APPENDIX 10a
Appointments at the Rank of
Assistant Professor without Tenure
Last Updated March 2016
The LSA junior template offer letter covers appointment in a single unit. Please modify as
needed for joint appointments.
The purpose of the following template is to provide language suitable to a wide range of
situations. Please do not think that most offers in your division include all of the benefits
mentioned in these templates.
Once you have received an email approving the commitments proposed for your candidate, you
may then submit a draft offer letter (word version, please) to the Senior Academic Administrative
Specialist (Kathe Harrison – kdavids@umich.edu; 615-0658). To expedite approvals, you are
required to use the template offer letter. Once Kathe sends an email approving the draft offer
letter, and assuming we have also received approvals of the dossier from the LSA Executive
Committee, and approvals of PFIP funding (if applicable) and of the background check, you may
send the signed offer letter to the candidate.
Template:
1. Text in ordinary type should appear as is.
2. Text in bold covers an obligatory subject but requires modification to fit the situation.
3. Text in italics covers an elective subject that may be irrelevant to the situation. Before
excluding any text, confirm its irrelevance.
4. Please put any text that you add (or change) in bold to allow us to quickly review the
letter.
JUNIOR TEMPLATE OFFER LETTER
FOR APPOINTMENTS IN A SINGLE UNIT
(Modify accordingly for a joint appointment)
Recent revisions to the template letter have been highlighted
[date]
[address]
Dear [name]:
On behalf of my colleagues in the [Unit], it is my great pleasure to offer you an appointment as
assistant professor of [title], without tenure, effective [date]. Your appointment has also been
approved by the Executive Committee of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. We
are eager to welcome you as a faculty member and colleague to the University of Michigan.
[This paragraph may be expanded by the hiring unit but you may not change any of the
conditions of this employment contract.]
We trust that the nature of the package outlined below demonstrates our great faith in your
training, skills, and potential as teacher, scholar, and mentor. We are convinced that you will
play a strong and vital role within our [department/program/center], within the University, and
within the field nationally and internationally.
Compensation: Your initial nine-month salary for the 2016-2017 university academic year
(September 1st through May 31st) will be [$]. [Then either] Consistent with University practice,
your salary will be paid in 12 monthly installments on the last working day of the month from
July through June. In your first year, you will be paid 3/12ths of your salary in the September
paycheck. [Or] Because you are starting in January, you will receive one half of your ninemonth salary paid in six monthly installments on the last working day of the month from January
to June. After this, your salary will be paid in 12 monthly installments from July through June.
[If candidate has not completed his/her Ph.D., please insert the following paragraph.] If you
have not received certification of your Ph.D. prior to September 1, 2016, then you will be
appointed as an Instructor with a salary of [$ (10% less than the salary listed above]. You will
become an assistant professor and will be paid at your assistant professor rate effective the first
day of the next semester (either January 1 or September 1) following receipt of degree
certification. Since Instructor and Assistant Professor are both tenure-track titles, your tenure
clock will begin on September, 1, 2016. If you have not received certification of your Ph.D. prior
to September 1, 2019, the 2018-2019 academic year will be your terminal year.
We are also pleased to offer you [#] summer ninths of your salary for your research effort to be
taken before the end of the summer of [date]. [For faculty starting in September] If you
decide to take one or two of your ninths this summer, your appointment for the summer months
would be as a visitor since your regular appointment does not begin until September 1st. In this
way, your compensation during the first year of your appointment from all University sources
can total [$].
The University of Michigan’s staff benefits program ranks with the best offered by any institution.
Highlights of these current benefits may be found on the website located at:
https://hr.umich.edu/benefits-wellness.
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Research support: You will receive a start-up research account of [$] to be used during your
first six years or until tenure, whichever is longer. These funds may be used for research
purposes such as travel to professional meetings, purchasing equipment/supplies, funding of
postdoctoral fellows, etc.
[Insert any relevant options listed below.]
[Option 1] Support for graduate students (stipend, tuition, benefits) will include [#] academic
terms of Graduate Student Research Assistant appointments (pre-candidate, second-year
students) and/or [#] spring/summer terms of Graduate Student Research Assistant
appointments (pre-candidate or candidate level students), estimated at a total of [$], and [#]
terms of Graduate Student Instructor appointments, estimated at a total of [$].
[Option 2] We will provide you with laboratory space appropriate to the nature of your research.
Renovation costs are estimated at [$]. [Where appropriate add: Please note that it can take up
to a year, sometimes longer, from acceptance of this offer to completion of a major laboratory
renovation and occupation of the finished lab].
[Option 3] You may request my permission to allocate resources from this fund toward teaching
relief in any or all of the first three years of your appointment. [Include additional details where
appropriate.] Each course release will decrease your research fund by [$].
[Option 4] In addition, you may request permission from me to use your research funding for up
to [#] summer ninth(s) as compensation for research effort, as long as the combined number of
ninths does not exceed two in one year.
[Option 5] The University has an impressive apparatus for assisting faculty in gaining external
project support. Our unit also administers a [Block Funding Initiative or Research Incentive]
program that you may use for support of research and travel. In addition, there are other
internal funds available to support your work. The Office of the Vice President for Research, [if
appropriate include the following: the Institute for the Humanities], Rackham Graduate School,
and the LSA Dean’s Office all provide funding on a competitive basis.
The total value of this startup package is estimated at [$].
Michigan is an institution that emphasizes and supports research in many ways. Our academic
calendar and nine-month appointments provide important release time for research and writing.
The academic calendar for 2016-2017 may be found at: http://www.umich.edu/~regoff/calendar/.
Administrative support: The [unit] will serve as your administrative home and will provide
you with a furnished office, the LSA standard faculty computer package, an email account with
internet access, library privileges, and other standard administrative support typically provided
to regular faculty in the College.
Relocation support: To assist you with the cost of relocation, you will receive a one-time
payment of [$] [equal to 10% of salary up to a maximum of $15,000]. This payment will
be processed through payroll and we are required by the IRS to report this as taxable income.
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Teaching responsibilities: The normal teaching load for research-active faculty in LSA is four
courses per academic year. [If relevant insert the following.] Under current practice, the
teaching load for research-active faculty in the [Unit] is [#] courses per year.
[If relevant, insert details on specific courses and/or number of course releases here.] Teaching
assignments in the [Unit] are done by [title], who will consult with you about your assignments.
Teaching will be an important component of your review for promotion and tenure.
Teaching academy: As a newly appointed assistant professor, we require your participation in
the LSA Teaching Academy during your first year. The Teaching Academy, which developed
out of discussions with recently hired faculty, aims to help new faculty make the transition to a
faculty member with a broad spectrum of teaching responsibilities for both undergraduate and
graduate students. As a participant in the Teaching Academy you will have the benefit of
working with an interdisciplinary peer group as you prepare for your first teaching assignment.
[Insert for faculty starting September 1, 2016.] The LSA Teaching Academy is comprised of
four meetings. It begins with a two-day session on August 23 & 24, 2016; you must plan to be
in Ann Arbor in time to attend this session. In addition, the Teaching Academy will hold required
sessions in November and December/January. The Teaching Academy will close with a final
dinner in March. Dates for these sessions will be announced.
[Insert for faculty starting January 1, 2017.] The LSA Teaching Academy begins with a two-day
session in late August 2017. Since your appointment will not begin until January 1, 2017, you
should plan to attend the Teaching Academy sessions in the 2017-2018 academic year. Dates
for all sessions will be announced.
For your participation in the series of Teaching Academy sessions, you will receive $2,000 at
the end of the academic year.
Review and promotion: The period of your initial appointment will be three years. In the third
year (2018-2019), the [Unit] will conduct a review and decide whether or not to offer you a
second three-year appointment. Not later than your sixth year (2021-2022) in the rank of
Assistant Professor without tenure, [Unit] will appoint a committee to conduct a review to
determine whether or not to recommend you to the College for promotion to the rank of
Associate Professor with tenure. If a qualifying event occurs in the first five years of your
appointment, you are encouraged to take advantage of the College’s family friendly policy and
request an exclusion of time from the tenure clock. For more information see these policies and
procedures at
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/facstaff/academicaffairs/policiesandprocedures/tenuredandtenuretrackfaculty.
[Optional language for advanced assistant professors: The scenario above represents the
latest you will be reviewed for promotion to associate professor with tenure (unless you receive
approval for an exclusion of time from the tenure clock, see link above). We expect that you
would come up for tenure in [#] years.]
If you are not renewed as an assistant professor after your initial appointment or promoted to
associate professor with tenure after your tenure probationary period, you will be offered a
terminal contract for the year following the decision not to renew or not to grant tenure.
Following University guidelines, please find information on promotion and tenure procedures at
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/facstaff/academicaffairs/policiesandprocedures/tenuredandtenuretrackfaculty.
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Faculty members should expect to find individual colleagues in the academic community who
can provide them with appropriate professional advice, and the College and its units have an
important role in insuring the provision of that information. The College policy on career
advising or mentoring may be found at:
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/facstaff/academicaffairs/policiesandprocedures/tenuredandtenuretrackfaculty.
Research leave: If your third-year review is positive, you will be eligible for a one-semester
nurturance leave with full salary and benefits during your fourth year (the first year of your
second three-year contract). The University has a sabbatical policy under which tenured faculty
may apply for a one-term leave at full pay or two terms at half pay, after 12 terms active duty;
such applications are rarely denied.
[If relevant, insert for advanced assistant professors without tenure.] Once you have received
tenure, and in recognition of the sabbatical equity you have earned at [institution], we will offer
you a Duty Off-Campus leave for one term at full pay or two terms at half pay after [#] terms of
active duty. You will not accrue sabbatical equity while on Duty Off-Campus.
Faculty responsibilities: Both the American Association of University Professors and the
University’s own faculty governance system have adopted statements on faculty rights and
responsibilities which guide University policies in a variety of areas. Such statements include
the following links:
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AAUP Statement on Professional Ethics
http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/pubsres/policydocs/contents/statementonprofessionalethics.htm
Index of UM Faculty Handbook
http://www.provost.umich.edu/faculty/handbook/index.html
General Principles section in Faculty Handbook on Scholarship & Research
http://www.provost.umich.edu/faculty/handbook/7/7.A.html
General Principles section in Faculty Handbook on Teaching and Faculty Interactions with
Students
http://www.provost.umich.edu/faculty/handbook/8/8.A.html
SACUA statement on Teaching Principles & Responsibilities
http://www.sacua.umich.edu/reports.html
Chapter 11 section in Faculty Handbook on Sexual Harassment
http://www.provost.umich.edu/faculty/handbook/11/index.html
University Standard Practice Guide 601.22 on Faculty and Student Relationships
http://spg.umich.edu/pdf/601.22.pdf
The link to the departmental website is http://...
Keeping these general guidelines in mind, faculty in LSA are required to maintain an active
program of scholarly research [or creative activity] that includes publications [and/or
exhibitions], to teach undergraduate and graduate courses, to advise students, and to
contribute service appropriate for the rank of appointment to the [department/program/center],
college, University, and profession.
The University of Michigan and the College of LSA are committed to supporting a balance
between work and personal life. For more details, please see the College’s website
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/facstaff/academicaffairs/policiesandprocedures/tenuredandtenuretrackfaculty
and the Provost’s website http://www.provost.umich.edu/faculty/family/index.html.
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University required notification: Please understand that we are obligated to provide the
following policies and legal stipulations as a standard component of all faculty offer letters.
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Up to two of your [#] ninths may be taken during any one summer, subject to the normal
University rules.
Please note that current tax law requires all items purchased with University of Michigan funds
from a faculty member’s research support account remain the property of UM. Further
information on policies concerning the use of faculty research accounts may be found at
http://www.provost.umich.edu/reports/discretionary/policy_statement.html.
If research funds are used for any salary, the appropriate benefits must also come from this fund.
Due to current tax law, I am required to inform you that this funding is at my discretion and needs
prior approval.
This offer is contingent on your securing valid immigration status and work authorization before
your expected start date and maintaining your valid immigration status and work authorization
throughout your employment. The University’s International Center is committed to working with
the hiring unit and new faculty hires to provide assistance and guidance with immigration issues.
[If appropriate, include the following:] Before the terms of this offer can take effect, I will also
need a copy of your resignation letter from [University].
[Name], our [department/program/center] is very enthusiastic about the prospect of your
joining our faculty and I am personally very pleased to extend this offer. Anticipating your
acceptance, we invite you to attend the University’s New Faculty Orientation in early September
2016 (date will be announced). This event offers a wonderful opportunity to meet other new UM
faculty colleagues.
If you have any questions or matters you wish to discuss, please do not hesitate to contact me.
We would be happy to learn of your decision at any time, but ask that you let us know no later
than [date]. Please indicate your acceptance of this offer by signing this letter and returning it
to me.
Sincerely,
[Chair/Director]
cc:
Academic Affairs
I accept the terms of this offer:
______________________________
[name]
_______________
Date
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