I. PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to establish procedures for the awarding of tenure to New York Medical College (NYMC) School of Medicine (SOM) faculty.
II. POLICY
It is the policy of NYMC SOM to recognize outstanding faculty by the awarding of tenure of position and salary support to its foremost scholars. Tenure provides continued employment in the primary department at the academic rank to which the faculty member was tenured. Tenure provides salary support according to the following:
A. Tenured faculty who are funded entirely or in part by NYMC institutional funds and/or grants are guaranteed 100% of their salary amounts derived from these sources.
B. Tenured faculty whose salaries are funded entirely or in part from affiliation contracts are not guaranteed salary continuation for that portion of their salaries that are derived from affiliation agreements.
C. Tenured faculty who receive salary support from a private practice are not guaranteed salary continuation for that portion of their salaries derived from this source.
Tenure will terminate under any of the following conditions:
A. Tenure automatically terminates when a faculty member's status changes to no longer being full-time.
B. Tenure may be terminated for cause in situations in which a faculty member fails to perform their duties, as defined ultimately by the Dean; or, for acts that are clearly contrary to professional, academic, or institutional standards.
C. Tenure may be terminated because of financial exigency, or when programs, departments or institutions are abolished or curtailed. The NYMC SOM will make a good faith effort, consistent with institutional needs, to retain the tenured faculty.
Tenure does not apply to any administrative position which a faculty member may carry, such as department chair, director, division chief, etc.
III. SCOPE
This policy shall apply to SOM faculty assigned to a tenure-eligible promotion pathway.
IV. DEFINITIONS
Tenure-Eligible - Faculty who are assigned to a promotion pathway that offers tenure (e.g. tenure track), have achieved the rank of Associate Professor or Professor, and have a Full-time faculty appointment status.
Full-Time - Faculty appointment status is considered Full-Time in the following instances: (1) full-time employment by NYMC to perform academic job duties for NYMC (academically salaried); (2) full-time employment by an active NYMC affiliate to perform professional duties (professionally salaried); or (3) employment by both NYMC and an active NYMC affiliate that combined is equivalent to full-time employment. Professionally salaried full-time faculty shall perform the majority of their job duties within the confines of the NYMC affiliate site.
V. PROCEDURES
A. Recommendations for Tenure: The Tenure, Appointments, and Promotions (TAP) committee shall review all recommendations submitted by the Dean of the SOM for tenure according to committee policy and procedures. The results of the TAP committee tenure review are communicated to the Dean. If the outcome is in favor of tenure, the Dean shall present the tenure application to the Chancellor/CEO of NYMC for consideration. The Chancellor/CEO shall determine whether the faculty request for tenure is permissible to present to the Board of Trustees for approval taking into consideration the financial impact to NYMC.
B. Number of Tenure Positions: The NYMC SOM seeks to maintain the overall percentage of faculty who are tenured similar to the national average of tenured faculty in medical schools. The Dean and the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate (ECFS) will meet at the beginning of each academic year and review the overall percent of tenured faculty at the SOM, national norms for the percent of tenured faculty at medical schools, and the number of tenured positions available at NYMC. The Dean will encourage department chairs to recommend faculty who are eligible for tenure to the TAP committee on a reasonable and timely basis.
C. Recommendations for Termination of Tenure: Recommendations for the termination of tenure may be made by the Dean of the SOM, the department chair, or by the Dean directly to the Chancellor/CEO, and the Board of Trustees. In such an event, the faculty member shall be notified, in writing, of the reasons why this recommendation is being made and shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to respond, in writing, to the Dean. Upon consideration of all the relevant facts, the Dean may elect to continue the faculty member's tenure or recommend to the Chancellor/CEO and the Board of Trustees that the faculty member's tenure be terminated. The faculty member shall be notified, in writing, of the Dean's decision. If the Dean decides to recommend to the Chancellor/CEO and the Board of Trustees that a tenure appointment be terminated, the faculty member whose tenure appointment is scheduled to be rescinded is entitled to file a grievance with the Faculty Grievance Committee. Should the faculty member file a grievance because of termination of tenure, the Faculty Grievance Committee shall assume that sufficient evidence for proceedings exists and shall fully investigate the grievance in accord with its established procedures. Unless deemed inappropriate by the Dean and the chair, a faculty member shall remain on staff as a tenured faculty member until the Faculty Grievance Committee procedures are complete.
VI. EFFECTIVE DATE
This policy is effective immediately upon approval of NYMC SOM Faculty Bylaws.
Any future revision of this policy and procedure shall be taken into consideration by the Dean of the SOM in consultation with the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate. Such policy changes shall become effective with a majority vote of the Dean’s Executive Committee and the Dean’s approval.
VII. POLICY MANAGEMENT
Executive Stakeholder: Dean of the SOM
Oversight Office: Office of Faculty and Academic Affairs
