Faculty Teaching and Research
Faculty Leaves of Absence:
Non-ladder Faculty
From: Andrew D. Hamilton, Jon Butler, Peter Salovey
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2008 8:24 PM
To: Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Subject: A Professional Opportunity for Full-time Non-ladder
Teachers in FAS
We write to inform you of a new professional opportunity for full-time non-ladder teaching faculty in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Beginning in the academic year 2008-09, a limited number of special one-semester Professional Development Leaves will be made available to members of the non-ladder faculty who present compelling proposals for projects they wish to undertake while on leave from teaching. During the semester of leave they will receive full salary and benefits and be relieved of all teaching and administrative responsibilities.
To be eligible for a leave, individuals must have served as full-time teachers in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Yale for at least six years and hold multi-year appointments that extend through the year following the proposed leave. Those who are awarded leaves will be expected to return to full-time teaching during the year following the year in which the leave occurs. At least six years of full-time teaching at Yale must be completed before an individual who has been awarded a leave becomes eligible for another leave. The leave must be endorsed by the department or program, which may forward no more than one application in any year.
1) Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, and Assistant, Associate, and full Professors Adjunct who are eligible and wish to apply for a leave should submit a written proposal, which must be reviewed by a departmental or program faculty committee, supported by a department or program, and conveyed to the Provost’s Office by the chair. Departmental recommendations will be reviewed by a committee composed of members of the faculty and administration, which will judge them on the basis of quality and feasibility and on the likelihood that the completed project would enhance the teaching program of the department and advance the professional development of the individual. Leaves endorsed by that committee will be reviewed and awarded by the Steering Committee of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
2) Lectors, Senior Lectors, and Senior Lectors II who are eligible and wish to apply for a leave should submit a written proposal that must be reviewed by a departmental or program faculty committee, supported by the department or program, and conveyed to the Provost’s Office by the chair. Departmental recommendations will be reviewed by the Language Study Committee, which will judge them on the basis of quality and feasibility and on the likelihood that the completed project would enhance the language teaching program of the department and advance the professional development of the individual. Leaves endorsed by that committee will be reviewed and awarded by the Steering Committee of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Normally, applications for these special leaves will be due in the department or program early in the fall term of each academic year. However, during the spring term of 2008, for leaves requested for either semester in the academic year 2008-09, the FAS Steering Committee will consider applications that reach the department or program by January 31, 2008, and the review committees by February 15, 2008. Applications must include a written proposal of the work to be done (2 to 5 pages); a short statement of how the proposal will enhance the teaching of the department and serve the professional development of the applicant; and a current CV. The departmental recommendation must include a brief statement of endorsement that specifies the feasibility and prospective value of the project.
This new opportunity is intended to signal the high value Yale places on the contributions of the nonladder faculty in the teaching of our students and the effectiveness of our academic departments and programs.
As a way to clarify the purposes and rationale of this leave opportunity we include what we expect might be frequently asked questions.
Q. I work full time at Yale, but my responsibilities include my position as the Associate Director of the Center for Basic Research. Am I eligible to apply for a leave of absence?
A. No. Although you are a member of the non-ladder faculty, your appointment is a dual faculty/M&P appointment, and these leaves are available only to individuals who teach full-time.
Q. I work full-time at Yale, but my responsibilities include my role as coordinator of the language program in my department. Am I eligible to apply for a leave?
A. Yes. Coordination of a language program and direction of a course or group of courses are considered part of the responsibilities of a full-time teacher.
Q. I have worked at Yale for ten years, half-time in the first six and full-time in the last four. Am I eligible for a special leave?
A. Not until you have taught full time for two more years.
Q. I have taught at Yale for eight years on a succession of one-year appointments. Beginning this year I was appointed to a three-year position. Am I eligible to apply for a leave that would occur next year?
A. Yes, you meet both criteria: six years of full time teaching and a multi-year contract that extends a year beyond your proposed leave.
Q. I am a full-time teacher introductory expository writing. I would like a leave of absence in order to write a book on T.S. Eliot. Would that project qualify for a special leave of absence?
A. No. That project is not directly related to your teaching responsibilities.
Q. I am a full-time teacher of fiction in the creative writing program. I am also a poet. I would like a leave of absence in order to establish myself as a published writer of poetry so that I might add the teaching of poetry to my offerings. Would that qualify for a special leave of absence?
A. It would only if your department fully endorses your plan and would expect you to teach poetry when your return.
