Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty

Process and specific criteria for faculty titles

Full‐Time, Tenure-Track or Tenured Faculty

Awarding of tenure at NYU Meyers must be considered within the first nine years as a member of the full‐time faculty in the rank and/or ranks of assistant professor, associate professor or professor. Prior service at another educational institution or promotion to associate professor at year five may decrease the probationary tenure timetable. Promotion to the rank of associate professor, with or without the granting of tenure, can occur at any time during the ten‐year probationary period, if warranted. The process leading to promotion (with or without tenure) for faculty on the tenure track includes review by the NYU Meyers APT Committee as described below and as excerpted from the NYU Faculty Handbook.

Tenure is to be awarded following review of the faculty member’s academic contributions by the NYU Meyers Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure (APT) Committee.

Assistant Professor

The rank of assistant professor may be granted to those who have earned a terminal degree (or its equivalent) appropriate to their field, have demonstrated their accomplishments as investigators and provided evidence of character and productive scholarship. Assistant professors are expected to show promise of continuing development with clear evidence of future potential to advance significantly their field of research. They should also be well qualified to teach at NYU Meyers and its programs.

Appointment as assistant professor carries with it the possibility, but no presumption, of annual reappointment or the right to permanent tenure, or to further appointment or promotion to any higher rank. Although the promotion and tenure process may be initiated at any time, a full‐time assistant professor at NYU Meyers-Nursing who does not have previous service credit and is not promoted and granted tenure at the expiration of the ten-year probationary period will be ineligible for future full‐time appointment in the University. As noted in Section IV.A.3, in extremely exceptional circumstances movement to a continuing contract faculty line may be considered. If sufficient service has been attained elsewhere, then year seven is the terminal year, with review occurring in year six.

Associate Professor

The rank of associate professor may be granted to those who, in addition to all the qualifications for assistant professor, have continued to demonstrate productivity and research excellence as independent investigators. This must be documented by first or senior authorship of high-quality papers in peer‐reviewed journals, and by success in obtaining and maintaining external funding from national or other peer-reviewed science, highly‐competitive agencies to support their research. Associate professors must be recognized nationally for their research contributions to the advancement of their disciplines. They must demonstrate effective contributions to the teaching programs and to the service responsibilities of the NYU Meyers.

Evidence of ongoing productivity must include publishing high-quality papers in peer‐reviewed journals, and by a combination of evidence that would include: (a) obtaining external funding from agencies conducting peer-reviewed science especially from federal funding agencies such as the National Institute of Health (NIH) or equivalent funding sources including foundations with peer-reviewed science mechanisms; (b) publishing books, book chapters, major literature review articles, and/or other scholarly contributions to the professional literature; (c) leading, co-leading and/or participating in research studies in significant roles; (d) developing innovative conceptualizations or novel solutions to healthcare problems; and/or, (e) performing patient care‐related activities in a manner that extends well beyond excellent patient management.

Appointment as associate professor carries with it the possibility, but no presumption, of annual reappointment or the right to permanent tenure, or to further appointment or promotion to any higher rank. Although the promotion and tenure process may be initiated at any time, a full‐time associate professor who is not granted tenure at the expiration of five years as an associate professor, or ten years in the combined ranks of assistant and associate professor, will be ineligible for further full‐time appointment in the university. If sufficient service has been attained elsewhere then year four is the terminal year, with review occurring in year three.

Professor

The rank of professor may be granted only after careful consideration of the individual’s character, scholarship, productivity, teaching ability, and national and international reputation among peers in his or her own field. The rank of professor may be granted only to faculty members who have made exceptional, original and innovative discoveries and for whom there is reasonable certainty that they will continue to make outstanding contributions throughout the remainder of their working years.

The rank of professor may be granted to those who, in addition to all the qualifications for associate professorship, have continued to demonstrate productivity and research excellence as independent investigators. This must be documented by accomplishments achieved since attaining the rank of associate professor, including first or senior authorship of high-quality papers in peer‐reviewed journals, and by success in obtaining and maintaining external funding from national or other highly‐competitive agencies to support their research. Professors must continue to be recognized nationally and internationally for their research and scholarly contributions to the advancement of their disciplines. They must demonstrate continued effective contributions to the teaching programs and to the service responsibilities of the college and profession.

The rank should never be granted as a reward for seniority and should be reserved as a mark of distinction in the field of scholarship and instruction. Notable academic achievements, such as awards and prizes and membership in prestigious scientific professional societies and advisory groups should attest to this distinction. Professorial rank should never be granted only as recognition of service in administration.

Although the tenure process may be initiated at any time, a full‐time professor who is not granted tenure at the expiration of three years’ service will be ineligible for further full‐time appointment in the university. Review for tenure will occur in year two.

Policies of administration

General Policies

In order to implement the system of management of faculty appointments, titles, promotions, and tenure, the following procedures are required. The following elements of administration will be adhered to by NYU Meyers, and affirmed by the dean, as requirements of NYU Meyers system of administration for promotion and tenure. This document and its administration will in no way change the requirements for tenure as stated in the New York University Faculty Handbook. http://www.nyu.edu/faculty/governance-policies-and-procedures/faculty-handbook.html

NYU Meyers

1. A candidate may be proposed for tenure at any time considered appropriate for the individual member of the faculty. This may be at any point from hire through the ninth year of continuous full‐time service, with extensions available as stated in the NYU Faculty Handbook.
2. Every assistant professor on the tenure‐track will have a mandatory, formal review by the NYU Meyers APT Committee in the third year of service. In addition, a formal review by the NYU Meyers APT Committee will be made in the sixth year of service if permanent tenure has not already been awarded. The executive vice dean (EVD) will notify the faculty member and the NYU Meyers APT Committee of the due date for these reviews. The APT Committee’s review, and recommendation, as well as the review by the EVD, and all documents submitted to the APT Committee will be sent to the dean. A candidate for third-year review is expected to show evidence of scholarly activity including movement toward being an independent investigator.

A candidate for third-year review submits a CV, personal statement (no page limit) and teaching portfolio to the EVD on the date indicated on the annual schedule of APT due dates. The chair of APT requests an evaluation of the candidates teaching from the EVD or the program director. The EVD submits a letter of recommendation to the APT Committee. The APT Committee reviews all material and recommends their assessment in writing to the dean with copy to EVD. The EVD reviews materials and writes an assessment summary letter, that is sent to the candidate’s HR personnel file. The candidate meets with the dean or EVD who shares the recommendation and/or summary letter with the candidate.

By the sixth year review, the candidate should provide evidence of substantial scholarly work and independent research. The candidate must also show evidence of being an effective teacher and active in NYU Meyers and NYU service activities.

A candidate for sixth-year review provides the same material and follows the same procedures as the third-year review with the exception that the candidate for sixth-year review provides the APT Committee with the names of five potential external reviewers that the APT Committee chair can use but does not have to use to select one external reviewer. The candidate for sixth-year review must also include three publications.

3. If the likelihood of tenure is considered low, the dean of NYU Meyers will so advise the faculty member and discuss options available. These options may include: 1) Offering the faculty member one final year that is not renewable (terminal teaching contract), or 2) in extremely exceptional circumstances, offering the faculty member the opportunity to move to a renewable continuing contract faculty appointment  except if the applicant has previously been on a continuing contract faculty line at NYU Meyers and if such a line is available, but not at the cost or loss, of the tenure track line, i.e., it is not permissible to convert the current tenure track line of that faculty member to a contract faculty line. Moving from a tenure track line to a contract faculty line requires the approval of the dean of NYU Meyers and NYU administration. Offering faculty a continuing contract faculty appointment must occur prior to the seventh year.
4. In an open and competitive search for a tenure track position, if a faculty member on a continuing contract faculty appointment successfully obtains a tenure-track position, this faculty member may not hold a continuing contract faculty position at NYU Meyers at any time in the future.

Procedures for Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure for the Tenure Track

The APT Committee will conduct a formal review of all tenure and tenure track new appointments.  After the candidate has agreed to accept the position the APT Committee will forward their review and recommendation to the dean of NYU Meyers. This includes faculty who are on a continuing contract track and apply for an open position on the tenure-track. The APT Committee Chair will ask the EVD of NYU Meyers to notify him/her in writing when these formal reviews are due as mandated by this policy. 

Candidates for tenure shall send the chair of the APT Committee and the EVD a list of five (5) potential external independent referees, who the APT Chair may or may not contact. The chair of the APT Committee shall solicit letters from at least five independent external reviewers, from universities comparable to NYU, who can provide letters of evaluation. External reviewers may not be anyone who has worked closely with or served as a mentor to the candidate. This includes anyone who has co-authored a manuscript within the past five years with the candidate or who has been a co-investigator with the candidate.

Each candidate shall submit to the APT Committee a packet of materials a) current CV, b) teaching portfolio that includes evaluations by students and faculty, c) a personal statement, and d) five representative published papers. The APT Committee will review all the materials, make a recommendation and vote by closed ballot.  The APT Committee’s tenure vote and recommendation are made available to all tenured faculty who review the materials and vote by closed ballot at a meeting of all tenured faculty. The APT Committee forwards to the dean of NYU Meyers the review and recommendation of the APT Committee, APT vote, and tenured faculty vote. Only professors vote on all applications for appointment or promotion to the rank of professor.

If the APT Committee does not believe that it has adequate expertise to review a given candidate, it will consult with the dean of NYU Meyers and advise the dean on the appointment of an ad hoc group that may include NYU Meyers plus one or two additional NYU tenured faculty members from other NYU schools with requisite expertise. These faculty members will participate in all subsequent discussions of the candidate and have the right to vote with the standing APT Committee on the candidate’s promotion and/or tenure. Subsequent phases of the tenure decision process will follow in all respects the University procedures as outlined in the Faculty Handbook.

Procedures Related to Promotion and Tenure of Cross Appointments

In the case of a joint appointment, the composition of the Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee must include members of both schools. Both schools must vote on the report, with the guidelines herein outlined concerning procedures and reporting applying to both. Each APT chair should forward their school’s recommendation to each relevant dean only after consultation with the other school. If the school’s arrive at significantly different judgments, the deans will confer and establish a cross-school process to review the case.

In the case of associated or affiliated appointments, written evaluations on the secondary appointment are recommended but not required.

Charge to the APT Committee

The APT Committee is a standing committee of NYU Meyers. The APT Committee reviews credentials and makes recommendations to the dean for appointments, promotions, and tenure of all tenured and tenure track faculty who serve on a full-time basis. This committee will, as necessary, review the guidelines for appointment, promotion, and tenure and, when indicated, will recommend changes to the guidelines to the dean of NYU Meyers who will forward a recommendation to the University for final determination.  In addition, the committee will have the responsibility of communicating to the faculty, on an annual basis, the procedures and policies for promotion and tenure.

The NYU Meyers Faculty Council elects APT Committee members whose names are given to the dean as recommendations for staggered two-year terms. The dean appoints members of the committee who may or may not be those recommended by the faculty. Members may serve for up to a total of two consecutive terms. If a faculty member has been on the committee for a total of five years, that person may not be on the ballot the year immediately after the five‐year term. Vacancies on the committee will be replaced by the dean for the duration of the vacated term of appointment. APT members serve to advise the dean.

Grievance Procedures Regarding Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure

Tenured and tenure track faculty can seek redress for a grievance with respect to appointment, reappointment, promotion and/or tenure through the grievance procedures of NYU Meyers that are stated in the Essential Bylaws of Faculty Governance. A grievant must be a faculty member of New York University when he or she initiates the appellate grievance process.

Grievances of the faculty can be submitted only on the basis of process, on the grounds: a) That the procedures used to reach the decision were improper, or that the case received inadequate consideration; b) That the decisions violated the academic freedom of the person in question, in which case the burden of proof is on that person.

In the case of all grievances, attempts shall be made to settle the dispute by informal discussions; and that if the grievance is not settled informally at a level below the dean, or by the dean, the faculty member may appeal to the dean to convoke the grievance committee of the school or faculty. The dean shall do so within 15 working days. The Grievance Committee shall be constituted of five (5) full-time faculty members elected from the faculty council, three of whom shall be tenured members of the NYU Meyers faculty and two holding a senior clinical appointment (associate clinical professor or clinical professor) at NYU Meyers. The committee shall not include a faculty member whose primary assignment is administrative. Terms of service are staggered two-year terms. The Grievance Committee will review the evidence and make a recommendation to the dean. The dean shall notify the concerned parties and the Grievance Committee of his or her decision together with reasons. If the grievant wishes to he or she can then follow the procedures specified in the NYU Faculty Handbook to appeal the dean’s decision to the provost. The NYU Meyers grievance procedures for tenured/tenure track faculty align with the NYU Faculty Handbook.