Tenured (Associate Professor or Professor)
Candidates should be interviewed by Provost and Executive VP or his designee
and must attach a letter from P&T committee supporting tenure
Italics-Optional Statements
Blue – Required for offers with Office of Research and Economic Development Startup Request Only
Revised: 10/2013
To ensure that all information is accurate for all employee contracts, please fill out the Employee
Contract Attachment Information form and submit with your offer letter.
To download the form, please see the link below:
http://www.hrm.msstate.edu/employment/ecaf/
"All new hires must be provided with a form entitled, "New Health Insurance
Marketplace Coverage Options and Your Health Coverage," (Notice Form) in order
to comply with the Affordable Care Act. This form should be provided with the
offer letter and submitted by mail to the employee, or it may be given directly to
the employee if the offer letter is submitted in person. The Notice Form must be
submitted to the employee within 14 days of start date. All Marketplace Notices
forms are the same for all employees, and may be accessed on the following link:
Marketplace Notice Form"
Date
Name
Address
City, State Zip
Dear Name:
I am pleased to offer you a position as Choose an item. of
in the Department of
at
Mississippi State University, beginning on August 16,
. The granting of tenure is contingent upon
nomination by the University President and approval by the Board of Trustees of the State Institutions of
Higher Learning. The salary for this nine-month, tenured position is $
payable in semi-monthly
installments over a nine or twelve month period. This offer does not include or guarantee summer
employment, but it is frequently available.
The faculty workload consists of the teaching equivalent of twelve credit hours per semester and includes
time allocated for teaching, research, service, (and outreach). Your teaching responsibilities will be
classes in both the fall and spring semester. Since this is
credit hours, or
percent of
the total workload, the remaining
percent of your time will be devoted to scholarly activities.
Service and outreach contributions are considered an integral part of your teaching and scholarly
activities and therefore are not usually designated as a separate time allocation. This workload is subject
to review and can be maintained only with measurable productivity in scholarship. The most important
measure of this activity is peer-reviewed work in your field. Research grants, presentations at
professional meetings, research reports, and other evidence of scholarship may also be considered.
As part of your startup package, you are receiving a reduction in teaching load of
semester, which is valued at
including salary and fringe.
course(s) per
In addition to the initial reduced teaching load referenced above, you will also receive a startup package
of (if applicable)
. This includes $
for graduate teaching assistantships including tuition
waivers for
semesters. It also includes $
in direct support of your laboratory activities and
$
in relocation costs. In total, your startup package amounts to $
.
All new faculty are expected to provide a detailed spending plan to the Office of Research and Economic
Development (ORED) for their startup funding within sixty days of beginning full time employment and an
annual report of startup expenditures will be required at the end of each academic year of employment.
Details concerning the submission of theses documents will be provided by ORED.
(This section should be modified according to the nature of the start-up package)
As a faculty member at Mississippi State University, you will be expected to meet the highest professional
standards in your contributions to teaching, research, service, (and outreach). You will be evaluated
annually on your performance in these areas and that evaluation will be the basis for decisions for future
salary increases. It is our expectation that full professors will have established national reputations in
their field of expertise. I would be pleased to discuss the expected levels of achievement with you, and I
suggest that you refer to the MSU promotion and tenure document at:
http://www.msstate.edu/web/faculty_handbook/ for more information and to the documents in your
department and/or college.
Date
Name
Page
of
To be tenured requires that you be a citizen of the United States or be eligible for permanent employment
in this country. This offer is contingent upon approval by the University President. A copy of the contract
you will be asked to sign, should you accept this offer, is enclosed for your review. As an employee, you
are expected to comply with all federal and state laws, all policies of the Board of Trustees of State
Institutions of Higher Learning and all University policies. Mississippi State University policies are located
on the Office of Internal Audit website (http://www.msstate.edu/dept/audit/mainindex.html).
This offer is also contingent upon your being a United States citizen or having lawful authorization to work
in the United States for the full term of the contract. This offer will be withdrawn if you are not authorized
to work at Mississippi State University by the beginning date indicated above. This offer is contingent
upon successful completion of a criminal background screen. While every effort will be made to complete
the background screen prior to your first day of work, you will be allowed to start work with continued
employment contingent upon successful completion of the criminal background screen. (Please remove
the previous two sentences regarding background screening if currently employed by MSU.)
This offer also includes reimbursement of reasonable relocation expenses in an amount up to $
.
Any such expenses must comply with the attached University’s Relocation Guidelines. (Must leave this
sentence in if moving expenses are being reimbursed)
It is my sincere hope that you will accept this offer to join our faculty. I believe that you have much to
offer our program, and you will achieve professional advancement and fulfillment as a member of our
department. Please notify us of your acceptance or rejection of this offer by Date. Should you decide to
accept this offer, please return a signed original of this letter to me by the above date. In addition to your
acceptance, please see the attached list of required documents that must be completed prior to your
employment at Mississippi State University.
Sincerely,
Name
Department Head
Approved:
________________________________________
Insert Name
Dean, College of
_________
Date
________________________________________
Jerome A. Gilbert
Provost and Executive Vice President
_________
Date
Offer Accepted: Faculty Rank/Title at the salary of $
_________________________________________
Insert Name
cc: Human Resources Management
, effective date:
_________
Date
Employment Information
The documents and completed employment forms listed below are required and must be submitted to
your department/unit head prior to the first day of your employment.
1. Completed state and federal tax forms (see forms attached)
2. An I-9 form with appropriate identification must be completed prior to your initial employment date.
Instructions for completing the form and lists of acceptable documents are available at:
http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf
3. Completed Direct Deposit Authorization Form available at:
http://www.controller.msstate.edu/docs/payroll_deposit.pdf
4. Completed Personal Demographic Data form at:
http://www.hrm.msstate.edu/forms/PersonalDemographicData2010.pdf
5. Two letters of recommendation.
Faculty and Teaching Credentials
The documents and completed form listed below are required and must be submitted to your
department/unit head within five days after your employment.
1. Official transcript(s) for each degree earned.
2. Completed Verification of Faculty & Teaching Credentials form available via myBanner located under
the Personal Information tab.
Human Resources Management Information
An enhanced orientation to MSU employee benefits and services is now available at
http://www.hrm.msstate.edu/OnlineOrientation.htm that allows newly hired MSU employees to complete
their new employee orientation online.
New employees enrolling in the State of Mississippi Health Insurance and certain other benefits must
complete enrollment forms within their first 31 days of employment to ensure coverage effective with their
date of hire. Benefits information is available at:
http://www.hrm.msstate.edu/benefits/benefitsoverview.html Please call 662-325-3713 if you have any
questions.
Permanent Residency Information
Note that it is important to consult with your department/unit head regarding permanent residency (if
applicable) as early as possible to ensure that you have ample time to explore your options. Faculty may
apply for tenure prior to receiving permanent residency status as a long as a petition has been filed with
USCIS. If a faculty member is recommended for, promotion and/or tenure prior to attaining permanent
residency status tenure will be withheld until such time that status is granted, but it will not affect
promotion in professorial rank. However, the timeline for attaining permanent residency status will be
governed by USCIS regulations such that if a faculty member is denied permanent residency or residency
status in the United States expires then the university will be under no obligation to grant tenure.
Information regarding permanent residency can be accessed through the following link:
http://www.hrm.msstate.edu/employment/HiringToolKit/PR_ToolKit.htm
Guidelines for Reimbursing Relocation Costs for New Employee
Mississippi State University is authorized to reimburse relocation costs for a new contractual employee
using any source of funds that is not otherwise restricted for this purpose. Reimbursement of relocation
costs for non-contract employees is not currently allowed. The relocation costs for contract employees
must be included as an attachment to the first year contract. The new employee cannot incur financial
obligations on behalf of the university but may be personally reimbursed upon presentation of a receipt(s)
for costs incurred under the following guidelines.
The recruiting department should establish a reasonable limit on the amount of total
relocation costs that will be reimbursed to the new employee.
Receipted costs for the movement of household goods, using a commercial mover or
self-moving (rental of truck, hiring of labor, etc.), may be reimbursed.
Travel costs from the old residence to the new residence for the employee and
dependents may be reimbursed as follows:
Mileage
Mileage will be reimbursed in accordance with Mississippi State
University’s travel policy. A portion of mileage reimbursement exceeding
the allowable amount by the federal government for such costs will be
added to reported gross income on Form W-2. Odometer readings, or
actual fuel costs, must be provided to the recruiting department.
Meals
Meals will be reimbursed in accordance with Mississippi’s current
Maximum Daily Meal Reimbursement Policy. No receipt will be required
for meals, and expenses should be submitted as a total per day. The
reimbursement of these costs is also taxable and will be added to gross
reported earnings.
Lodging
Lodging must be receipted and cannot exceed the actual day of arrival at
the University location where employment is established.