Appointment and Employment Procedures and Regulations

Appointment of Faculty will be at the rank of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor.  An earned doctoral degree in Sociology, Criminology, or a related discipline is required for all appointments to a Faculty position in the Department.

The basic definitions of Faculty/faculty ranks are the following:

1.         Assistant Professor

This rank is normally the entry level rank for tenure-track Faculty holding the doctorate in Sociology, Criminology or a related discipline. 

2.         Associate Professor

Hire to or promotion to this rank presumes prior service as an Assistant Professor, significant academic achievements, and possession of the doctorate in Sociology, Criminology or a related discipline (See, Section V of this Handbook). 

3.         Professor

Promotion to this rank requires credentials and achievements beyond those required for promotion to Associate Professor and is reserved for senior Faculty members who have achieved significant recognition in their discipline (See, Section V of this Handbook). 

4.         Research Associate and Research Assistant

These ranks are reserved for individuals who are engaged in research and who are not normally assigned teaching responsibilities.  Such positions are typically supported by extramural grant funds and are not tenure-track appointments.  Faculty who hold these ranks do not vote on Department committees and do not participate in Department governance.

5.         Adjunct Faculty Appointments

These appointments are held primarily by faculty from other institutions or persons on the staffs of community-based agencies and organizations.   Adjunct faculty appointments are made at the discretion of the Chair in consultation with the FAC.  Adjunct faculty members do not vote on Department Committees and do not participate in Department governance. The Chair should consult with FAC before appointment.

 6.      Full-Time Non-Tenure Track Faculty (NTT) Appointments

Full-time non-tenure track faculty (NTT) appointments are made on an annual basis (See, Section VI of this Handbook).  NTT appointments are not included under the umbrella of the University policy and procedures regarding faculty tenure (See, University Policy Register 3342-6-14) and NTT faculty members are not entitled to any rights with regard to tenure.

7.         Part-Time Faculty Appointments

 When the Department cannot meet its teaching needs from the ranks of its full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty, full-time non-tenure track (NTT) faculty and graduate students, part-time faculty appointments will be made by the Chairperson with the consultation of the FAC from a pool of qualified applicants.  The Chair should consult with FAC before appointment.

8.         Graduate Faculty Status

As a doctoral degree granting department, the Department normally requires that all Faculty hired for tenure-track positions be eligible for appointment to the graduate Faculty as associate or full members.  The administrative policy regarding graduate Faculty is included in the University Policy Register.  (See, University Policy Register 3342-6-15.1)

1.  Regular Full-Time Tenure Track [FTTT] Faculty appointments

The Department supports the goals of equal opportunity and affirmative action in recruiting and in making appointments to the Faculty. Search Committees are appointed by the Chair after consultation with the FAC and will be comprised of FTTT Faculty voting members.   Search committees may also include non-FTTT faculty members and/or a student member selected by the Faculty members serving on the search committee. All Faculty/faculty are to be invited to read all applications and to submit in writing to the Departmental Search Committee their rank ordering of applicants and rationale for this order as additional information for the Search Committee.  Following the search, the search committee recommends to the regular FTTT Faculty and the Chair the candidates to be invited to campus for an interview.

Graduate students may participate in the selection process by reading files, attending public  colloquia,  attending informal meetings with the candidates, and offering a rank-ordering of their preference of these final candidates prior to a meeting of the Faculty for their final vote.  Voting by graduate students is excluded from the process at any and all stages.  The voting Faculty (FTTT members of the Department) votes on each of the candidates interviewed and on a rank-ordered preference of these final candidates.  The Faculty vote is advisory to the Departmental Chairperson.  If the Chairperson disagrees with the vote of the Faculty she/he will meet and confer with the Faculty of the Department prior to making a recommendation to the Dean on appointment.  The search committee may also recommend its choice of candidates to the Chair.  Search committee recommendations are advisory to the Chair, who then makes a recommendation to the Dean.  If the Dean concurs with the Chair, a recommendation is forwarded to the Office of the Provost.  If the Chair's recommendation is different than that of the search committee and the Faculty, the Chair shall inform the Dean of all recommendations and the reasons for the disagreement.

2.  Regional Campus Faculty appointments

Faculty recruiting on Regional Campuses is initiated by the Regional Campus Office.  This office determines the need for a position and establishes the job description, salary, and any other matters pertinent to a hire.  The Department will be asked to review all applicants as to their qualifications for a position within a Department of Sociology such as appropriate degree, level of education and preparation, and other criteria specified by the approved job description. The Department may be asked to sit on the Regional Campus Search Committee and/or to be present at the job interviews for the finalist for the position for the purpose of commenting further on the applicants' qualifications.

3.  Full-Time Non-Tenure Track [NTT] faculty appointments See Article X, NTT CBA.