Clinical Professor Proposal
School of Hotel Administration
August 20, 2013

1. Justification

   The purpose of proposing the use of the Clinical Professor title in the School of Hotel Administration is to recruit and retain the best possible faculty to meet our educational, industry outreach and research goals and to maximize their contributions within the school. Several factors make the use of such a title important to this goal. First, a majority of peer schools are using this title. Second, and partially as a result of the first factor, title issues are an increasingly important issue in recruitment and retention of valuable faculty members who bring unique talents and experiences to our School. Third, the unique nature of the School of Hotel Administration and its mission make the use of such a title viable as both recognition of a potential candidate’s skill set and experience and the specific requirements the School would place on such a position for both an initial appointment and renewal.

2. Description of Position

   Holders of the title Clinical Professor will have substantive teaching as well as industry connection building responsibilities. While specific responsibilities will vary by individual and School needs, two primary responsibilities will be part of each Clinical Professor position: 1) Teaching. All Clinical Professors are expected to have substantive classroom teaching responsibilities in our degree programs. 2) All Clinical Professors are expected to have responsibilities which contribute to the School’s mission over and above their teaching contribution. These activities could be related to student activities such as career advising, project and other applied learning activities, or program development and management. Alternatively, these activities could be institution building and industry connection such as research support and generation, institute development and leadership. We expect the distribution of these positions to be spread across current and future academic areas of the School.

   It is anticipated that requests for a position and/or candidates will be initiated by the faculty in various areas of the School or by the dean.

3. Terms of Appointment

   Clinical Professors will be non-tenure track, five-year renewable appointments (except for initial outside appointments which will be for a period of three years). It is expected that there would not be any movement between Clinical Professor and tenure track appointments, except for exceptional situations determined by the dean and with the approval of the faculty. Clinical Professor appointments will be based on national searches as well as internal promotions, focused only on senior and highly qualified candidates. Internal appointments will be for a five year term.

   Appointments: An ad hoc committee composed of tenure-track and existing Clinical Professor and/or senior lecturer faculty, the majority of whom will be tenure-track, will be appointed by the dean to make a recommendation to the tenure-track and Clinical Professor faculty for all Clinical Professor appointments. This ad hoc committee will be charged with development of the criteria for annual evaluation and reappointment consistent with the job description developed for the Clinical Professor position. The vote by two-thirds of the tenure-track and Clinical Professor faculty voting will be necessary for a candidate to be forwarded to the dean for appointment.

   Evaluation Criteria: For each Clinical Professor appointment there must be a specific job description and evaluation criteria developed by both the dean and an ad hoc committee formed by the dean for this purpose. At the discretion of the dean, this committee may be the same as the initial appointment committee (See “Appointments” above.) but have the same composition as the initial appointment committee. For an initial appointment, selection is to be based on the expectation that the candidate will be successful in meeting the evaluation criteria for the job.

   Reappointments: An ad hoc committee composed of tenure-track faculty and Clinical Professor faculty with more than 5 years full time service, the majority of who will be tenure-track will be appointed by the dean to make a recommendation to the tenure-track faculty for Clinical Professor reappointment decisions. For reappointment, the individual’s performance must be evaluated in relation to the pre-set evaluation criteria established for the position. The committee will then make a presentation to the tenure-track faculty and Clinical Professor faculty with more than 5 years full time service for discussion and vote. For reappointment, over two-thirds of voting tenure–track faculty and Clinical Professor faculty with more than 5 years full time service must approve. This super-majority vote will be a recommendation to the dean for reappointment.

   Requirements: In addition to the above, requirements for appointment and reappointment to the title of Clinical Professor will also include:

   1. Significant high level teaching;
   2. Demonstrated business leadership and experience, normally C-level ( e.g., CEO or CFO) at a major firm or the equivalent;
   3. Service to the School beyond teaching;
   4. Full time teaching and/or administration in residence consistent with the terms of the appointment;
   5. External visibility and impact in the field of the appointment, either academically or professionally; (The review is expected to include external letters to assess such visibility and impact.).
   6. A greater than 50 percent appointment to the School.

4. Percentage Limitation

   The number of Clinical Professor faculty will not exceed two (2) initially (approximately 5 percent of the number of tenure track faculty rounded to the nearest whole number). The number may be raised to 10% of the tenure track faculty with a two-thirds vote of the faculty: lecturer, clinical and tenure-track.

5. Voting and Other Rights

   Clinical Professor faculty shall have all rights and responsibilities equivalent to those of senior lecturers. They have the additional right to vote on initial appointments to Clinical Professor. Voting rights for re-appointment for Clinical Professors are granted to Clinical Professors after their fifth year of employment.

6. Impact Statement

   The use of the Clinical Professor title is not intended to reduce the number of tenuretrack or non-tenure track faculty in the School. Incumbent faculty are not to be replaced by the designation of a position as a Clinical Professor position. The purpose of the Clinical title is to be able to recruit and retain the best possible non-tenure track faculty and to maximize their contributions within the school. Current non-tenure track faculty will be eligible for appointment to the Clinical Professor title if they meet the criteria for the appointment.

Clinical Professor Proposal PDF