2.5.5 Non-tenure-earning Faculty Appointments
 
Non-tenure-earning faculty appointments may be conferred on full-time regular, part-time regular, full-time temporary, or contingent faculty whose responsibilities may be less broad than tenure-earning or tenured faculty and whose appointments may be limited in time. At the discretion of the school and department involved, the non-tenure-earning faculty may serve on school and departmental committees and may be appointed to the Graduate Faculty. Non-tenure-earning faculty are governed by the policies and procedures in the Faculty Handbook; however, their privileges may be defined further by the appointing school for activities within that school.

Non-tenure-earning faculty appointments may include faculty ranks, with or without such descriptive terms such as Clinical, Research, Teaching, Adjunct, Visiting, or Affiliate. The optional preceding six descriptors may be used to define the effort of non-tenure-earning faculty ranks more clearly, but the descriptors do not constitute a different rank. Common descriptors follow.

• Clinical – Major role in a school is primarily related to a healthcare education or service mission of the school.
• Research – Primary responsibility is conducting research, and typically paid from grant or contract funds.
• Teaching – Primary responsibility is assisting in a school’s educational mission.

• Adjunct – Designates individuals who are generally not full-time employees of UAB, but who are appointed to the faculty of a school to perform instructional, research, and/or service functions.
• Visiting – Courtesy designation given to a visitor from another institution of higher education or from an appropriate organization or agency on a temporary duty assignment within a component of UAB. If the individual is from an institution of higher education, they shall be given a rank that is equivalent to the rank held in their home institution.
• Affiliate – Designation reserved for an individual at another academic or research institution or entity that is affiliated with UAB as part of an affiliation, partnership, or joint program that contemplates dual or joint appointments and that has been established by a formal written agreement approved by the Provost in accordance with UAB’s contract process. The appointment as an Affiliate may not be used for regular appointments,^* and use of the designation must also be approved by the Provost on an individual-by-individual basis. UAB may require an Affiliate faculty member to complete annual reporting forms as detailed in Appendix G, and Section 3.11. Qualifying faculty whose primary regular appointment rests outside UAB may use the descriptor “Affiliate” before their rank at UAB.

The optional descriptor may be used in a faculty title with a faculty rank and academic unit or department (e.g., a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, an Adjunct Instructor of Microbiology, or a Visiting Professor of Engineering). Other descriptors may be used as well with Provost approval. Full-time and part-time non-tenure-earning faculty, whose effort is more broadly engaged in teaching, research, scholarly or service activities, typically do not have descriptors associated with rank. With approval of the Provost, schools may use the title of "Clinician" (without use of the titles "Instructor," "Assistant Professor," "Associate Professor," or "Professor") to designate non-faculty members affiliated with their schools engaged in healthcare service, such as clinicians practicing in a UAB-affiliated clinic. Individuals holding such positions shall not be considered faculty members under this Faculty Handbook.

Non-tenure-earning faculty members may be appointed for specific terms of up to five years. Such appointments may be renewed for more than one year. Departments, schools, college, or UAB Libraries may adopt policies limiting the overall length of UAB employment for non-tenure-earning faculty members within that unit. A non-tenure-earning appointment does not carry with it the assurance of reappointment beyond the current appointment period. However, the policies governing notice of non-reappointment apply to all non-tenure-earning appointments including those with the descriptive titles of Adjunct, Clinical, Research, and Teaching.

A non-tenure-earning full-time faculty member may seek a temporary (short-term) reduction in workload and request a change in status from full-time to regular part-time (at least half-time). This policy is intended to encourage departments to accommodate reasonable requests for part-time appointments; however, part-time appointments are at the discretion of the department chair and dean and are not an entitlement; and requests may be denied when the faculty member and department cannot agree to a workable plan. Interested faculty must present a request in writing to the appropriate chair and dean of their unit. Final approval must be granted by the dean. Faculty will receive proportional pay. Faculty members are responsible for meeting with representatives in Human Resources so they will clearly understand the consequences of the change to their benefits. Office and laboratory space may be adjusted for part-time appointments.