Policy 6-319: Procedures for Initiating and Administering Joint Appointments to Faculty Positions - Regulations Library

Purpose
1. This statement of procedures is not intended to encourage or to discourage departments which for significant academic or organizational reasons wish to collaborate in offering a joint appointment to an individual faculty member or to a prospective recruit. However, because joint appointments are proposed from time to time, it is desirable to establish some basic guidelines for the sake of clarity in handling these appointments.
Definition
1. Primary Department - the department which initiates or accepts primary responsibility for (1) recruiting a new faculty member, (2) determining and providing the faculty member's salary, (3) providing office/laboratory space, and (4) making decisions relative to retention, tenure, and promotion in the primary department according to the criteria of that department.
2. Secondary Department - the department which (1) plays either a secondary or a passive role in recruitment and in salary determination, (2) provides no more than half, and sometimes even none, of the faculty member's salary, (3) provides office/laboratory spaces, if any, simply as an auxiliary to the space provided by the "primary department," and (4) makes decisions relative to retention, tenure, and promotion in the secondary department according to the criteria of that department.
Policy
1. If at any time, a "secondary department" desires to exceed the limits described in the definition above, it must first negotiate with the "primary department" for a specific exception. A written statement of the exception must be signed by the chairperson of both the "primary department" and the "secondary department," and copies of the "exception statement" must be forwarded to the dean(s) concerned and to the vice president for academic affairs.
  2. [Note: Parts IV-VII of this Regulation (and all other University Regulations) are Regulations Resource Information – the contents of which are not approved by the Academic Senate or Board of Trustees, and are to be updated from time to time as determined appropriate by the cognizant Policy Officer and the Institutional Policy Committee, as per Policy 1-001 and Rule 1-001.]
Procedure
1. Joint appointment for a new faculty member.
  1. The chairperson of the primary department wishing to propose a joint appointment with a secondary department should discuss the proposed joint appointment with the chairperson of that department before any joint appointment commitment is made to the candidate.
  2. The chairperson of the secondary department, if interested in the possibility of the joint appointment, should be consulted concerning search procedures to be used, and should be given every opportunity by the chairperson of the primary department to become acquainted with prospective candidates and their qualifications.
  3. If the chairperson of the secondary department, after appropriate consultation with departmental faculty and the college dean, decides to collaborate with the chairperson of the primary department in offering a joint appointment to a particular candidate, the chairperson of the secondary department will advise the chairperson of the primary department in writing of their willingness to recommend a joint appointment, indicating clearly the terms of the agreement. These terms should include but no be restricted to procedures to be followed in future determination of such matters as salary, retention, tenure, and promotion in the two departments, departmental teaching loads, departmental committee assignments, and voting privileges.
  4. If the chairperson of the primary department accepts the terms proposed by the chairperson of the secondary department, the chairperson of the primary department may then proceed to offer a joint appointment to the candidate.
  5. If the candidate accepts the joint offer, each department will initiate the appropriate appointment forms, and each department chairperson, as well as the dean (or deans) concerned, will write an appropriate letter of recommendation. The candidate's curriculum vitae, other letters of recommendation, and related supporting documents (if any) should be submitted by the chairperson of the primary department, via the dean, to the vice president for academic affairs.
  6. The primary department will be responsible for processing a personnel action form and obtaining the necessary signatures from the secondary department, in accordance with procedures established by the Employee Services Center.
  7. A proposed joint appointment of a new faculty member will not be acted upon by the vice president for academic affairs until all the necessary documentation from both departments and the dean (or deans) concerned is received in the office of the vice president for academic affairs.
2. Joint appointment of a continuing faculty member.
  1. The chairperson of the secondary department wishing to propose a joint appointment for an individual who is already serving as a member of the faculty in another (primary) department should after appropriate consultation with the faculty of the secondary department, begin by discussing the proposal with the chairperson of the primary department in which the faculty member's original appointment is held.
  2. If, after consulting with the department faculty, the chairperson of the primary department is in favor of the proposed joint appointment, the chairperson of the primary appointment will advise the chairperson of the secondary department in writing of their willingness to approve a joint appointment, indicating clearly the terms of the agreement. These terms should include but not be restricted to procedures to be followed in future determination of such matters as salary, retention, tenure, and promotion in the two departments, departmental teaching loads, departmental committee assignments, and voting privileges.
  3. If the chairperson of the secondary department accepts the terms suggested by the chairperson of the primary department, the chairperson of the secondary department may then offer a joint appointment to the individual concerned.
  4. If the individual accepts the proposed joint appointment, the secondary department will initiate the appropriate appointment form. The letter of recommendation written by the chairperson of the secondary department should present succinctly the reason for the joint appointment.
  5. The secondary department will provide the necessary information to the primary department for processing of the personnel action form, in accordance with procedures established by the Employee Services Center.
  6. A proposed joint appointment of a continuing faculty member will not be acted upon by the vice president for academic affairs until all of the following items are received:
    1. Appointment form.
    2. Letter of recommendation from chairperson of secondary department.
    3. Letter of recommendation from chairperson of primary department.
    4. Letter(s) of recommendation from dean(s) concerned.
References (reserved)
Contacts:
1. The designated contact officials for this Policy are:
  1. Policy Owners (primary contact person for questions and advice): Associate Vice President for Faculty and the Associate Vice President for Health Sciences.
  2. Policy Officers: Sr. Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Sr. Vice President for Health Sciences.
    
    See University Rule 1-001 for information about the roles and authority of policy owners and policy officers.
History
1. Renumbering: Renumbered as Policy 6-319 effective 9/15/2008, formerly known as PPM 2-2.2.
  1. Current version: Revision 2.
    1. Approved by -- Academic Senate April 3, 1978, and Board of Trustees April 11, 1978.
    2. Editorially corrected: November 9, 2010.
    3. Editorially revised to remove gendered language on April 19, 2022.

Policy 6-319 Rev: 2
Date: November 9, 2010

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