APPENDIX 12b
Appointments at the Rank of
Associate Professor or Professor with Tenure
Last Updated March 2016
The LSA senior 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 document, 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, and assuming we have also received approvals of the dossier from the LSA
Executive Committee and the Provost / President, 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.
SENIOR TEMPLATE OFFER LETTER
FOR APPOINTMENTS IN A SINGLE UNIT
(Modify accordingly for a joint appointment)
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
[ENTER RANK] of [title], with tenure, effective [date]. Your appointment has been approved
by the Executive Committee of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, and the Provost
and the President of the University. It is also subject to final approval by the Regents, but we
know of no case in which final approval has not been accorded an endorsed offer. 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 [$]. [Then either] Consistent with University practice,
your salary will be paid in 12 monthly installments on the last working day of the month from
July through June. In your first year, you will be paid 3/12ths of your salary in the September
paycheck. [Or] Because you are starting in January, you will receive one half of your ninemonth salary paid in six monthly installments on the last working day of the month from January
to June. After this, your salary will be paid in 12 monthly installments from July through June.
We are also pleased to offer you [number] summer ninths of your salary for your research effort
to be taken before the end of the summer of [date]. [For faculty starting in September] If you
decide to take one or two of your ninths this summer, your appointment for the summer months
would be as a visitor since your regular appointment doesn’t begin until September 1st. In this
way, your compensation during the first year of your appointment from all University sources
can total [$].
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.
Research support: You will receive a start-up research account of [$] to be used during your
first three years. These funds may be used for research purposes such as travel to professional
meetings, purchasing equipment/supplies, funding of postdoctoral fellows, etc.
[Insert any relevant options listed below.]
[Option 1] Support for graduate students (stipend, tuition, benefits) will include [#] academic
terms of Graduate Student Research Assistant appointments (pre-candidate, second-year
students) and/or [#] spring/summer terms of Graduate Student Research Assistant
appointments (pre-candidate or candidate level students), estimated at a total of [$], 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 [$].
[Option 4] In addition, you may request permission from me to use your research funding for up
to [#] summer ninth(s) as compensation for research effort, as long as the combined number of
ninths does not exceed two in one year.
[Option 5] The University has an impressive apparatus for assisting faculty in gaining external
project support. Our unit also administers a [Block Funding Initiative/Research Incentive]
program that you may use for support of research and travel. In addition, there are other
internal funds available to support your work. The Office of the Vice President for Research, [if
appropriate include the following: the Institute for the Humanities], Rackham Graduate School,
and the LSA Dean’s Office all provide funding on a competitive basis.
The total value of this startup package is estimated at [$].
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.
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.
[Insert the following for associate professor appointments only.] Teaching will be an important
component of your review for promotion.
[Insert for associate professor appointments only.] Promotion review: As an associate
professor with tenure at Michigan, you will be interested in the criteria for promotion to professor
with tenure. A detailed description of the promotion process in our College appears at:
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/facstaff/academicaffairs/policiesandprocedures/tenuredandtenuretrackfaculty.
Please note that as a senior faculty member you may be asked to play a role in faculty career
advising. The College policy on career advising or mentoring may be found at:
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/facstaff/academicaffairs/policiesandprocedures/tenuredandtenuretrackfaculty.
Research leave: 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 the following.] 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 [number] 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:
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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.
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, current tax law requires that 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.
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 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