Individuals who achieve excellence in research and teaching are eligible
for appointment in this track.
Associate Professor
Candidates for appointment or promotion to the rank of associate professor on term should have achieved recognition as independent investigators and have demonstrated excellence as teachers. Their achievements and promise as teachers and scholars should be strong enough to suggest that they will be qualified for appointment to tenure at Yale or another major medical institution within four to five years. Individuals who will contribute to graduate education and who hold a primary appointment in a basic science department are automatically appointed to the Graduate School. Those who will contribute to graduate education and hold a primary or secondary appointment in a bridge department are eligible for appointment to the Graduate School, as are those with a secondary appointment in a basic science department.
The maximum initial term of this appointment is five years. If, at the end of the term, the individual has been a member of the faculty at the combined ranks of assistant and associate professor for less than ten years (plus extensions described in Section III.E - Faculty Handbook), the appointment may be extended for up two years, subject to approval of the Dean and the Provost and in accordance with limits on term appointments described below.
Limits on Term Appointments
No one shall be employed at the combined ranks of assistant professor and associate professor on term for longer than a total of ten years, plus extensions described in Section III.E - Faculty Handbook. Toward this maximum shall count years of appointment to the ladder ranks at Yale and all years (up to three) in a ladder rank at other institutions.
A tenure appointment, whether at the rank of professor or associate professor, is a permanent, forward-looking commitment. This commitment is made with consideration of the achievements of the individual and the programmatic needs of the department and the School. Appraisals of past contributions must be supplemented by strong evidence of future contributions to the profession and the teaching program. In choosing among available candidates, the faculty may decide that outstanding promise of a person in the earlier stages of a career justifies appointment even though his or her published attainments to date may be fewer than those of more established candidates.
While the several manifestations of intellectual distinction are prerequisite to an appointment with tenure, it is recognized that the balance among them may vary from candidate to candidate and from field to field; there may be variation in the quantity of the written or creative work, though the quality must always be high. Unusually effective teaching or an unusually significant contribution to the community's well-being may serve to supplement but not substitute for evidence of scholarly achievement.
Individuals who will contribute to graduate education and who hold a primary appointment in a basic science department are automatically appointed to the Graduate School. Those who will contribute to graduate education and hold a primary or secondary appointment in a bridge department are eligible for appointment to the Graduate School, as are those with a secondary appointment in a basic science department.
Associate Professor
Candidates for appointment or promotion to the rank of associate professor with tenure must have produced a significant body of scholarship, must be able teachers, and if clinicians, must be accomplished in their clinical fields. They must be rising toward national and international leadership in their areas of specialty, and there must be clear evidence that academic growth will continue, with the expectation that their value to the institution and their national and international standing will make them suitable candidates for promotion to professor within a reasonable period of time.
Professor
Candidates for appointment or promotion to the rank of professor are expected to stand in competition with the foremost leaders in their field throughout the world, as demonstrated by major scholarly achievements and by teaching. If they are clinicians they must be outstanding practitioners of their field of clinical medicine. There should be ample evidence that they will continue to make significant contributions as scholars, to serve as able and influential teachers, and to contribute to the well-being of the academic community. The strength of commitment conferred by appointment to the rank of professor mandates that candidates in this track have attained the same level of achievement in their domains as candidates for professor in the other faculty tracks.
