The Office of Faculty Affairs supports faculty members throughout the appointments, promotions, and career development process at Tulane University School of Medicine. This page provides access to policies, procedures, timelines, forms, and supporting resources for faculty seeking appointment, promotion, tenure, track changes, sabbaticals, and other academic advancement opportunities. Faculty are encouraged to review the appropriate guidelines and requirements carefully to ensure a successful and timely submission of materials.
Appointment and Promotion Overview - Non-Tenure Series
Overview
A national search is generally required for all full-time appointments to the Tulane faculty.
The Clinical, Research, and Education Tracks are distinct, non-tenure tracks for full-time faculty members with terminal degrees who demonstrate expertise as clinicians, educators, and/or investigators. Faculty in these tracks are expected to engage in and contribute to all three core missions of the School of Medicine—scholarship, teaching, and institutional and professional service (including clinical care). While each track requires participation across these missions, they differ in the primary focus of effort and in the nature and level of achievement expected in one or more areas. Promotion within these tracks is based on a comprehensive evaluation of academic performance and sustained accomplishments aligned with the School’s missions.
The Clinical Professor of Practice Track provides a pathway for community-based clinicians with terminal degrees to serve as Tulane faculty members. Faculty in this track devote the majority of their effort to clinical service and advancement is based primarily on clinical contributions and achievements as well as time in service. This track emphasizes excellence in clinical practice and patient or animal care and is distinct from the Clinical Track because scholarship is not required. The Instructional Track was established for faculty whose primary responsibility is advancing Tulane’s teaching mission. A terminal degree is typical but not required, and individuals with appropriate professional experience may contribute to clinical service. Promotion in this track is based on demonstrated teaching effectiveness, academic performance, and time in service.
Appointments and promotions are based upon departmental needs and the continuing achievements of the candidate. Renewal is based on performance review.
Track-Specific Information
| Tenure Track (Includes Tenured Faculty) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Instructor | Assistant Professor | Associate Professor | Professor |
| Clinical Track | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Instructor | Assistant Professor | Associate Professor | Professor |
| Research Track | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Instructor | Assistant Professor | Associate Professor | Professor |
| Education Track | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Instructor | Assistant Professor | Associate Professor | Professor |
| Clinical Professor of Practice Track | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical Instructor of Practice | Clinical Assistant Professor of Practice | Clinical Associate Professor of Practice | Clinical Professor of Practice |
| Instructional Track | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecturer / Senior Lecturer | Instructor / Senior Instructor | Professor of Practice / Senior Professor of Practice | |
Appointment/Promotion Dossier Contents
Documentation that needs to be uploaded to Interfolio to support an appointment/promotion packet varies by rank and track. OFA has organized materials in three easy-to-read formats. Select whichever works best for you:
It typically takes about 3-6 months for a promotion packet to complete the P&H review process. After a promotion request successfully completes the P&H review process, it becomes effective on the next, upcoming July 1 or January 1.
Executive Summary: This is an opportunity for candidates to summarize, synthesize, and showcase how the information in their CV and course evaluations demonstrates that their accomplishments since their last promotion fulfil the criteria for appointment in each of the SOM’s missions. The candidate should also provide a paragraph summarizing their plans for their future career growth and trajectory.
External Letters of Evaluation (Associate Professor, Professor, Tenure Track)
These are letters from independent (arms-length) experts at an academic institution in the candidate’s field, external to Tulane, who perform a ‘quality check’ focused on evaluating whether or not the candidate has met the SOM’s published criteria and whether they are deserving of the proposed promotion/appointment (as opposed to letters focused on providing support or recommendation). The external referees provide an evaluation regarding the candidate’s contributions in research, scholarship, teaching, and service. Ideally, they will not have collaborated or worked with the candidate in the past 5 years and never served as a mentor. Independent letters of evaluation are given significant weight when reviewing candidates. Generally, External Letters of Evaluation are required for appointment/promotion to Associate Professor or Professor and are required for appointment/promotion for all ranks related to the Tenure Track.
The Provost Office has published guidance about Letters of Evaluation, and the guidelines for Letters of Evaluation for those on the Tenure Track or seeking appointments with Tenure.
Letters of Recommendation (Assistant Professor/Clinical PoP Track)
Unlike independent, arms-length Letters of Evaluation, Letters of Evaluation are letters from someone familiar with the candidate’s work who can evaluate their teaching or professional practice and likelihood to contribute to the Tulane SOM’s mission. Recommendation letters may be appropriate for those at the rank of Assistant Professor or those on the Clinical Professor of Practice Track or Instructional Track. It is preferred to come from Referees outside of Tulane (but an exception may be granted when all training has been completed at Tulane). Letters from colleagues, mentors, and supervisors are acceptable for Assistant Professors (particularly clinicians), as they provide important info about the potential of the candidate.
External Letters - Summary Chart
… Coming soon… In the works
Your CV enables you to be your own best advocate for annual evaluations, academic promotion, and recognition. A CV provides the major evidence used to evaluate candidates for promotion (or appointment). It tells your academic story and documents your career. Your CV needs to include an accurate, complete record of all professional achievements, contributions, and training from college onward.
Update While Information Is Fresh in Mind - Your CV is a living document. Do not wait until evaluation or promotion time to update it. At least once per month, confirm that every new presentation, publication, committee membership, appointment, award, or other professional contribution or accomplishment related to scholarship, clinical care, teaching, mentoring, and/or research has been added to your CV, with full documentation/citation information including regional/national/international impact. Less frequent updates may lead to omissions or errors.
Dates
Be sure to include the month along with the year. Most reviewers analyze productivity since your last promotion. If you provide a month and year, it is clear which grants, research, and scholarship occurred since your last promotion and should be included in assessing your productivity.
Chronology
- Within each section of your CV, list all information in reverse chronological order (from most recent to earliest).
- When dates cover a range (e.g., 2005-2007), order by the first year in the range.
- Denote ongoing activities with a dash (e.g., 2004- ) or by specifically adding ‘present’ to the listing (2004-present).
- If the same activity occurs in multiple, nonconsecutive years, group the years as a single item (e.g., 1999-2001, 2004, 2007).
Bold Your Name
Be sure your name is highlighted in bold in all citations of papers, presentations, grants, patents, etc. Reviewers will want to know how many first or senior publications you have contributed to since your last promotion.
Numbering
Number your Grants, Publications, Oral Presentations, Teaching Assignments, etc.
Grants
Make sure you include the dollar amounts in the grant support section, along with your role, dates, title, type of award, and agency.
Context
Where appropriate, add short explanations of your roles, responsibilities, or prestige. For example, describe your contributions to a particular course, leadership in organizing a symposium, limited number of people qualifying or earning a distinction, etc.
Reputation
Promotion requires evidence of a solid local, regional, and/or national reputation. When updating your CV with activities conducted outside Tulane, be sure to indicate if the organization, project, event, or activity is local, regional, or national. Alternatively, report activities within separate sub-sections specifically grouped as: regional, national, international.
Citations
Number all citations. Citations in the CV should be complete and formatted consistently. Conference presentations, grand rounds, and published abstracts should include complete citation information: author(s); title of presentation, abstract; date; city; full conference title or name of sponsoring organization. The NIH U.S. National Library of Medicine provides citation guidelines.
Mentees
Number and list the current title and position of all mentees.
Formatting
- Number pages to help readers navigate your CV. It is preferable to include a footer with your name, date of most recent update, and page numbers.
- List your personal/home contact information in your CV
- An effective CV format highlights content. Select a visually appealing layout. Use only a single font for the entire document. Make sure all headings and sub subheadings have the same style. Keep indentations and tabs consistent throughout the document. Make sure content is accurate and honest. Avoid excessive space between headings.
**Remember: If it’s not listed on your CV in a format that readily identifies your accomplishments since your last promotion, it may be missed when you are being evaluated or considered for promotion.
Personnel and Honors (P&H) Committee Information
- Committee Officers
- Meetings and Deadlines – The P&H Committee meets the 2nd Monday of every month at 5pm. Materials to be reviewed and considered must be submitted before noon on the last Monday of the month.
- Responsibilities - Twelve senior faculty members in the School of Medicine review all School of Medicine faculty appointments, promotions, interim reviews, and tenure decisions presented by the departments and make recommendations to the Executive Faculty.
- Personnel and Honors Committee Officer Resources
Tulane University School of Medicine, Office of Faculty Affairs, 131 S. Robertson Street, New Orleans, LA 70112
