Academic Personnel
The Appointment Process
Recommendation for appointment to the faculty of the university is made by the department chair or unit administrator to the appropriate dean or director. Deans and directors are delegated the presidential power of appointment for positions at the rank of assistant professor or equivalent or lesser ranks. For IFAS and the Health Science Center, the senior vice-president retains the power of appointment. For E&G units, the senior vice president/provost retains the power of appointment
Letters of offer should inform new faculty of the need for quality scholarly activities in order to earn tenure and promotion. This should be followed with assignments that will promote productivity in the areas needed to earn tenure and promotion, particularly in the case of the assignment of junior faculty.
Each faculty member should be informed in writing of what is generally expected of him or her in terms of teaching (including extension work), research and other creative activities, and service, as well as any other specific requirements and/or other duties involved.
The hiring administrator is responsible for sending the information and required forms to the new appointee. Please visit the Checklists section of this site for necessary forms and correspondence relevant to various faculty appointments. If changes are made to any employment document, the appointee and administrator should initial the document.
A faculty member's appointment is conditional until all of these documents have been completed. The employing department is also responsible for preparing all other appointment documents, obtaining necessary administrative approval, and certifying the salary rate and the number of days for which the employee is to be paid every other Friday. Permanent identification cards are issued at the time of employment.
After the initial appointment, a faculty member is officially notified of the renewal of an appointment by means of a letter indicating the renewal of the appointment. Renewal of appointments take into consideration the effectiveness of the faculty member's performance in his or her assigned duties.
A faculty member who fails to sign or accept the letter of renewal (reappointment), which constitutes the University's renewal of appointment, shall be considered to be notifying the University of the intention to resign from employment and should be advised in writing of this fact. It is suggested a letter be sent to the faculty member regarding this and placed in the faculty member's personnel file explaining the situation.
NOTE: Once a new contract period has started, and the faculty member begins work and is in pay status the faculty member is considered employed; regardless of whether a contract has been signed by the University or signed by the employee.