COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SCIENCES
OFFICE OF THE DEAN
To:
HHS Unit Heads
From:
Tom Berndt, Associate Dean
Cc:
Terri Duncan, Administrative Assistant to the Dean; Mona Holdcraft, Director of
Financial Affairs
Date:
March 8, 2011
Subject:
Procedures for Approval of Courtesy Appointments
In recommending a courtesy appointment for a faculty member in another unit (either in or outside of HHS),
academic unit heads should proceed as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
If faculty in one unit request that a faculty member in another department, school, or college be given a
courtesy appointment in their unit, the unit head should decide whether such an appointment meets the
standard for courtesy appointments in their unit and in the college. The general understanding is that
these appointments recognize mutually beneficial relationships between faculty in different units,
relationships that enhance the research, teaching, or engagement activities of both units. Worth noting
is that the HHS Implementation Plan stated that “every effort will be made to invite discovery, learning,
and engagement affiliation possibilities—including joint appointments, joint hires, courtesy
appointments, and other collaborative agreements—for interested individual faculty members or groups
who are not in units composing the College of Health and Human Sciences but who have significant
interest in the mission of the College.”
If a head decides that a courtesy appointment would be appropriate, the head should talk with the head
of the unit of the faculty member to be offered the courtesy appointment to ensure that that head is
aware of the faculty member’s relationships with the other unit and is supportive of the courtesy
appointment.
Next, the head of the unit offering the courtesy appointment should confirm, by faculty vote or other
means, that the other faculty in his or her unit view such an appointment as appropriate.
If the faculty favor the courtesy appointment, the head should send his or her endorsement of the
faculty request to the HHS Associate Dean for Administration with a summary of the rationale for the
appointment and a draft of the offer letter that would be sent to the intended courtesy appointee. (A
sample of such an offer letter is attached.)
The associate dean will confirm that the dean approves the courtesy appointment and report back to the
head (with a copy to the college’s business office), who will then send the offer letter to the courtesy
appointee.
Once the courtesy appointee sends an affirmative reply to the offer letter, the head will forward that
reply to his or her business manager. Then the business manager will prepare the form needed to
document the appointment.
Please let me know if you have any questions about these procedures, and thanks in advance for taking the
effort to recognize the faculty from other units who contribute to the strength of your units.
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June 28, 2016
Sample Courtesy Appointment Offer Letter
[Click here and type date]
[Click here and type recipient’s name and address]
Dear [Click here and type salutation name]:
On behalf of Dean ______, I am pleased to offer you a courtesy appointment as
[Click here and type rank] Professor in the Department of [Click here and type Department Name] at
Purdue University effective [Click here and type effective date]. This appointment was
recommended by the faculty in [Click here and type area recommending courtesy appointment]. [If
the appointment will be reviewed at regular intervals, include a sentence something like, “This
appointment is for a period of (number) years. It will be reviewed and may be renewed before the
end of that period.”]
Courtesy appointments do not involve any instructional or financial commitments by you or by our
department. Instead, the appointments recognize mutually beneficial relationships between faculty in
our department and in other departments. Those relationships will help our faculty and our graduate
students to make connections across disciplines that will enhance their scholarship and
development. The appointment does not confer voting rights or other benefits accruing to regular
faculty.
I am confident that your relationship with our department will be enjoyable and rewarding. If you are
willing to accept this appointment, please let me know by date. If you have any questions, please
contact me at [Click here and type phone number] or via e-mail at
[Click here and type e-mail address].
Sincerely,
[Click here and type department head name]
[Click here and type department head title]
[Click here and type XXX:yyy]
cc:
Christine M. Ladisch, Dean
[{Name of other department head}, Head of {Other Department Name}]
[Click here and type Department Name]Business Office
[Click here and type other recipient(s)]
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