Policy Statement

At The University of Texas at Dallas, nontenure-system faculty whose primary appointment is for the conduct of research are classified as “research faculty,” and individuals may be appointed with the following titles: Research Professor, Research Associate Professor, or Research Assistant Professor. These faculty may be hired either on a full-time or a part-time basis. The policy below outlines the hiring procedures for research faculty as well as the duties of and expectations for research faculty. The policy also addresses the review and promotion of research faculty.

General Principles and Guidelines

1. Qualifications: Appointments to the Research Professor, Research Associate Professor, and Research Assistant Professor titles shall require documentation of scholarly credentials comparable to those of tenured or tenure-track faculty at the equivalent academic rank. A minimum of three tenured/tenure-track faculty appointed by the Dean of the School will serve on the search committee that recommends the candidates for initial appointment of research faculty. The Dean will forward the names to the Chief Academic Officer, and the Chief Academic Officer will appoint those individuals to the appropriate rank as indicated by the individuals’ qualifications.
2. Review: The professional development of research faculty will be nurtured and annually evaluated by the Dean and/or Department Head or Program Head. The annual evaluation process will follow the procedures established for the annual reviews of tenured/tenure-track faculty, and the written results will be forwarded to the Chief Academic Officer at the end of each Spring semester. Research faculty will be expected to develop independent research programs and also be involved with activities traditionally thought of as professorial. In hiring and evaluating researchers with professorial titles, the University expects that the faculty member will be engaged in the academic and scholarly life of the University, and such contributions can take many forms, including but not limited to the following examples: performing collaborative research with academic faculty; organizing, attending, or presenting at seminars and colloquia involving academic faculty and students; teaching courses; supervising undergraduate or graduate student research; serving on School committees.
3. Period of Appointment: Appointments to these titles shall normally be for a period of time not to exceed one academic year. However, with the concurrence of the Chief Academic Officer, the Dean of the School may determine it is in the institution’s interest to make appointments for longer periods of time not to exceed three consecutive academic years.
4. Funding: Funding for research appointments for these faculty titles shall primarily be from research, gift, or departmental support sources and may only be from instructional funds when the faculty member is the instructor of record for an organized class and has been appointed to that instructional budget. All research appointments are subject to the availability of funding. Individuals employed in a position or positions for which funding ends during the period of appointment shall be terminated as of the date current funding for that position is exhausted.
5. Teaching: Faculty appointed to one of these research professor titles may teach undergraduate and graduate courses at the discretion of the Dean of the School. With the approval of the Dean of the School and the Dean of Graduate Studies, research faculty may also serve as members on Master’s thesis or Ph.D. dissertation committees with all attendant rights and duties.
6. Research: Faculty members in these titles are eligible for Principal Investigator status on contracts and grants.
7. Tenure and Continued Appointment: Tenure cannot be awarded to individuals appointed to these titles, and academic service with these titles cannot be counted toward the satisfaction of any maximum probationary period. A faculty member appointed to one of these titles should not expect continuing appointment beyond the term of his or her current appointment. All such appointments shall terminate at the expiration of the stated period of appointment without notification of non-renewal. Any commitment to reappoint a nontenure-system member of the faculty beyond the term of his or her current appointment shall have no force and effect until approved by the Board of Regents.
8. Promotion: Recommendations for changes in rank within the research faculty titles will be considered during the normal fall faculty promotion cycle in accordance with Policy Memorandum UTDPP1062 General Standards and Procedures for Review of Nontenure-System Faculty. The School requesting the promotion should evaluate the candidate’s university service and research accomplishments as well as the candidate’s record of engagement in the academic life of the School and the University, along with scholarly activities, research support, and outside recognition. Only if the candidate has been involved in teaching organized courses may teaching activities be considered.
9. Termination: Termination of employment before the expiration of the stated period of appointment shall be only for good cause shown, except by resignation, retirement, or loss of funding.