Frequently asked questions and answers

Q. How important is the wording of the Action Request portion of the communication? Do I need to use specific wording or may I merely state what I want to accomplish with this communication?

A. The wording is important. Each communication is categorized by the type of Action Request that is stated and noted in the Regents' meeting agenda. The wording used in the examples listed in Section M, Attachment II, should be used.

Q. Where can I find the "Official Name" of a faculty member?

A. The "Official Name" is the name as noted in M-Pathways (which can be accessed through Wolverine Access). The name printed on the submittal form is the "Official Name" used by the University.

Q. What titles should I list on the communication under "Current Title(s)"? Some faculty have many titles including clinical and research.

A. List only those titles that are Regentally approved. These are basically the instructional and academic administrative (professional) titles. Clinical and Research titles are not Regentally approved.

Q. Can we request the establishment of a titled Professorship and approval of an appointment of a faculty member to that Professorship at the same Regent's meeting?

A. No. We cannot assume that the Regent's will approve the establishment of the Professorship. The Professorship should be approved before appointing a faculty member to the title.

Q. Do I always need to get the signature of the other school/college's Dean when I make a change in the appointment of a faculty member with a joint appointment?

A. Yes, as a courtesy to the other School/College's Dean.

Q. What is the difference between a joint and an additional appointment for a faculty member?

A. A faculty member with a joint appointment has an appointment in two different School/Colleges (e.g. holds an appointment in the College of Engineering and the College of Literature , Science, and the Arts); A faculty member who holds an additional appointment holds more than one title within the same School/College.

Q. Do I have to do a Regent's Communication to renew a dry appointment?

A. No. A communication is needed to appoint the faculty member to the initial appointment at the Associate or Professor levels, but no communication is needed to renew this appointment.

Q. How do I place a faculty member into an "Endowed Professorship"?

A. A Regent communication appointing the faculty member to the Professorship will need to be submitted.

Q. How do I change a named Professorship if it is part of a Promotion?

A. First the promotion would need to go through the normal course of action. If the Faculty member's promotion is approved at the May Regents meeting, a communication may be sent forward to the Regent's changing the name of the Professorship, with an effective date of September 1 (it cannot be changed before the faculty members new appointment effective date.)

Q. How do I extend a "without salary" and tenure appointment? If the Faculty member also holds a "funded" and tenured appointment?

A. We do need a Regent Communication for extending a "without salary" and tenure appointment when the faculty member also holds a funded tenure appointment.

Q. What is the difference between a "Professor of" and a "Professor in"?

A. "Professor of" is used for the discipline and "Professor in" is used for the department. For example: A professor of Obstetrics who teaches in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Q. What if someone who is being promoted had a name change (e.g. marriage, divorce). Should the communication indicate the new name and should we put the old name on the communication for tracking purposes only?

A. Yes, you would need to use the new name, but the old name would still need to be indicated in brackets after the new name in the Action Request section of the communication.

Q. Can a new faculty member with a 12 month appointment start at any time?

A. Yes.

Q. What are the appointment effective dates for a UYR Professor:

A. UYR Professors start either September 1, or January 1.

Q. Retirement Memoirs can be confusing. Are there any written guidelines I can use?

A. Yes. The information you need regarding Retirement Memoirs can be found at:

www.umich.edu/~regents/meetings/materials.html

You can also find an example in the Examples section of this guide.

Q. I have a communication that I need to submit but it is late. The appointment effective date has already passed, can I still submit the communication and what do I need to do to explain why it is being submitted late?

A. You can submit the communication, but a memo to the Provost is required to explain why the communication is being submitted to the Regents after the appointment is already in effect. Please note: Every effort should be made to submit all communications in a timely fashion before the effective date of the appointment. See example in theExamples section of this guide.

Q. We have a faculty member with a joint appointment in another School/College. They are coming up for a tenure review in our School/College, but their review in the other School/College is not scheduled until the next year. What can we do to make these reviews take place at the same time so the potential promotions could be congruent?

A. You should communicate with the other School/College as soon as possible to suggest/coordinate the reviews take place in the same year.

Q. Can you explain the difference between all of the different Professorships?

A. There are several different kinds of Professorships, most are listed below:

•  Endowed - This has to have a dollar amount of $2 million or more, with at least half of the amount in hand prior to the approval of the Professorship. This comes with a stipend to the Faculty member who is given the Professorship.

•  Un-Endowed - These can be used for retention purposes. The Provost's Office has a number of these available and a Dean may request to have one transferred to their School/College, who name it and any money associated with the Professorship will come from School/College resources.

•  Collegiate - These are funded by donors and are in the sum of $500K. These professorships are named after a faculty member that is no longer with the University.

•  Named Visiting Professorship.

•  University Professorships - There is a committee in Rackham that receives nominations from Schools/Colleges. Once a year the committee nominates a Faculty member to receive one of these Professorships which they can then take with them into their retirement. These Professorships are given to Elite Faculty members of the University only.