Associate Professors

Appointment at the rank of Associate Professor on the SOM Track is normally made for a 5-year term. The effort devoted to each of the primary missions is jointly decided at the time of initial appointment by the faculty member, the Department Chair and, where appropriate, the Section Chief.  The effort assignment may be adjusted on a regular basis, e.g. at the time of annual reviews, by mutual agreement of the parties.  Learn more about the benefits and resources available to new faculty:

• Faculty Development Programming
• Benefits
• Faculty Handbook

Reappointment terms are up to five years based on continued satisfaction of criteria for appointment as Associate Professor. The most common term is 5 years and ends 30 June.  OAA aspires to notify a year in advance of the end of this term whether you will be reappointed.  Unless you are promoted, your reappointment materials will ordinarily be due in your departmental office in advance of the department recommendation, which is due before late April (if your end date is 30 June) of the final year of your term.  Check with your departmental office to see when they need the materials to meet the BSD deadline.

Summary of Criteria for Reappointment

• Sufficient quality and productivity in the performance of your clinical duties, meeting the expectations of your 'job description.'  
• Sufficient quality and productivity in contributions to our educational mission and institutional citizenship, meeting the expectations of your 'job description'
• Continuation of the level of contributions that warranted your promotion to associate professor.  These typically include scholarly activity that is commensurate with your job description.  There is no need to continue these contributions in kind, however; you may make different contributions if your interests change and your department and BSD agree, or if institutional needs change.
• Please see the official guidelines for more information

Obviously the above are mainly judgments made by your departmental faculty colleagues, for whom your chair or chief is the spokesperson.  For that reason you should meet regularly with your chair, chief, departmental go-to person, and/or mentor(s) for insight into your progress and career advice.

There is no obligation to reappoint associate professors even if they meet the above requirements.

Reappointment proposal--The department will prepare and submit a recommendation for the appointment that is reviewed by OAA for completeness, endorsed by the Dean and submitted to the Provost’s office for approval. An original recommendation should be submitted to OAA. A complete recommendation will include:

• Chair’s letter to Dean 
• Section Chief's letter to Chair (if customary in the department)
• Updated CV & personal statements
• Teaching evaluations (from the last term of appointment)

You may be recommended for promotion to full professor on the SOM track as soon as you qualify. Departments vary in how they decide whether you are ready to be promoted. Promotion to full professor is not required, and some associate professors never achieve it. Trends in the BSD show that promotions are rare before 3 years as an associate professor, peak at 5 years post promotion, and are rare after 10 years post promotion.

Criteria for Promotion:

• Outstanding body of contributions significantly beyond or different from those  that warranted the associate professorship, with high likelihood of continuation  
• Stature comparable to that of recently-promoted professors in leading programs elsewhere in the country, with indications that the candidate has become among the leading figures in a significant field.
• Sufficient quality and productivity in contributions to our clinical mission, educational mission, and institutional citizenship, meeting the expectations of your 'job description'
• Please see the official guidelines for more information; Additional information specific to physician scholars is also available.

Note that this description of the expected body of contributions is silent with respect to mission domains (education, patient care, scholarship).   Candidates and their departments/sections have the freedom to choose a prospective body of contributions to one/some all mission domain(s) that makes sense for the institution and leverages the candidate's interests and abilities.  Furthermore, if your 'job description' intentionally excludes external stature-promoting activity, which is rare, you may be promoted on the basis of performing your job description outstandingly well.

Obviously the above are mainly judgments made by your departmental faculty colleagues, for whom your chair or chief is the spokesperson.  For that reason you should meet regularly with your chair, chief, departmental go-to person, and/or mentor(s) for insight into your progress and career advice.

There is no obligation to reappoint or promote associate professors even if they meet the above requirements.

Promotion Package:

The University of Chicago uses a new system called Interfolio to manage the promotion process.  See these candidate guidelines for more information and specific guidance on preparing your materials which include the following:

• Updated CV & personal statements
• Up to 5 exemplary peer-reviewed works, either published or accepted for publication, if available and/or publication is part of the job description
• Chair’s letter to Dean  
• Grid of external assessors, their contact information, and rationale for their selection (if not in Chair's letter)
• Letter used to solicit external assessments
• External assessments
• Internal assessments of clinical and educational acumen, if needed
• Letter of assessment from BSCD Master or documentation that one has been requested (for Basic Science Departments and/or if candidate teaches in The College) 
• Teaching evaluations
• Other concurrences,* and documents as customary for a department.  These might include Section Chiefs' letters and reports of internal promotions committees.

Your department will collaborate with you to prepare these materials. 

The Office of Faculty Affairs offers regular programming on the promotion process and other career development opportunities.

Faculty on the SOM track are considered tenure-eligible. You may be recommended for tenure as soon as you qualify and do so as either an associate or a full professor; the latter is more common.  Although there is no regular time of year for considering tenure, the Provost's Office prefers that its tenure reviews occur in November-December, which necessitates a departmental recommendation by late August. Tenure is not required, and some associate professors never achieve it.

Criteria for tenure:

• An outstanding body of scholarship is required.
• Scholarship of such caliber may take the same form as that typical of faculty on the BSD track.  However, it may also create impactful knowledge that brings high distinction to the BSD in the clinical or educational arenas. This might include intellectual leadership in clinical trials that establish the standard of care, important scholarly contributions in education or curriculum development that have national/international impact, technical innovation (new procedures, treatments, or devices), or other paradigm-shifting advances. The quality and impact of these contributions will also be judged by the quality of the peer-reviewed publications that describe them.  Evidence of consistency (a track record of ongoing scholarship that is not episodic, one-time, or occasional) and sustainability, such as success in obtaining research funding, is necessary.  Comparisons of the body of work are made to the very best tenured clinician-scholars within peer programs in the specific specialty/discipline.  Scholarly productivity (as opposed to quality) should be commensurate with clinical and other responsibilities.
• Note that the Provost will consider only one tenure recommendation for an individual; if it is not approved, the underlying appointment as a Clinical Scholar remains.  If tenure is approved, the appointment moves to the BSD track.
• Please see the official guidelines for more information; Additional information specific to physician scholars is also available.

Obviously the above are mainly judgments made by your departmental faculty colleagues, for whom your chair or chief is the spokesperson.  For that reason you should meet regularly with your chair, chief, departmental go-to person, and/or mentor(s) for insight into your progress and career advice.

There is no obligation to tenure faculty even if they meet the above requirements. 

View our standard notification of record for candidates seeking promotion to Associate Professor and/or tenure in the BSD Track here.