Section III.6

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE APPROVED POLICIES

APPOINTMENT OR PROMOTION FOR SPECIALIZED FACULTY

Approved by LAS Executive Committee: March 3, 2016
Updated April 5, 2018; December 1, 2022
Updated December 2024; January 2026

This document provides an overview of the criteria needed to appoint or promote Specialized Faculty and a timeline for requests.  It is meant as a companion to Provost Communications 25 and 26.  The following are frequently used titles in the college.

Instructor/Lecturer Series

All levels within the Instructor/Lecturer series should include the following:

  • Engaged in providing classroom instruction
  • May provide ancillary service or administrative duties
  • Record of teaching effectiveness that meets the following (taken from the campus-wide Definition of Teaching Excellence):
    • Well-Designed
    • Well-Delivered
    • Inclusive and ethical
    • Reflective and evolving

The average LAS teaching load for Instructor/Lecturer is 3:3. Actual loads will vary due to many factors such as disciplinary norms, unique course preparation, and size of classes.

Instructor 

Appointee’s highest degree is a Master’s

Lecturer

Appointee’s highest degree is the terminal degree in the relevant field

Senior Instructor/Lecturer

Documentation expected to reflect teaching effectiveness: Teaching awards, longitudinal record of teaching evaluation scores, teaching evaluations, syllabus (syllabi) created by instructor/lecturer.

  • Successful contributions to the department’s teaching mission, examples include:
    • contributions to student learning outside course environments (unit clubs, study abroad, etc),
    • mentoring of undergraduate projects,
    • program/curriculum development,  
    • promoting equity and inclusion in education
    • serving on committees that shape and oversee teaching and program coordination,
    • teaching to audiences outside the traditional Illinois student community
    • or other continued professional development

Documentation expected to reflect contributions to the teaching mission include current CV/resume, letters from colleagues/supervisors, cover letter from the Executive Officer outlining contributions and teaching effectiveness.

Principal Instructor/Lecturer

Documentation expected to reflect teaching effectiveness: Teaching awards, longitudinal record of teaching evaluation scores, teaching evaluations, syllabus (syllabi) created by instructor/lecturer.

  • Significant and sustained contributions to the department’s teaching mission examples include:
    • supervising undergraduate projects,
    • program/curriculum development, 
    • peer review of other instructors/lecturers
    • promoting equity and inclusion in education
    • serving as a formal or informal mentor to students
    • serving on and contributing to graduate student thesis/dissertation committees
    • serving on committees that shape and oversee teaching and program coordination,
    • teaching to audiences outside the traditional Illinois student community
    • training and supervising students in research, teaching, and/or internships
    • or other continued professional development

Documentation expected to reflect contributions to the teaching mission includes current CV/resume, letters from colleagues/supervisors, cover letter from the Executive Officer outlining contributions and teaching effectiveness.

Timeline for promotion:  To be eligible for consideration for a promotion, the College requires a minimum of 3 years in the current position as an Instructor/Lecturer.  Exceptions will only be made in extraordinary cases.  The senior or principal modifier should NOT be used simply because a person has been in a title for a certain amount of time, although length of service and contribution to the department should be a factor that is evaluated.  Appointment to a senior or principal level appointment must be supported by a candidate-prepared dossier that demonstrates that the individual meets the department, school and college criteria.  Per Communication 25, “Promotion to a senior title or to a principal title appointment should ordinarily be accompanied by a uniform promotional increase in base salary, as set and funded by the unit.”  Promotional documents due in LAS May 15th by 5pm (when deadline falls on a weekend or campus holiday, nominations will be due the next business day) for proposed Aug 16th implementation.  Mid-year promotions will be reviewed only under extraordinary circumstances, such as retention.

Teaching Professorial Series

All levels within the teaching professorial series should include the following:

  • Making an instructional and curricular impact both within the department and the field 
  • Extraordinary record of teaching, classroom innovation, student interactions
  • Scholarly publications, invited talks, or other related scholarly activities involving the candidate’s discipline

The average LAS teaching load varies by department, but must be more than that for tenure-stream faculty

Teaching Assistant Professor 

  • Demonstrated instructional contributions to the college, campus, and broader discipline, or, if this is to be the person’s first appointment on campus, the ability to make such a contribution.
  • Record of teaching effectiveness that meets the following (taken from the campus-wide Definition of Teaching Excellence):
    • Well-Designed
    • Well-Delivered
    • Inclusive and ethical
    • Reflective and evolving
  • Promise of scholarly publications, invited talks, or other related scholarly activity related to the discipline

Teaching Associate Professor 

Must have made several significant scholarly and educational contributions since initial appointment as Teaching Assistant Professor such as:

  • Supervision of Graduate Student’s Teaching
  • Supervision of Undergraduate Students
  • Training and/or supervision of specialized faculty
  • Development of course materials used by other instructors
  • Professional and/or scholarly activity related to discipline and/or pedagogy
  • Leadership of significant curricular change
  • Development of new courses
  • Departmental and campus service
  • Improving teaching through innovations using technology or new pedagogical techniques.

Teaching Professor

Must have made several significant scholarly and educational contributions since promotion to Teaching Associate Professor such as:

  • Fulfilled promise of quality teaching and pedagogy, including making advancements in teaching and learning in the discipline that led to innovative strategies and marked course improvement 
  • Making broader and sustained contributions to scholarship, often by sharing creative and scholarly work at conferences and in publications 
  • Broader pedagogical contributions such as authoring textbooks that are published by reputable publishers 
  • Securing competitive grants to develop curriculum or pedagogy
  • Successful mentoring of instructors, lecturers

Timeline for promotion: To be eligible for consideration for a promotion, the College requires a minimum of 5 years in the current position. Exceptions will only be made in extraordinary cases.  Outside evaluation of the dossier is required per Communication 26, with a minimum of three evaluation letters, one of which may be internal to the university but external to the unit.  As noted in Provost Com 25: The balance of internal to external letters should be based on the type of appointment (teaching, research, or clinical) and the work produced, and must be consistent within the unit (e.g., all research faculty with similar responsibilities within the unit will be required to have the same number of internal and external letter writers) and not redefined on a case-by-case basis.  Review Provost Communication 26 for information on the required dossier for Teaching Associate Professors and Teaching Full Professors.  Per Communication 25, “Promotion to teaching associate professor or teaching professor should ordinarily be accompanied by a uniform promotional increase in base salary, as set and funded by the unit.”  Promotional documents due in LAS Feb 15th by 5pm (when deadline falls on a weekend or campus holiday, nominations will be due the next business day) for proposed Aug 16th implementation.  Mid-year promotions will be reviewed only under extraordinary circumstances, such as retention.

Research Professorial Series

All levels within the research professorial series should include the following:

  • Engagement in the research mission of an academic unit
  • Capability of developing funding requests and securing funding for research program
    • Well-Designed
    • Well-Delivered
    • Inclusive and ethical
    • Reflective and evolving

Research Assistant Professor

Demonstrated engagement in the research activities of the department or, if this is to be the person’s first appointment on campus, the ability to make such a contribution.

Research Associate Professor 

If teaching is part of the duties, a sustained record of teaching effectiveness that meets the following (taken from the campus-wide Definition of Teaching Excellence):

Must have made several significant scholarly contributions since initial appointment as Research Assistant Professor such as:

  • Independent publications
    • Independent written and funded grant proposals
    • Invited talks
    • National leadership activities
    • Departmental and campus service
    • Significant responsibility for direction of research activities 
    • Training and/or supervision of research focused specialized faculty
    • Well-Designed
    • Well-Delivered
    • Inclusive and ethical
    • Reflective and evolving

Research Professor 

If teaching is part of the duties, a sustained record of teaching effectiveness that meets the following (taken from the campus-wide Definition of Teaching Excellence):

Must have made several significant scholarly contributions since promotion to Research Associate Professor:

  • Fulfilled promise of quality research, including making discoveries that lead to grant funding and publications in leading peer-reviewed journals or publications 
  • May also be contributing to the teaching and mentoring students, but this is not a campus-level requirement of the title
  • May also be involved in department, college or university service

Timeline for promotion: To be eligible for consideration for a promotion, the College requires a minimum of 5 years in the current position. Exceptions will be made only in extraordinary cases.  Outside evaluation of the dossier is required per Communication 26, with a minimum of three evaluation letters, one of which may be internal to the university but external to the unit.  As noted in Provost Com 25: The balance of internal to external letters should be based on the type of appointment (teaching, research, or clinical) and the work produced, and must be consistent within the unit (e.g., all research faculty with similar responsibilities within the unit will be required to have the same number of internal and external letter writers) and not redefined on a case-by-case basis.     Review Provost Communication 26 for information on the required dossier for Research Associate Professors and Research Full Professors.  Per Communication 25, “Promotion to research associate and full professor titles should ordinarily be accompanied by a uniform promotional increase in base salary, as set and funded by the unit (including soft-funds if appropriate).”   Promotional documents due in LAS Feb 15th by 5pm (when deadline falls on a weekend or campus holiday, nominations will be due the next business day) for proposed Aug 16th implementation.  Mid-year promotions will be reviewed only under extraordinary circumstances, such as retention.

Clinical Professorial Series

All levels within the clinical professorial series should include the following:

  • Providing instruction based on practical expertise, both in and out of the classroom
  • Contributing to University’s public engagement mission 
  • Average LAS teaching load: varies by department, but must be more than that of tenure-stream faculty

Clinical Assistant Professor

Demonstrated instructional contributions to the college, campus, and broader discipline, or, if this is to be the person’s first appointment on campus, the ability to make such a contribution.

Clinical Associate Professor

If teaching is part of the duties, a sustained record of teaching effectiveness that meets the following (taken from the campus-wide Definition of Teaching Excellence):

  • Well-Designed
    • Well-Delivered
    • Inclusive and ethical
    • Reflective and evolving
  • Must have made several significant scholarly and educational contributions since initial appointment as Clinical Assistant Professor
  • Significant level of impact and maturity of the individual’s record of teaching, classroom innovation, student interactions, and scholarly accomplishments
  • Training and/or supervision of specialized faculty

Clinical Professor

If teaching is part of the duties, a sustained record of teaching effectiveness that meets the following (taken from the campus-wide Definition of Teaching Excellence):

  • Well-Designed
    • Well-Delivered
    • Inclusive and ethical
    • Reflective and evolving
  • Fulfilled promise of contributions of appropriate magnitude and quality in teaching, classroom innovation, and student interactions since promotion to Clinical Associate Professor
  • Demonstrated ability to sustain contributions to the field since promotion to Clinical Associate Professor

Timeline for promotion: To be eligible for consideration for a promotion, the College requires a minimum of 5 years in the current position.  Exceptions will be made only in extraordinary cases.  Outside evaluation of the dossier is required per Communication 26, with a minimum of three evaluation letters, one of which may be internal to the university but external to the unit.  As noted in Provost Com 25: The balance of internal to external letters should be based on the type of appointment (teaching, research, or clinical) and the work produced, and must be consistent within the unit (e.g., all research faculty with similar responsibilities within the unit will be required to have the same number of internal and external letter writers) and not redefined on a case-by-case basis.  Review Provost Communication 26 for information on the required dossier for Clinical Associate Professors and Clinical Full Professors. Per Communication 25: “Promotion to Clinical Associate and Clinical Full Professor should ordinarily be accompanied by a uniform promotional increase in base salary, as set and funded by the unit.” Promotional documents due in LAS Feb 15th by 5pm (when deadline falls on a weekend or campus holiday, nominations will be due the next business day) for proposed Aug 16th implementation.  Mid-year promotions will be reviewed only under extraordinary circumstances, such as retention.

Submitting Promotional Documents to the College

Dossiers are due in LAS by the deadline date noted above for each category.  Submit dossier as pdfs via email to: lascollegehiring@ad.uillinois.edu 

 College Promotion Review Process

Promotional dossiers will be reviewed by a subcommittee of the LAS Executive Committee with two Specialized Faculty members of higher rank in the same title (teaching/research/clinical) as the proposed promoted individual, if available.

Guidelines and Procedures for Denial of Promotion of Specialized Faculty

Appeal of promotion is available in accordance with Provost Communication #10.

College Level Process for Initial Appointments at Associate/Full Specialized Faculty Professor Level

Units may wish to offer initial appointments at the Associate/Full Teaching/Research/Clinical Professorial level. In these cases, an expedited process can be followed to evaluate the individual’s credentials and qualifications for the position.  The following documents are required:

  • Full CV; teaching and/or research statements and publications (as appropriate) are optional, but suggested.
  • Review by external scholars is required.      Two reviewers must be chosen by the department; one of the reference letters received via the search may be used as the third external review letter.
  • Letter from the department outlining how the candidate meets the criteria for appointment at the requested level.      Specifically discuss how they meet the components of the position as stated in the department policy.

Department sends the request to review (sample is in Provost Com 26) to the external evaluators, along with the candidate’s full CV (and optional items as appropriate) and departmental specialized faculty policy.  Upon receipt of the external assessments, the executive officer will write the department’s case for the candidate.  The full dossier is sent to the College office for review. At least two Associate Deans and the LAS Director of Human Resources will review the dossier.  If possible, a Specialized Faculty member of higher rank in the same title (teaching/research/clinical) as the proposed hire will review the dossier as well.