V. FACULTY APPOINTMENTS

Rice has a faculty of approximately 880 women and men holding a variety of appointments. Appointments are of two general types: tenured/tenure-track faculty and non-tenure-track faculty. The two types of appointments are described briefly below. Please see Policy 201: Faculty Appointments, Promotions, and Tenure for more information on both tenure/tenure-track and non-tenure-track appointments.

Appointments in the tenure-track faculty ranks usually involve responsibilities in three areas: (1) research, scholarship, or creative work; (2) teaching and mentoring; and (3) university service (through committee service, advising, or other duties). These ranks include: Assistant professor, Associate professor, and (Full) professor.

Appointments in the non-tenure-track faculty ranks may involve responsibilities in (1) research, scholarship, or creative work; (2) teaching and mentoring; and (3) university service (through committee service, advising, or other duties) but seldom in all three areas and may involve other types of roles. The non-tenure-track faculty ranks include:

Non-tenure-track promotable faculty ranks

  • Assistant research professor,
  • Associate research professor,
  • (Full) research professor,
  • Assistant teaching professor,
  • Associate teaching professor,
  • (Full) teaching professor,
  • Lecturer,
  • Senior lecturer.

Other non-tenure-track faculty ranks

  • Professor in the practice rank,
  • Instructor rank,
  • Special faculty ranks,
  • Visiting appointments,
  • Adjunct appointments.

Policy 327: Research Faculty is currently undergoing revision. Non-tenure-track teaching faculty should see the Policy 201 companion document "Procedures for Appointments to Teaching Professor Ranks."

Endowed Chairs

Tenure and tenure-track faculty may on occasion be awarded additional honorary titles based on past performance and with the expectation of future performance. These endowed chairs are, according to University Policy 202, "awarded to, and withdrawn from, faculty at the pleasure of the president in consultation with the appropriate dean." According to that policy, the relevant dean should appoint an Honorary Title Committee, selected from among tenured faculty holding honorary titles, who will assist the dean in deciding whom to recommend for the endowed chair.

 

Updated 5/27/2021