Policies Relating to Faculty

Teaching Relief Policy

Brown University provides one semester of classroom teaching relief for faculty members who are primary caregivers for newborn children or newly adopted children. This is not considered to be a leave, and the faculty member's responsibilities to conduct r esearch, advise students, and participate in University and departmental affairs remain unchanged. The point of this policy is to provide sufficient time to faculty members coping with the demands of being primary caregiver to an infant or newly adopted child.

All full-time regular faculty (professors, associate professors, assistant professors, lecturers, senior lecturers) are eligible for this benefit during the semester in which birth or adoption occurs, or in the immediately following semester (if birth or adoption occurs between semesters, the teaching relief can be taken in the following semester). Faculty members wishing to receive teaching relief should contact their department chairs, preferably six months in advance of the requested relief. Chairs sho uld then contact the office of the Dean of the Faculty or the office of the Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences (as appropriate) for assistance in funding the teaching obligations and/or crafting of alternative duties that could be structured in lieu of teaching by that faculty member.

To request such teaching relief, the individual faculty member will need to submit a request to the Dean of the Faculty/Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences, indicating the period during which teaching relief is requested and verifying that he or she will be the primary caregiver during that time. The Chair of the faculty member’s department should indicate support for the request.

March 12, 2003

Curriculum Vitae Update Guidelines

This form is provided as a template for faculty and departments to follow when completing curricula vitae for review by TPA. Entries on the CV should be numbered as shown below.

Name, position, academic department (s)
Home address
Education: undergraduate and graduate degrees (where, when and major field(s); Ph.D. dissertation topic.
Professional appointments (where and when), in chronological order
Completed Publications (Exhibitions, Perfomances, etc.) Please organize this section chronologically within each of the following separate sub-headings (as appropriate):

books/monographs (authored and/or edited volumes);
chapters in books;
refereed journal articles;
non-refereed journal articles;
book reviews;
abstracts;
invited lectures;
papers read;
work in review;
work in progress.

Please note: All published works must be completely cited following standard bibliographic practice, including year of publication and page numbers for each entry.

Research Grants:

current grants (agency, title, dates, role on grant, total award amount)
completed grants (same data as a.)
proposals submitted

Service:

to the University,
to the profession and
to the community, each category organized separated and chronologically.

Academic honors, fellowships, honorary societies, listed chronologically.
Teaching: chronologically, for the last three years. Include in addition to regular courses (and enrollment figures for each): GISPs and Independent Studies by number, and the number of Honors, Master's and Ph.D. theses directed, including academic advising, as well as the number of students advised.

Special Retirement Arrangement Plan

Retirement Plan [effective July 1, 2005]

General Conditions

The Retirement Arrangement (the “Arrangement”) provides a special retirement benefit to eligible faculty members who retire in accordance with its terms and conditions. The University reserves the right to provide other severance arrangements to other faculty or staff in accordance with its policies and subject to such conditions as may be applicable. The Arrangement shall be administered by the Provost, whose decisions and interpretations of the Arrangement are final. The University has the right to modify or terminate this Arrangement, but any modification or termination shall not affect the rights of faculty who have already retired under it. Unless sooner terminated, the last Optional Retirement Date under this Arrangement will be June 30, 2010, and the Arrangement will terminate on that date. Application for a benefit under this Arrangement must be made to the Provost at least six months prior to the date on which retirement is to occur. No benefit shall be payable to any person if the faculty member dies prior to retirement.

Definitions

"Academic Year Salary" means, for each fiscal year (July 1 - June 30) in which an optional retirement date occurs, the faculty member's salary paid by the University for the prior regular 9 month academic year (whether paid in 9 or 12 monthly installments). For this purpose, "salary" means the annual stated rate of pay relating to the employee's position as a member of the faculty and does not include items such as benefits (including health coverage and retirement contributions) or additional pay for special projects or duties.
"Optional Retirement Date" means the first working day of January and June 30 of each calendar year in which the Participant may retire under this Arrangement.
"Participant" means a faculty member who meets the eligibility requirements of the Plan.
"Plan Waiver" means a waiver and release of claims that a Participant must sign on his or her Retirement Date in order to receive benefits under the Plan. The contents of a Plan Waiver shall be determined by the Provost in his or her sole discretion but shall include a waiver of any claims theretofore accruing under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
"Rescission Period" means the period beginning on a Participant's Retirement Date and ending 21 days thereafter.
"Retire" or "Retirement" means a final separation from the service of the University. Such final separation shall include a final relinquishment of all benefits and attributes of employment including, but not limited to, salary, benefits, office, and laboratory space. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an individual shall not be treated as having failed to retire solely by reason of performing ad hoc services for the University as an adjunct faculty member pursuant to an arrangement generally available for such services.

Eligibility

Full-time tenured faculty members who have not elected to receive benefits under another separation or retirement agreement, have attained (or will have attained during the calendar year) age sixty-six (66) and who will have completed at least fifteen (15) years of service with the University on the date of Retirement may request a retirement benefit under this Arrangement. Faculty who were eligible to retire under this Arrangement after October 7, 1998 and before 2006 shall have their eligibility and benefits determined under the documents in effect at the time they were eligible to retire under this Arrangement.

Retirement

A faculty member desiring to receive a benefit under this Arrangement must retire on an Optional Retirement Date. During any year that the faculty member is eligible to elect to retire under this Agreement, there are two optional retirement dates: the first working day of the calendar year and June 30. This Arrangement shall expire with respect to any faculty member who does not retire on an Optional Retirement Date. The last Optional Retirement Date is June 30 of the calendar year in which the Participant reaches 68 years of age; provided, however, that the maximum age limitation shall not apply to retirements on Optional Retirement Dates in 2006, to a faculty member who completes 15 years of service during the calendar year.
Faculty who elect to receive benefits under any other separation or retirement agreement are not eligible to receive benefits under this Arrangement. The preceding sentence does not apply to retirement benefits under a plan described in Section 401 (a) or 403 (b) of the Internal Revenue Service Code.
A faculty member who will have provided fifteen (15) years of service upon date of retirement and who retires under the Arrangement shall receive a single cash payment equal to:

1.75X the participant's Academic Year Salary plus $10,500 should retirement occur during 2006 or during the calendar year the participant reaches 66 years of age or completes 15 years of service;
1.375X the Participant’s academic year salary plus $10,500 should retirement occur after 2006 and during the calendar year the Participant reaches 67 years of age with more than 15 years of service;
1.00X the Participant’s academic year salary plus $10,500 should retirement occur after 2006 and during the calendar year the Participant reaches 68 years of age with more than 15 years of service.

A faculty member who has retired on an Optional Retirement Date after applying for a benefit under this Arrangement may rescind the retirement within 21 days after the Optional Retirement Date by delivering a written notice of rescission to the Provost. The notice must be received in the Provost's office within the 21-day period. No benefit under this Arrangement will be paid to a faculty member who rescinds his or her retirement.

Plan Document

In the event of any discrepancy between this summary and the complete Arrangement, the Arrangement shall prevail.

Legal Requirements

This Arrangement has been adopted subject to the condition that it is not subject to the participation, vesting, or funding standards imposed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended. Benefits under this Arrangement are payable exclusively from the University's general assets. The University has retained certain rights to amend or terminate the Arrangement.

Taxes and Withholding

The benefit under this Arrangement is subject to applicable taxes, and any benefit paid under this Arrangement will be paid net of any applicable withholding taxes.

Arrangement Authorization Responsible Senior Officer: David I. Kertzer, Provost

Faculty Absences From Campus During the Academic Year

September 12, 2006
To: All Brown faculty
From: Rajiv Vohra, Dean of the Faculty
Subj.: Faculty Absences from Campus during the Academic Year

I write to remind you of University policy concerning faculty absences from campus. The 'Faculty Rules and Regulations' specify that faculty members must be present and regularly available on campus during the academic year, starting with the beginning of Orientation Week and ending with Commencement. While there is no explicit exception noted regarding the period between semesters, it has long been understood that many faculty members use this time for concentrated research efforts, including travel that takes them away from campus. Faculty members are nevertheless reminded that they have an obligation to contribute to departmental activities that normally take place during the month of January, especially since this can be an important time for faculty searches.

Classes are expected to meet during all regularly scheduled class meeting times during the semester; classes that are not held for legitimate reasons should be rescheduled in conformance with 'The Faculty Rules and Regulations'. If classes are not held during Reading Period, an alternative assignment should be given and must be announced at the beginning of the semester. As I know you appreciate, repeated and extended absences from campus during the academic year by some faculty members can lead to justifiable complaints from students. Missed class sessions and failure to submit grades in a timely fashion place the University in jeopardy of violating the implicit contract it makes with each registered student to provide a full semester of instruction and timely and adequate evaluation of the student’s performance.

There are, of course, many legitimate reasons why a faculty member may need to be absent from campus for short periods. In order to meet our obligations to our students and still make it possible for faculty to be away from campus for these legitimate professional reasons, each faculty member is asked to observe the following guidelines in planning for absences during the academic year:

The faculty member should notify her/his Department Chairperson at least ten days in advance of the anticipated absence, including the purpose of the absence.

Department chairs should notify the Dean of the Faculty or the Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences, as appropriate, when they intend to be away from campus, with the same minimum amount of notification. They should provide information about any arrangements for coverage of responsibilities in the department during their absence.

The faculty member should inform the Chairperson of what arrangements have been made for the teaching or make-up of any classes that will be missed during the absence. It is the responsibility of each faculty member, in consultation with the chair or director of the relevant department or program, to insure that adequate provision is made for the teaching or make-up of missed class meetings, and for adequate coverage of other department responsibilities that might be missed during that faculty member’s absence.
The faculty member should also insure that adequate phone and mail contact information is left with the Department should it become necessary to contact the faculty member while he/she is away.
In addition to the arrangements outlined in (1) - (3) above, any faculty member anticipating an absence from campus of **two weeks or more** should take the following additional steps:

At least two weeks prior to the absence, obtain the approval of the Department Chairperson, and notify the Dean of the Faculty or the Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences.
Note the absence on all course syllabi at the beginning of the semester and provide information on the syllabus about coverage or rescheduling of the affected class periods.

Teaching Relief for Departmental Administrative Duties: Guidelines and Best Practices

To: Department Chairs
From: Rajiv Vohra, Dean of the Faculty
Cc: Eli Adashi, Katherine Bergeron, Sheila Bonde, David Kertzer
Date: October 20, 2006
Re: Teaching Relief for Departmental Administrative Duties: Guidelines and Best Practices

As many of you will remember, last year I requested information from department chairs on practices regarding teaching relief awarded for various departmental administrative duties. I am writing now to summarize the current norms and to clarify the general expectations regarding teaching relief. (Please note that the information that follows concerns non-bio-med departments and it concerns teaching relief for departmental duties, not course relief that may be awarded by the dean of the faculty or the provost for administrative tasks beyond the departmental level).

I was somewhat surprised to learn that some 100 courses a year are devoted to course relief for departmental administrative duties (including course relief for the department chair). This amounts to a loss of approximately 1 course a year for every 5.5 faculty members: in the Humanities and Social Sciences the average is approximately 1 course for every 4 faculty members, while in those Science departments which have a normal teaching load of one course per semester, teaching relief is rare.

Teaching relief has a significant impact on the Brown curriculum, and in awarding it we should be mindful of the following guidelines:

All faculty members should teach at least one course in each semester when they are not on leave. In departments with a normal teaching load of three courses a year, a faculty member who will be on leave for one semester during an academic year should teach 2 courses during the other semester.
All faculty should normally teach at least one undergraduate course per year.
Department chairs are typically expected to teach half the normal load; although chairs of science departments in which the usual load is one course per semester, and chairs of some small non-science departments, often continue to teach a full load while serving as chair. Those who do so may be permitted a research leave following their term as chair. Any such arrangement must be discussed in advance and approved in writing by the dean.
Responsibilities such as director of graduate studies or director of undergraduate studies may also result in teaching relief, depending on circumstances and on the size of the department. Department chairs have the flexibility to make such arrangements as long as the general expectations are clearly understood and they are attentive to the general guidelines described below.
For some administrative tasks it may be appropriate to provide one course-off every other year, or one course off after three years of service.
Team-teaching a large course or a new course may result in two faculty members getting credit for such a course, which amounts to a form of teaching relief. Such arrangements should generally be restricted to a fixed period of time and should carry the expectation that both faculty members will actually be in the classroom for the entire semester.
There have been a few cases in the past in which faculty members with named chairs have had a lower than normal teaching load. It should be understood that this is not University policy, and department chairs should be careful not to make such promises to colleagues who are appointed to named chairs.
If a faculty member receives external support to cover part of his/her academic year salary, it may be possible to arrange for teaching relief on a per-course basis, subject to the following conditions:

The department chair must assess the impact of the proposal on the department's curriculum. Teaching relief will only be considered if the department's curricular needs can be met.
It should not result in the faculty member teaching less than one course per semester. (This will, therefore, exclude faculty in some Science departments with a normal teaching load of one course per semester. Other incentives for such faculty may be possible, and we hope to discuss this issue further during this year).
In general, 25% of academic year salary (plus benefits), from a grant that provides usual fringe and overhead, would allow for a one-course reduction, and in addition, DOF would contribute $10,000 (plus 10% benefits) in replacement teaching funds to the department.

It is evident that the work of administering a larger department is typically more time-consuming than is the case in a small department, not only for the chair but for others such as the director of graduate studies and the director of undergraduate studies. I would therefore suggest that departments in the Humanities and Social Sciences with fewer than 10 regular faculty should grant no more than 2 courses (typically to the chair); those with regular faculty numbering between 10 and 14 may grant a third course off to the director of graduate studies or director of undergraduate studies, depending on the needs of the curriculum and weight of responsibilities (or perhaps a course-off every other year to each of the two directors so that the total course relief in any given year is 3); those with 15 or more faculty should generally grant 4 courses off; only in departments with more than 25 regular faculty should it be necessary to grant a fifth course off for additional administrative responsibilities. In general, the smaller number of formal courses offered by faculty in science departments means that they should use no more than 3 courses a year for administrative duties.

If deviations from these guidelines seem necessary, the situation should be discussed with the dean, and any exceptions regarding a particular faculty member's teaching load should normally be discussed in the spring planning meetings.

Finally, let me say that it will be very important to continue to gather information about actual teaching loads and to ensure that practices are equitable as we work to improve our sabbatical leave policies, which will decrease further the number of courses available to our students.

October 20, 2006