Academic Affairs Department Chair Notes - Message #2

The Spring Reappointments cycle is underway. That’s capitalized because it is a major event: over 1,200 full-time faculty are involved across campus.

We have two minor-league cycles each year: Fall and Winter. These are for people who are on one-year appointments, AND, are in their first (Winter) or second (Fall) years. Thus, if you make an initial appointment that is three years, as is the case for about half of the School of Medicine and the rest of campus, they do not appear in Fall and Winter cycles.

IU policy requires one year’s notice of non-reappointment. Right now, your pre-tenure faculty and most of your non-tenure track faculty have appointment end dates of May 31 or June 30, 2022. If they are not going to be reappointed, they must be notified of that by one year prior:  hence, the Spring Reappointment cycle, whereby we (you!) either push their end date out another year to May/June 2023, OR, you notify them of non-reappointment, OR you notify us that they will retire or resign.

Do you need to non-reappoint someone? Is it involuntary (that is, they are not already retiring or resigning on their own)? If so, please contact Rachel Applegate specifically and quickly (ude[dot]iupui[at]agelppar) so that she can walk you through the steps. Faculty can be non-reappointed for reasons of program needs or, poor performance. This applies to pre-tenure faculty as well as non-tenure track faculty.

You can also have non-tenure-track faculty who have long-term appointments (three or five years is most common). Those are marked as such in the reappointments dashboard.

What would happen if you hired all tenure-track faculty with a three-year initial appointment?

This is what about half of all units do. It reduces your flexibility, may make an offer more competitive, and eliminates a couple of bureaucratic steps. Do you think this would be a good idea for your unit? And if you already do this, has it been a good practice in your experience?

Please email feedback to etagelppA lehcaR.

Below is some suggested language to include in requests to external-reviewers to acknowledge the impact of COVID-19:

Please focus your review on the quality and impact of the candidate’s work. IUPUI values quality over quantity, and the candidate has identified key works of scholarship for your focus. Like all academics, the candidate and the pace of their productivity, as well as the outlets for scholarly work, have all been affected by the pandemic. We are not asking you to recommend for or against promotion or tenure, nor are we asking if the candidate might receive promotion or tenure at your institution.

The green text is the new language. It is optional, not mandatory, although you should use it for all of your tenure candidates if you have more than one.

• Next month, we will cover promotion and tenure and eDossier.

Reminder

• The second Student Wellness Day is scheduled for Wednesday, March 24. While these days are specifically with students in mind, you are encouraged to find ways to relax and unwind from your daily schedule, too.
  • Wellness resources for faculty are available on this website
  • Wellness resources for students are available on this website

• Faculty Affairs Guidance materials shared via IU Office 365: A repository of helpful information including how-to’s, when-to’s, and where-to’s.
  
• New Faculty Notes: Just-in-time monthly guidance to new faculty who cycle through New Faculty Orientation each year.
  
• Hiring Best Practices
  
• The Forum Network: An integrated coordinating structure that supports faculty collaboration and creativity.
  
• Faculty Crossing: A technology-rich collaboration space for faculty and teaching staff of all appointments. Part workroom, part café, the space provides a welcoming environment that promotes creativity and innovation. This space will reopen in the fall.