Approved by ADCOM: 4/95

Reviewed by ADCOM: 1/9/96

Revised:2/20/96

Faculty members in the Physics and Astronomy Department are expected to:

A. engage in well-regarded physics and astrophysics research

Minimal satisfaction of this is evidenced through sustained, successful competition for outside grant, contract, or facility support for proposed research projects and the successful reporting of the results of this research through publication and invited presentations on an international scale.

and

B. teach responsibly at a frequency which is in line with peer research-intensive institutions.

Minimal satisfaction of this is evidenced by taking responsibility for teaching one course per semester, or equivalent, and for supervising undergraduate and graduate students through apprenticeships in scientific research and academic projects. (Faculty who are successfully engaged in productive research simultaneously maintain these non-curricular relationships with students.)

and

C. render adequate service to the Department, the College, the University, or the public.

Minimal satisfaction of this is evidenced by performing departmental committee assignments responsibly. This includes ad hoc committees, as well as the "regular assignments". This is also satisfied by participation in College, or University wide committees. It may be satisfied through a sustained outreach activity.

Annual evaluation of each faculty member's performance as compared to these standards is done by elected, internal peer reviewers. This review procedure has been PA policy for at least a quarter of a century, and is codified in the PA bylaws. The report of each member is summarized into an annual, ordered ranking, from the top professor to the bottom. This information is reported to the Chairperson and each faculty member and forms a primary basis for salary assignment.

Brief notes regarding teaching:

• Every term, each faculty teacher is critiqued through arranged classroom visits by another faculty member.
• All faculty in PA teach at this rate except those with extraordinary administrative duties (notably the Chairperson and the Director of the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory) and those who are on professional leave negotiated with the Chairperson with the advice of ADCOM (see Chairperson Policy #8).
• There is no "graduate faculty". All faculty teach in the undergraduate program, most of the time.
• A faculty member's concentration in teaching may occasionally compensate for a lack of concentration in research. A concentration in a service role may similarly compensate. These exceptions are unusual and negotiated with the Chairperson.