Dear Faculty Affairs Colleagues,
I have had the opportunity to discuss with some of you the implementation of the Untenured Faculty Pandemic Mitigation Policy sent to all Deans and faculty on March 17, 2021, in addition to the blanket tenure clock extension provided to all tenure-track faculty in Spring 2020. I am writing to provide further clarification and guidance on these guidelines and policies based on conversations Provost Boyce has had with former Interim Provost Katznelson.
As a reminder, following Interim Provost Katznelson’s message on March 26, 2020, all tenure-track faculty members who had been appointed for the 2019-20 academic year were provided an automatic one-year extension to their tenure clock.
On March 17, 2021, in recognition of the ongoing impact of the pandemic on faculty progress, which had a greater impact in some fields and/or some forms of research, Interim Provost Katznelson issued the Untenured Faculty Pandemic Mitigation Policy which stated that those whose tenure clock began prior to July 1, 2021 could request a further one-year extension of their tenure clocks. There have been questions regarding which tenure-track faculty are eligible to request a second year of tenure clock stoppage due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Below, I provide some clarifications which vary depending on the faculty member’s appointment date.
Faculty Appointed Prior to January 1, 2020:
An automatic one-year extension was provided to all tenure-track faculty members who had been appointed prior to January 1, 2020. This extension was reflected on the Service Records distributed in Spring 2020. If these faculty wish to request a further extension to their tenure clock, this request must be submitted and approved before December 31, 2022. These requests will be reviewed and approved by my office once the Department Chair and/or Dean have approved the request.
Faculty appointed prior to January 1, 2020 who have had their tenure clock stopped either during the 2019-20 or 2020-21 academic year due to a period of non-professorial service, a qualified leave (such as an ETD, Leave of Absence, Parental Workload Relief) or per Section 71c(2) of the University Statutes have already had one additional year added to their tenure clock due to the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to the year added for their non-professorial service, qualified leave, or use of Section 71c(2).
Thus, these faculty will generally not be eligible for a second year of tenure clock stoppage due to the COVID-19 pandemic unless there are exceptional circumstances supporting such an extension. Such exceptional circumstances should be discussed with their Department Chair and/or Dean prior to being submitted with justification to my office for approval before December 31, 2022.
Faculty Appointed Between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020:
An automatic one-year extension was provided to all tenure-track faculty members who had been appointed between to January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. This extension was reflected on the Service Records distributed in Spring 2021. If these faculty wish to request a further extension to their tenure clock, this request must be submitted and approved before December 31, 2022. These requests will be reviewed and approved by my office once the Department Chair and/or Dean have approved the request.
Any faculty member who have had their tenure clock stopped during the 2020-21 or 2021-2022 academic year due to a period of non-professorial service, a qualified leave (such as an ETD, Leave of Absence, Parental Workload Relief) or per Section 71c(2) of the University Statutes have already had one additional year added to their tenure clock due to the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to the year added for their non-professorial service, qualified leave, or use of Section 71c(2). Thus, these faculty will generally not be eligible for a second year of tenure clock stoppage due to the COVID-19 pandemic unless there are exceptional circumstances supporting such an extension. Such exceptional circumstances should be discussed with their Department Chair and/or Dean prior to being submitted with justification to my office for approval before December 31, 2022.
Faculty Appointed Between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021:
Faculty appointed between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 are only eligible for a one-year extension to their tenure clock due to the pandemic which they received and was reflected in the Service Records distributed in Spring 2021. They will not be eligible for a second-year extension of their tenure clock due to the pandemic.
Faculty Appointed Between July 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021:
All tenure-track faculty appointed between July 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021 will be eligible for a year of tenure clock stoppage due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To request this extension, they must discuss their reasons with their Department Chair and/or Dean who should forward this request with justification to my office for approval before December 31, 2022.
Latha Venkataraman
Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs