(For purposes of this memo “academic unit” refers to department, division, program, or school offering a graduate degree or a graduate certificate.)

The Graduate Faculty consists of those members of the University faculty, with the ranks of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor, who actively participate in graduate education.  New Graduate Faculty members are elected to general membership by a majority vote of Graduate Faculty from their primary department, unit or program offering a graduate degree (University Handbook, Volume II, Section 23-42).  Powers and duties of the Graduate Faculty are given in Volume II, Section 23-44 of the University Handbook. 

In order to chair doctoral supervisory committees, Graduate Faculty members must also have specific “endorsement” for this purpose. In addition to fulfilling the criteria for general Graduate Faculty membership, endorsement to chair doctoral supervisory committees requires recent evidence of the qualities deemed necessary by the nominating academic unit to fulfill that role.  Assistant Professors of promise who are early in their careers, and who are deemed to be especially important to doctoral education in a particular program, may be granted endorsement to chair doctoral committees.  Assistant Professors, Associate Professors and Professors with the endorsement to chair doctoral supervisory committees are then eligible for selection as the Graduate School Representative (GSR) to doctoral supervisory committees.

Procedures for Graduate Faculty Membership

It is the responsibility of each graduate degree-offering academic unit to create a written policy for Graduate Faculty membership and for the endorsement to chair doctoral supervisory committees.  This policy and the specific criteria must be articulated to the faculty in the unit.  All members of the Graduate Faculty within the graduate degree-offering academic unit vote on proposed nominations.  For the endorsement to chair doctoral supervisory committees, voting is restricted to Graduate Faculty members within the graduate degree-offering academic unit who hold that endorsement.

Thus, faculty are elected to either general membership or to membership with endorsement to chair doctoral supervisory committees.  An individual first appointed as a general member can subsequently receive endorsement to chair doctoral supervisory committees.

Nominations for Graduate Faculty status should be initiated from a faculty member’s primary graduate degree-offering academic unit.  If a faculty member holds a joint appointment either academic unit can initiate the nomination. If a faculty member holds an adjunct appointment, only the primary academic unit can nominate, unless the primary academic unit is not a graduate degree-offering unit.
 

Authorized administrative personnel in each graduate degree-offering academic unit will have access to process new Graduate Faculty nominations and renewals through the online MyGradProgram.  E-mail notification to the newly nominated faculty member and the chair/director of their academic unit is automatically sent from MyGradProgram.

It is suggested that members of the faculty who are not members of the Graduate Faculty be considered annually for possible nomination. 


Expectations of Graduate Faculty Members

Members of the general Graduate Faculty are expected to show evidence of: 

§         Active involvement in (or, for a beginning faculty member, qualification for) graduate student teaching and research supervision.

§         Continued research-based scholarship as demonstrated by peer-reviewed publications, or equivalent creative work.

Also see sections 23-42, 13-23, 13-31, 21-32 of the University Handbook.


Eligibility for Graduate Faculty status

Graduate Faculty status can either be continuous or for a 5-year renewable term.  Instructors, lecturers and those in acting or visiting appointments are not eligible for either type of Graduate Faculty status.  The requirement for each category of Graduate Faculty status follows:

Continuous status

§         Faculty must hold the rank of assistant professor, associate professor, or professor.

§         Graduate Faculty status does not require tenure, nor do faculty need to be tenure-track. 

5-year renewable term

§         Emeritus, retired, affiliate, research, and clinical faculty, as well as artists-in-residence and senior lecturers, deemed appropriate by the degree-offering academic unit, may be elected for a 5-year, renewable term and may be endorsed to chair doctoral supervisory committees during that time.

§         Renewal of a Graduate Faculty 5-year term for all of the above titles requires a vote of the academic unit’s Graduate Faculty and then can be updated through the MyGradProgram by authorized administrative personnel.  Email notification will acknowledge the renewed term.

§         Graduate Faculty status can be continued for the first five years of an emeritus or retired faculty appointment.

Terminating Graduate Faculty Status

A vote of the Graduate Faculty of a faculty member’s graduate degree-offering academic unit is required to terminate Graduate Faculty status.  The decision is then updated online by the academic unit’s authorized administrative personnel, through the MyGradProgram.

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*Assistant Professors, Associate Professors and Professors with the endorsement to chair doctoral supervisory committees are eligible for selection as Graduate School Representative to doctoral supervisory committees.