Procedures for Non-Tenured Faculty Leaves under the New Tenure and Appointments System (FASTAP)
Date: September 18, 2009
To: FAS Department and Program Chairs
Cc: Non-tenured faculty in the FAS
FAS Department and Program Chairs’ Assistants
FAS Department and Program Business Managers
From: Peter Salovey, Provost
Jon Butler, Dean, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
Mary Miller, Dean, Yale College
Kyle Vanderlick, Dean of Engineering and Applied Science
Re: Procedures for non-tenured faculty leaves under the new tenure and appointments system (FASTAP)
As you are aware, the new tenure and appointments system (FASTAP) adopted by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as of July 1, 2007, contains improved provisions for non-tenured faculty leaves. We write to provide more detail on procedures for these leaves and to provide the schedule for applications for these leaves for the 2010-11 academic year. Non-tenured faculty members who have elected to stay on the old tenure and appointments system and are eligible for a leave will receive a separate memorandum regarding their leave application procedures.
Assistant professors on the FASTAP system are eligible for a one-year leave at full salary that can be taken in any of the second, third, or fourth years of their initial appointments. Although the assistant professor leaves continue to be called Morse Fellowships (Humanities) and Junior Faculty Fellowships (Sciences and Social Sciences), the procedures for granting these leaves has changed. Faculty members promoted to associate professor on term are eligible for a one-year leave at full salary in the first or second year following promotion—this leave is called an Associate Professor Leave (APL).
Application for Morse and Junior Faculty Fellowships as well as the Associate Professor Leave relies on the same process. The FASTAP report calls for “the junior faculty presenting . . . a research proposal that is approved by the department chair and cognizant dean.” This research proposal should be a five page single-spaced (maximum) explanation of the project, its potential significance, the research methods to be used, and a plan to achieve publication.
The proposals for leaves for both assistant and term associate professors should be evaluated first within the department by a committee of permanent officers appointed by the department chair. This departmental committee assesses each proposal’s strengths, weaknesses, and feasibility, and this evaluation should be understood as an important component in the department's broader mentoring plan for non-tenured faculty. One or more members of the committee should discuss the proposal with the non-tenured faculty member, so that the non-tenured faculty member receives the committee's considered advice offered in a collegial setting on the scope, methods, and potential impact of the study.
The applicant may then choose to revise the research report in response to the advice of the departmental committee, and resubmit to the committee for their final evaluation. The chair of the departmental committee then forwards a short report (typically less than one page) to the department chair detailing the committee’s evaluation of the research proposal and the discussion with the non-tenured faculty member. When the department chair believes the research proposal is sound and feasible, he or she forwards the research proposal and the committee’s report to the cognizant dean with the chair's recommendation for the leave request. Should the cognizant dean have questions about the research proposal, the committee’s evaluation, or the department chair's recommendation, the dean may meet with the faculty member and department chair, again as an extension of the mentoring process.
Following is the schedule for submitting materials in support of leaves requested for the 2010-11 academic year:
October 1, 2009: Submission of proposal from assistant or term associate professor to departmental committee.
October 2009: Departmental committee meets, and then discusses proposal with the non-tenured faculty member. Applicant revises proposal as needed, based on committee input.
November 2, 2009: Submission of proposal, committee report, and Chair’s recommendation to cognizant dean. (See the link below for a list of cognizant deans and provosts.)
November 16, 2009: Deans notify Department Chairs, leave applicants, and cognizant provosts of decisions regarding non-tenured leaves.
December 1, 2009: Department Chairs forward leave requests for ALL faculty to the cognizant provost.
January/February 2010: Cognizant provost sends official response to all leave requests to individual faculty on behalf of the FAS Steering Committee.
The Morse or Junior Faculty Fellowship Leaves for assistant professor can be taken in the second, third, or fourth year of the initial appointment to the ladder ranks (including time in the rank of Lecturer Convertible, although a leave may not be taken by someone in the rank of Lecturer Convertible), and the Associate Professor Leave can be taken in the first or second year following the term associate promotion. The exact year in which leaves should be taken is flexible because the optimal time for a leave will vary across departments and across individuals within a department.
Tenured faculty in a department may, of course, offer advice as to when a leave might be most productive for an individual. However, within the timeframe specified by the FASTAP report, the timing of the leave should accord with the best strategies for advancing significant research achievement by the non-tenured faculty member. The effect of the leave on the faculty member’s scholarship is the paramount consideration in determining the timing of a leave, not the exigencies of departmental duties. Department chairs concerned about teaching gaps that could result from a research leave should consult early with the Provost's Office.
We recognize that implementing these leave procedures and other aspects of the new system requires the exertion and cooperation of the FAS faculty. However, we know that the tenured faculty shares our commitment to enhancing the scholarly productivity of our non-tenured colleagues.
Please feel free to be in touch with your cognizant dean or provost if you have questions or need additional information about any of this.
