a. All appointments, promotions and tenure actions of the faculty require endorsement by the Committee on Appointments, Promotions and Tenure and ratification by the Dean.
b. The Chair (see footnote), Interim Chair or Acting Chair of the Department shall be solely responsible for initiating recommendations to the Committee on Appointments, Promotions and Tenure. Chairs are encouraged to establish a departmental committee to advise on recommendations for appointments, reappointments, promotions and tenure.
c. Recommendations for appointment, promotion or tenure shall be submitted to the Committee on Appointments, Promotions and Tenure in format provided by the School of Medicine.
d. An appropriate statement from the Chair shall be an essential part of each recommendation for appointment, reappointment, promotion or tenure. This statement may include comments from the faculty member's Division Chief, Program Director and/or departmental committee on appointments and promotions. The statement should explicitly document the scholarly, educational, clinical or other activities of the candidate that warrant the appointment, promotion or tenure action.
e. The Department Chair recommending an individual for a faculty appointment, promotion or tenure is responsible for verifying the curriculum vitae and bibliography of the candidate. Any faculty member who provides a letter recommending an individual's appointment or promotion or tenure the faculty or promotion must include all material facts relating to professional qualifications and personal integrity of the applicant.
f. The Chair of the Committee on Appointments, Promotions and Tenure shall appoint an ad hoc committee to review each recommendation for appointment or promotion to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure or Professor (with or without tenure), except as described in section k below. The ad hoc review committee will consist of three members of the Committee on Appointments, Promotions and Tenure, one of whom shall serve as Chair, and three other Professors. No member of the ad hoc review committee shall have a primary appointment in the same department as the candidate.
g. The Department Chair shall provide names, titles, affiliated institutions and contact information of individuals from outside the institution who might be solicited for letters of recommendation by the Dean's Office for the appointment or promotion of faculty to the ranks of Associate Professor or Professor. Letters may be requested from additional reviewers by the Committee on Appointments, Promotions and Tenure and its ad hoc committees.
h. In the event that a Department Chair's recommendation for appointment, reappointment, promotion or tenure is not approved, the reason(s) for such decision shall be communicated to that Chair. The Department Chair may request an opportunity to appeal the decision and meet with an ad hoc committee of the Committee on Appointments, Promotions and Tenure. The Department Chair may invite a senior faculty member to accompany him/her to assist in the presentation to the Committee. In the event that the candidate is not endorsed again, the reason(s) shall be communicated to the Department Chair. In this case, the candidate shall be ineligible for further consideration for at least one year.
i. In the event that the Dean fails to accept a recommendation submitted by the Committee on Appointments, Promotions and Tenure, such decisions shall be communicated in writing to the Committee along with the substantive reasons. The Committee will then reconsider the appointment, reappointment or promotion of that faculty member.
j. All votes by members of the Committee on Appointments, Promotions and Tenure and its ad hoc review committees on an individual recommendation for appointment, promotion or tenure shall be by secret ballot. Members of these committees with a primary appointment in the same department as the candidate shall not be present during any deliberations on the individual candidate and are not eligible to participate in the voting.
k. Exceptions to the standard review process described in sections f through j above will be made for candidates at the ranks of associate professor and professor who meet one of the following conditions:
1. Active Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai voluntary faculty may be transferred to the equivalent full-time rank in the Clinical Practice Track without the aforementioned Committee review.
2. Appointees to the full-time Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai faculty who previously held a full-time appointment in the School may be reinstated at the previous rank without the aforementioned Committee review provided that: a) the Department Chair confirms that the individual has been productive and in good standing during the years away and continues to meet the criteria for the reinstated rank; and b) the Dean of the School of Medicine agrees to allow the reinstatement without standard review.
3. Appointees to the Affiliate Track who, at the time of application to the faculty of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, have an active faculty appointment in another medical school accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education or in an osteopathic school accredited by the American Osteopathic Association will have their academic title transferred to the equivalent title at Mount Sinai. In such cases, the President or Chief Executive Officer of the affiliated institution must sign a document supporting the candidate’s application.
l. A Department Chair may recommend an individual for a secondary appointment with the prior consent and endorsement of the Chair of the Department in which the primary appointment is, or is to be, held. The candidate for a secondary appointment must be recognized as having an important and significant identification with both departments and the documentation and justification must indicate the rationale for such a secondary appointment.
m. If a faculty member is to transfer his/her primary appointment from one Department to another, then a letter indicating approval of the contemplated transfer must be signed by the Chairs of both Departments and must be submitted with the request for transfer.
n. The Committee on Appointments, Promotions and Tenure will consider a recommendation for appointment or promotion at any time. The date on which new appointments become effective will be the actual date of hire. The date on which promotions will become effective will be the first day of the month following approval by the Dean, unless the Department Chair requests in writing a later effective date for the promotion.
o. A letter of appointment, promotion or tenure, signed by the Dean, will confirm the rank, type of appointment, and term of appointment. ). If tenure has been awarded simultaneously with an appointment or promotion, the letter will so state.
p. For faculty with employment agreements, the faculty term and the employment term will be identical. If the agreement expires and the individual's employment by the School continues without a written agreement, the new faculty term will begin immediately following expiration of the former employment agreement, and the term length will be consistent with the options for the relevant rank and track as described in the Faculty Handbook.
q. When a faculty member is not reappointed to the faculty of Icahn School of Medicine, responsibility, if any, for continued salary support during the remaining portion of the term will be borne by the institution that is currently paying that faculty member's salary. Notwithstanding the appointment terms and notice provisions contained in this chapter, when a non-tenured faculty member's responsibilities are primarily at an affiliate institution, the term of that appointment will not extend beyond the termination of such affiliation or the termination of that individual's affiliate-based employment as described in Chapter III of this Handbook.
Footnote
Requests for appointments and promotions to the ranks of Associate Professor and Professor, or for tenure, will not be accepted from Department Chairs who will leave that position within six months of the date of submission of the application without the express permission of the Dean of the School.
Updated April 2020