Four career tracks are offered for full-time regular faculty members: Investigator, Investigator-Clinician, Clinician-Investigator, and Clinician. The Investigator and Investigator-Clinician pathways are tenure tracks; the Clinician-Investigator and Clinician career tracks are non-tenure tracks.
The Investigator track is designed for scientists who do not have clinical or other service responsibilities and who will spend most of their time performing original, independent research. These faculty members will have teaching requirements that can be satisfied by graduate research training and/or medical student education.
The Investigator-Clinician track is designed for physicians or other health care professionals who will devote 50% or more of their time to original, independent research. In addition to teaching responsibilities, these faculty members will have clinical or other service responsibilities, but the time and effort devoted to service will generally be limited. The criteria for promotion will be weighted accordingly.
The Clinician-Investigator track is designed for physicians or other health care professionals who will spend at least half of their time in clinical or other service activities. Distinguished performance in clinical affairs or service is expected. In addition to teaching responsibilities, these faculty members will pursue original research, but the time devoted to research will be more limited (<50% time) than for a faculty member on the Investigator-Clinician track.
The Clinician track is designed for physicians, or other health care professionals, who will spend most of their time in service, usually in clinical activities, including the teaching and training of health professionals. Scholarly activity is encouraged in the full-time faculty members appointed to this track. In many cases, this will involve work with clinical trials, the analysis and reporting of clinical experience, or collaboration on research projects directed by other faculty members. In addition to teaching performance, advancement will depend on the achievement of clinical expertise and reputation, as well as participation and leadership in community and professional activities.
Full-time, regular faculty who have not yet selected one of the 4 designated career tracks for regular faculty are undifferentiated with regard to career track.
Contributed service and part-time regular faculty are on the non-tenure-eligible Clinician track for Contributed Service faculty.
INVESTIGATOR TRACK
Assistant Professor
• Requires preparation for and early demonstration of the capacity to perform original, independent, scientific or medical research
• Demonstrates scientific productivity through authorship of scholarly work in refereed journals as first author
• Receives initial external peer-reviewed research funding (desirable but not required)
• Demonstrates commitment to research training and professional education
Associate Professor and/or Tenure
• Usually requires at least six years in the rank of assistant professor, unless exceptional achievement is demonstrated
• Continually publishes innovative, original research in refereed journals as first or senior author
• Receives recognition by scientific peers for independent, original research that advances the faculty member’s field of study as evidenced by external funding of research grants and contracts
• Demonstrates excellence in research training and professional education
• Makes service contributions to the school and/or University
• Receives substantial external professional recognition Professor
• Reserved for the most distinguished faculty investigators, usually requires at least five years in the rank of associate professor with a record of outstanding performance
• Continually publishes innovative, original research in refereed journals that advances the faculty member’s field of research
• Receives national recognition by peers as a premier investigator with continued external funding for research
• Maintains record of continued research training, mentoring, and professional education with a high level of documented effectiveness
• Provides scholarly leadership in research and education
• Makes service contributions to the school and/or University
• Achieves the highest form of external professional recognition for scholarship
INVESTIGATOR-CLINICIAN TRACK
Assistant Professor
• Requires competency in a clinical specialty and commitment to excellent patient care
• Demonstrates commitment to original scientific or medical research
• Demonstrates scholarly productivity through authorship of publications in refereed journals as a first author
• Receives initial external, peer-reviewed research funding (desirable but not required)
• Demonstrates commitment to professional education and research training
Associate Professor and/or Tenure
• Usually requires at least six years in the rank of assistant professor, unless exceptional achievement is demonstrated
• Continually publishes innovative, independent research in refereed journals as first or senior author
• Receives recognition from scientific peers for scholarly work as evidenced by external funding of research grants and contracts
• Develops appropriate clinical skills and participates in clinical programs associated with the Medical School
• Demonstrates continued excellence in medical education and research training
• Makes service contributions to the school and/or University
• Receives substantial external professional recognition Professor
• Reserved for those faculty members whose achievements in basic or clinical research and service have brought distinction to the school, usually requires at least five years in the rank of associate professor
• Continually publishes innovative, original studies in refereed journals that have advanced the faculty member’s field of research or clinical discipline
• Receives national recognition by peers as a premier investigator with a continuing record of external research funding
• Receives recognition for competence in a clinical discipline and continues to contribute to clinical programs associated with the Medical School
• Demonstrates continued excellence in professional education and research training/mentoring
• Provides scholarly leadership and service to the school and/or University
• Achieves the highest form of external professional recognition
CLINICIAN-INVESTIGATOR TRACK
Assistant Professor
• Requires competency in a clinical specialty, commitment to excellent patient care and to the development or use of innovative medical technology and systems of patient care
• Participates in research activities
• Demonstrates scholarly productivity through authorship of publications in refereed journals and/or the dissemination of clinical knowledge and technological advances through various media and professional communications
• Demonstrates commitment to professional and health education
Associate Professor
• Usually requires at least six years in the rank of assistant professor, unless exceptional achievement is demonstrated
• Continually publishes research results in refereed journals or publishes reviews, chapters, or educational textbooks
• Continually disseminates clinical or educational knowledge and technological advances through various media and professional communications
• Receives recognition for outstanding competence and/or innovation in a clinical discipline as evidenced by a regional or national reputation and/or a leadership role in regional or national clinical affairs
• Demonstrates continued excellence in professional education, preferably with evidence of an administrative and/or leadership role in undergraduate, graduate, or continuing medical education
• Makes service contributions to the school and/or University
• Receives substantial external professional recognition Professor
• Reserved for those faculty members whose achievements as clinicians and educators have brought distinction to the school, usually requires at least five years in the rank of associate professor
• Continually publishes important papers, reviews, chapters, or textbooks on research, clinical medicine, and/or education that have advanced the faculty member’s field of expertise
• Receives recognition as a premier practitioner and innovator or leader in clinical service as evidenced by a regional or national reputation
• Pursues continued excellence in institutional professional education as demonstrated by an administrative and/or leadership role in undergraduate, graduate, or continuing medical education, and a regional or national reputation in professional education and training
• Provides scholarly leadership and service to the school and/or University
• Achieves the highest form of external professional recognition
CLINICIAN TRACK FOR FULL-TIME FACULTY MEMBERS
Assistant Professor
• Requires competency in a clinical specialty with commitment to excellent patient care and clinical teaching in the academic medical center
• Demonstrates commitment to scholarly productivity based on experiential clinical observation and/or work in education, with an initial record of publication in refereed journals or the dissemination of knowledge through various media and professional communication or demonstrated contributions to professional and health education
Associate Professor
• Usually requires at least six years in the rank of assistant professor, unless exceptional achievement is demonstrated
• Publishes clinical observations or educational work in referred journals, or disseminates clinical observations, technological advances, innovations in practice, or educational programs through various media or professional programs
• Makes major contributions to the school’s clinical programs and the development of clinical skills or programs that are locally or regionally recognized, or demonstrates a leadership role in local or regional clinical affairs and professional organizations
• Demonstrates continued institutional contributions in professional education
• Makes service contributions to the school and/or University
• Receives external professional recognition Professor
• Reserved for faculty members whose achievements as clinicians and/or educators have brought distinction to their practice, hospital, and the Medical School, usually requires at least five years in the rank of associate professor
• Publishes clinical observations or educational work in referred journals, or authors/edits books and professional reports.
• Although not required, special consideration will be given if extramural funds are acquired to support clinical and/or educational activities
• Receives recognition as a premier practitioner with outstanding competence in clinical service and/or as a leader in the development and implementation of programs that advance the local and/or regional standard of patient care; enjoys a national reputation in his/her clinical discipline
• Assumes a leadership role in local or regional clinical affairs and professional organizations
• Makes outstanding institutional contributions to professional education, usually acknowledged through awards and leadership positions
• Makes service contributions to the school and/or University
• Receives substantial external professional recognition
CLINICIAN TRACK FOR CONTRIBUTED SERVICE FACULTY MEMBERS
Assistant Professor
• Requires competency in a clinical specialty with commitment to excellent patient care and clinical teaching in the academic medical center
• Provides service to the Medical School and/or its teaching hospitals
• Makes contributions to medical education
Associate Professor
• Usually requires at least six years in the rank of assistant professor, unless exceptional achievement is demonstrated
• Makes major contributions to the school’s clinical programs and develops clinical skills or programs that are locally or regionally recognized, or assumes a leadership role in local or regional clinical affairs and professional organizations
• Makes continued institutional contributions in professional education
• Makes service contributions to the school and/or University
• Receives external professional recognition Professor
• Reserved for faculty members whose achievements as clinicians and/or educators have brought distinction to their practice, hospital, and the Medical School, usually requires at least five years in the rank of associate professor
• Achieves recognition as a premier practitioner with outstanding competence in clinical service and/or as a leader in the development and implementation of programs that advance the local and/or regional standard of patient care; enjoys a regional reputation in his/her clinical discipline
• Assumes a leadership role in local or regional clinical affairs and professional organizations
• Makes outstanding institutional contributions to professional education, usually acknowledged through awards and leadership positions
• Makes service contributions to the school and/or University
• Achieves substantial external professional recognition Note: Scholarship and publication are not essential criteria for the advancement of contributed service faculty members. When scholarly performance is demonstrated by contributed service faculty members, it should be considered additional but not required evidence of faculty achievement.
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