CIS Affiliate Faculty Policy

CIS AFFILIATE Professor Policy Document – Passed in CIS February 2007.

A " CIS Affiliate Professor" is a person with a full time position at another university, institution, industry or government organization that is qualified to hold a faculty position within CIS. A person holding a "CIS Affiliate Professor" appointment is committed to the ongoing success of the Center's mission through active participation with CIS in research, advising, outreach, and education. A "CIS Affiliate Professor" will not necessarily spend any significant time in residence at RIT's campus and receives no RIT salary or benefits.  There is no contractual financial obligation on the part of CIS and RIT.  CIS and RIT will reserve the right to terminate the Affiliate Professor appointment at any time.

The following procedure will be followed in appointing "CIS Affiliate Professors ":

1. A current CIS faculty member nominates the candidate for the position by suggesting the appointment to the CIS Director along with appropriate background information and a description of the expected benefit to the Center.

2. After initial approval to continue the process, the sponsoring faculty member will submit the candidates CV and a letter of nomination (written by the sponsoring faculty member) outlining the candidate’s qualifications and plans for significant ongoing activities with CIS that justify the appointment.

3. The CIS Director will review the nomination and, if sufficient, forward it to the full CIS faculty (departmental and extended).  The full CIS faculty will vote on the nomination in a written process that includes reasons for or against.  A person can be appointed as a CIS Affiliate Professor only with a majority vote of the CIS faculty. The criteria for selection as an Affiliate Faculty member will be: (1) evidence of interest in and commitment to the CIS mission, (2) research excellence, (3) ability and interest to contribute to the academic, pedagogical, and/or outreach components of CIS’s mission, (4) evidence of and/or prospects for an active and interactive relationship with CIS faculty.

4. The CIS Director will review the faculty feedback. and make a final decision on the appointment.  If positive, the CIS Director will inform the VP for Research and the Dean of the College of Science of the intention to appoint the individual.  If negative, the CIS Director will inform the sponsoring faculty member who will inform the candidate.

5. In the case of a positive outcome, the CIS director will prepare and send an appointment letter (with cc to the sponsoring faculty member, the VP for Research and the Dean of the College of Science) and the appointment will commence upon acceptance by the candidate.

While each appointment letter might detail additional specific arrangements, the attached appointment letter template illustrates the required terms and conditions of the appointment.

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*** Draft Appointment Letter ***

Dear Dr. Suess,

It is my pleasure to offer you an appointment as a CIS Affiliate Professor in Rochester Institute of Technology’s Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science. This appointment will commence on XX, has a term of 3 years, and is renewable at that time by mutual consent of the CIS Faculty and the individual.  CIS and RIT reserve the right to terminate the appointment at any time. This appointment is not tenured, or tenure-track, and carries no salary or employee benefits.

CIS Affiliate Faculty come from a broad range of fields, and are distinguished by their research excellence, their commitment to education, their interactivity, their interest in interdisciplinary collaboration, and their commitment to the vision of the Center for Imaging Science.

In your role as a CIS Affiliate Professor, you will be expected to represent CIS as an advocate, researcher, and educator within your local community and scientific field. This will include mentoring students with RIT faculty on research projects, serving on thesis committees, perhaps occasional distance and local lectures, or co-development of pedagogy and collaboration with CIS faculty, staff, and students on various research projects and grant proposals. In the process of carrying out these activities, you will also naturally help our efforts to recruit new graduate and undergraduate students to our programs.

While this position carries no RIT salary, the advantages to you are many. You will have a formal academic appointment with our Center which gives you the privilege to work collaboratively on research projects and grant proposals, publish and present research with an RIT affiliation, co-advise graduate and undergraduate students in conjunction with RIT faculty, and have access to some of our computational and laboratory facilities. There is the potential for travel support from CIS for visits to give specific lectures, etc.

Your main technical contact for this appointment will be Prof. so-and-so, who has sponsored this appointment within CIS.

Please advise me at your earliest convenience of your acceptance of this appointment.

Sincerly,

Stefi Baum, Director and Professor, CIS…