Non-Tenured Titles
Officers of Instruction
Introduction and Areas of Scholarly Focus
Non-tenured Officer of Instruction titles include two tracks (full-time and part-time) each of which can be appointed at four ranks (Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor). Full-time titles include the suffix "at CUIMC" (e.g. Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at CUIMC). Part-time titles include the term "Clinical" as either a suffix (Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology in Psychiatry) or prefix (Clinical Professor of Psychiatry) depending on career focus.
The University has organized non-tenured titles into three areas of scholarly focus that cover the range of faculty activity at CUIMC. These areas of scholarly focus are: Educational Scholarship and Leadership, Applied Health Care and Public Health Practice; and Knowledge Development and Integration-Investigator. Faculty applying for appointment or promotions to non-tenured positions are required to indicate a concentration in the areas that best fits their work and goals at the medical center. Faculty may indicate one or more than one area of concentration (e.g. a major and a minor, major and two minors) if the latter provides a better fit with their professional activities.
The CUIMC Office of Academic Affairs has published separate guidelines for promotion in each area of scholarly focus. The guidelines include both a description of the area of focus (Major Focus, Scholarly Products Expected, Metrics of Evaluation) and the Criteria for Advancement (i.e., the criteria for appointment and promotion) at the Assistant, Associate and Professor levels. Note that while these guidelines were initially developed as specific to the full time “at CUIMC” track, in the Department of Psychiatry they will be used as guidelines for all non-tenured faculty (i.e., full-time “at CUIMC”, part-time and voluntary).
Titles for full time non-tenured faculty (i.e. Columbia benefits eligible) are identical regardless of area of concentration. Part time faculty with Applied Health/Public Health focus will be appointed to prefix titles. Those with an Investigator or Educational Leadership focus will be on the suffix track. Voluntary faculty appointments to these three ranks.
The sections below give a very brief description of each Area of Scholarly Focus. Under each brief description you will find links to: (1) Descriptions of the types of scholarly activity and products expected for each focus; and, (2) the Criteria for Advancement (Promotion) to each rank : Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor.
Educational Scholarship and Leadership
This area of scholarly focus includes faculty whose major career involvements are in education and training. Examples are faculty who serve as leaders of departmental residency training, fellowship, or graduate student education programs, are responsible for development or coordination of broad areas of curricula, have leadership positions on education-related committees or task forces and/or major time commitment to research on evaluation and dissemination of curricula or training methods (including scholarly publication).
The CUIMC guidelines identify three types of work within this category: Direct involvement (e.g. teaching courses, supervising trainees); providing infrastructure (e.g. coordinating curricula); and developing educational materials (e.g. textbooks, case simulations).
Detailed Descriptions | Criteria for Advancement
Applied Health Care and Public Health Intervention
This scholarly focus includes faculty whose major involvements are in area such as: developing and implementing clinical programs, providing and evaluating care, and establishing new guidelines and public health policies. Faculty selecting this focus are expected to have an area of clinical or public health expertise and be involved in activities such as: running clinical programs, leading efforts to revise public health policies, or participating in development and evaluation of new public health guidelines. Individuals with this career focus are also expected to have substantial involvement in teaching and education.
Detailed Descriptions | Criteria for Advancement
Knowledge Development and Integration-Investigator
The Investigator focus includes faculty whose major involvements are research.The research may be in any area related to health science and can include any one of a broad range of methodologies (e.g., basic science, clinical, epidemiologic, translational, etc.). Measures of accomplishment in this area of focus include, but are not limited to: peer reviewed publications, consistent public (e.g. NIH) or private (e.g. foundation or industry) external research support; presentations at professional meetings, membership on editorial or scientific advisory boards.
Individuals with this career focus are also expected to have substantial involvement in teaching and education as demonstrated by testament from students and supervisees as well as a track record of participation in didactic courses, workshops, mentoring, etc.
*All language in quotation marks is from the CUIMC Academic Affairs website “New Academic Tracks/Titles” http://cumc.columbia.edu/faculty/academictracks