overall yearly evaluation. There should be a clear and mutually agreeable determination of how and by whom the units' individual evaluations will be combined and how and by whom yearly increment ratings will be determined. In all joint appointments there must be a clear and mutually agreeable prior statement of how a faculty member's professional work will be evaluated, by whom that work will be evaluated, and the extent to which the faculty member's productivity will be evaluated differently from that of others in the department because of the specific nature of the joint appointment. Specifically, two kinds of considerations need to be addressed in this determination: (1) the definition and weighing of professional performance factors (teaching, scholarship, and service to the university community and profession) that will apply to the individual on joint appointment; (2) the manner in which the evaluation of professional achievements will be divided among the appointing units performing the evaluation.
   
   
3. Reconsideration and Appeal of Personnel Decisions
   
   The faculty member may obtain a reconsideration of a personnel decision by the department or center making that decision according to the reconsideration provisions in the university Bylaws. In conformity with the university Bylaws, an appeal of a personnel decision may be taken to the level above the level at which the decision was made.
   
   
4. Faculty Governance
   
   The memorandum of understanding shall specify the agreement reached by the appointing units and the faculty member with reference to the location of the faculty member's involvement in the faculty governance structure of the units, the college and the university. A person on joint appointment shall in no way be disenfranchised from the governance system because of the nature of his or her appointment.
   
   
5. Recruitment
   
   During the process of recruitment, all units to be involved in the joint appointment shall be represented on the search committee. If the locus of tenure is known at the start of a search by a research or interdisciplinary center, the initial screening committee shall have representation from the departments where the tenure-track appointment would reside. If that is not known, the committee shall have representation of faculty from departments related to the center's areas of activity. As soon as a short list of candidates has been determined, representatives of potential appointing units will be invited to join the screening committee. Only a candidate who is acceptable to all appointing units shall be offered a joint appointment.
   
   
6. Changes in Appointment Status Before and After Tenure
   
   Provided all of the concerned parties agree, the initial statement of agreement on a joint appointment may be amended at any time after the appointment has been made. If any of the parties wishes to change any of the provisions in the agreement, this must be accomplished through the mutual consent of all parties involved.

Approved by UCPC 4/14/92
Approved by UC 4/29/92