Dear Colleagues,

I write to follow up on this memo of March 18, and to provide details regarding eligibility and application procedures related to additional support being offered to tenure-track assistant professors, associate professors, and lecturers. These details are available here and below.

Please feel free to write directly to me with any questions, or to Joel Revill, Senior Associate Dean of the Faculty and Associate Provost for Special Projects at Joel_Revill@brown.edu.

Thank you, and regards,

Richard M. Locke
Provost
 

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Additional Support for Tenure-Track Assistant Professors, Associate Professors, and Lecturers

Teaching reduction  or research funds for tenure track assistant professors:

• One course teaching reduction; or,

• $15,000 Research Funds

Eligibility: All tenure-track assistant professors as of AY 2020-21 who are not approved for promotion on 7/1/21 are eligible to apply.

Application Process: The application process and deadline for both options are described in the Provost’s memo.  Personal medical details should not be included in the requests. 

Chairs should review the applications and submit them to the relevant Dean with a brief cover memo listing each request and recommending: 1) approval, 2) revision (usually changing the course or the timing of teaching relief), or 3) denial.  No additional input from the Chair on the merit of the application is required. If requests for teaching relief will require additional funding for instructional support, the chair should include that information in the memo. The chair’s memo should be submitted to the dean’s office by May 15th. 

The course release is not a leave: Course releases are teaching reductions only and faculty are still expected to perform service and advising duties. Rules governing the timing and duration of leaves and sabbaticals do not apply. 

Chairs will have wide latitude in approving course releases:  In general the course releases should be used for elective courses, with assistant professors continuing to contribute to coverage of high-enrollment, required, and essential service courses as needed. Therefore chairs have the responsibility of considering requests with attention to the specific course, to the specific semester in which it will not be offered, and to the expectation that assistant professors develop a strong teaching record before reappointment and tenure reviews.  

Summer teaching credit for associate professors with tenure as of July 1, 2021 and lecturer track faculty:  

• One semester of additional credit toward the next leave

Eligibility: associate professors with tenure as of July 1, 2021 and lecturer-track faculty who are teaching one of their standard academic-year courses in the summer semester and are not receiving additional compensation.

Timing of the credit: The credit will automatically be added to the sabbatical clock.  If an application has already been submitted for a leave in AY 2021-22, the credit will be applied upon return.