Faculty Appointments in the School of Medicine

Appointments to the faculty must comply with the Bylaws for the School of Medicine and the University of Connecticut. Each faculty member is responsible for contributing in a meaningful way to the school’s teaching, research and/or clinical missions. An individual being proposed for a faculty appointment should have completed training (e.g., residency, clinical fellowship, postdoctoral fellowship, etc.), and be able to function autonomously in his/her academic role.

Generally, all appointments to the faculty are on the academic year (July 1-June 30). Affiliated, community-based, adjunct, and faculty with joint appointments are reappointed on the calendar year (January 1-December 31).

Appointments must be approved by the dean/dean designate and renewed annually unless the individual is tenured or has a multi-year contract. Reasons for denial of an appointment include, but are not limited to:

  • Lack of sufficient evidence of autonomy.
  • Lack of contribution to the academic missions of the School of Medicine.
  • Inadequate financial resources.
  • Lack of appropriate space.
  • Nonalignment of the appointment with the strategic plans, initiatives and priorities of the School of Medicine.

1. Faculty Salaried by the School of Medicine

Faculty members paid by the University are assigned to either a tenure track position or an in-residence position. In-residence faculty appointments are generally for one year. Terms of other duration may be granted at the request of the department chair and with the approval of the dean for any individual who is not tenured or in the tenure track.

Faculty paid by the University must choose a professional category:

  • Investigator
  • Clinician-Investigator
  • Clinician-Scholar
  • Medical Educator

Tenure track or in-residence appointments in the investigator, clinician-investigator and clinician-scholar professional categories are time-limited and require promotion. The medical educator professional category does not have a promotional requirement. Individuals awarded a faculty appointment in professional categories that have a “promotional clock” (e.g., investigator, clinician-investigator, clinician-scholar) must be promoted within the requisite time period. The guidelines for promotion to senior rank and/or tenure are found in Appendix B of the Bylaws of the UConn School of Medicine.

2. Non-salaried Faculty

An individual who is not salaried by the School of Medicine as a faculty member shall be eligible for a faculty appointment provided he/she meets certain criteria. Such an individual may be employed by UConn Health affiliated institutions, in private practice, employed by other units of UConn Health or the University, employed by another college or university, or engaged in scholarly activity in a private organization (e.g., a research center or the scientific arm of a business such as a pharmaceutical firm). Non-salaried faculty may in some instances received stipends from the School of Medicine and may be employed by the School of Medicine or UConn Health for roles independent of the faculty appointment.

Faculty from Affiliated Institutions

Faculty at affiliated institutions, so designated by affiliation agreements, who work 80 percent time or greater at the affiliated institution. For faculty from affiliated institutions, the appropriate affiliation is noted in parenthesis after the academic title [e.g., assistant professor (Hartford Hospital) or professor (St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center)]. Faculty appointments must be reviewed and renewed by the department chair on an annual basis with the advice, where applicable, of the appropriate chief of service of the affiliated institution.

Faculty paid by affiliated institutions at least 80 percent time and effort must choose a professional category.

  • Investigator
  • Clinician-Investigator
  • Clinician-Scholar
  • Medical Educator

Community-Based Clinical Faculty

A clinician who is neither employed by UConn Health affiliated institutions 80 percent time or greater, nor employed as a faculty member by other units of UConn Health or the University, is eligible for a community-based clinical faculty appointment if he or she contributes to the academic mission of the School of Medicine. The academic ranks for community-based faculty include clinical associate, clinical instructor, assistant clinical professor, associate clinical professor, and clinical professor. The title clinical associate may be used for those who make intermittent or less than major contributions to the academic programs of the School of Medicine.

All community-based clinical faculty appointments must be reviewed and renewed by the Department Chair on an annual basis.

Adjunct Faculty 

An individual who is employed by another College or University, or engaged in scholarly activity in a private organization (e.g., a research center or the scientific arm of a business such as a pharmaceutical firm), and who is not a clinician, shall be eligible for an adjunct faculty appointment if he or she is contributing to the education or research missions of the School of Medicine. These contributions might be in the form of teaching in the undergraduate medical curriculum or the graduate student curriculum, collaborative research, or serving on the doctoral committee of a Health Center graduate student. The academic ranks for adjunct faculty include Adjunct Associate, Adjunct Instructor, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Adjunct Associate Professor, and Adjunct Professor.

All adjunct faculty appointments must be reviewed and renewed by the department chair on an annual basis.

3. Visiting Faculty

Visiting faculty members are appointed for a brief period of time (maximum one year). An individual considered for such appointment must be a faculty member at another academic institution or a recognized expert or scholar from industry. A meaningful contribution to the academic mission of UConn Health is expected and will be specified at the time of appointment.

4. Emeritus Faculty

Salaried faculty who have held the rank of professor at the University of Connecticut for a minimum of five years and who will continue to contribute to the mission of the school following retirement are eligible for appointment as professor emeritus. Affiliated faculty meeting the same criteria, and whose promotion to the rank of professor in the School of Medicine was based on scholarship after review by the Senior Appointments and Promotions Committee, the dean and the provost, are also eligible. Recommendation for emeritus appointment is initiated by the department chair and must be approved by the dean of the School of Medicine and the Board of Directors.

5. Joint Appointments within the School of Medicine

  • There must be sustained and demonstrable involvement by the faculty member in the academic programs of the secondary department.
  • Appointment or promotion in the secondary department must be reviewed and approved by the department chair and the dean/dean designate and may not be at a rank higher than that in the department of primary appointment. Joint appointments do not require SAPC review.
  • Tenure may be granted only through the department of primary appointment.
  • The joint appointment must be reviewed annually and approved by the departments involved and the dean/dean designate.

6. Joint Appointments for Faculty Whose Primary Appointment Is in a Department of Another School of the University and Whose Secondary Appointment Is in a Department of the School of Medicine

  • In all cases, the department chairs shall indicate in writing why a joint appointment is desirable and describe in detail the responsibilities of the individual in the School of Medicine department.
  • Appointment or promotion in the School of Medicine department must be reviewed and approved by the department chair and the dean/dean designate in the School of Medicine, and it may not be at a rank higher than that in the department of primary appointment. These appointments do not require SAPC review.
  • Tenure may be granted only through the department of primary appointment.
  • All secondary appointments are subject to annual renewal. At the time of renewal, the department chair will indicate to the dean/dean designate whether the original commitments of the individual to the programs of the School of Medicine have changed.