Professor in the Practice Guidance for Chairs & Staff

Academic unit determines—usually through a process of review of published, produced, performed, created, or other professional representations of work as well as through research, reading, and discussion—that a search in a given area of need would undoubtedly yield a particular person as the top candidate.

Alternately, the academic unit hears that an especially eminent practitioner is suddenly movable, spurring them to propose a search for that person.

The selected candidate may be external to Yale or may already hold a Yale faculty position of any rank (instructional, research, or ladder).

Academic unit chair submits a search request to the FAS Dean's Office at fas.dean@yale.edu with a copy to the relevant divisional dean. The request should include:

1. Rationale for an eminent practitioner search—for the particular individual and the field(s) in the context of the department, division, school, and university (as appropriate)

2. Description of the process through which the proposed candidate was identified

3. CV, professional resume, or biography of proposed candidate

4. Information about teaching and graduate training context, including information about the candidate's experience in teaching or training, and potential courses the proposed candidate may offer relative to the academic unit's teaching needs.

The request is reviewed by the relevant tenure and appointments committee in their area advisory role and the Faculty Resource Commitee (FRC).

The FAS Dean's Office informs the academic unit chair about the review outcome.

If an external candidate is a US citizen or permanent resident, no public advertisement is necessary. If an external candidate is not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States, the position must be publicly advertised (in accordance with the Office of International Students & Scholars’ requirements for Recruitment Advertising Involving International Applicants). If that is the case, the academic unit should contact the FAS Dean’s Office at fas.dean@yale.edu for further information on how to advertise this position.

Academic unit staff create a private search in Interfolio, using reason code “Other” and typing Professor in the Practice in the resulting text field.

Once the position has been approved, academic unit staff add the proposed candidate as an applicant to the search. The candidate will receive an email alerting them, and will need to fill out the EEO form within Interfolio. 

Academic unit staff add candidate’s CV to the application.

Position status is set to Short List / Final Candidate(s) and the applicant status of the candidate is set to Full / Campus Interview.
 

Academic unit staff submit the record for approval in the Faculty Search Reporting Process (FSRP).

Sarah Logan, Assistant Director of Faculty Affairs, will email the materials request letter, referee request email, and referee instructions letter templates to the academic unit chair and staff.

If the candidate is internal to Yale, the academic unit chair meets with the candidate to explain the process for the review.

Academic unit chair sends the provided materials request letter to the candidate with a copy to fas.dean@yale.edu.

Academic unit staff create the case in Interfolio. Refer to the FAS unit administrator guide to Interfolio RPT.

Academic unit chair selects faculty review committee, typically composed of three faculty members drawn from the pool of full professors and professors in the practice.

Academic unit chair (supported by staff) prepares an alphabetized list of proposed referees/evaluators and comparators, following the referee/evaluator and comparator information list guidelines for Professor in the Practice.

Five referee/evaluator letters are required, and at least three must come from referees/evaluators who have not previously written for the candidate for an appointment at Yale. Ideally, all will hold an “arm’s-length” relation to the candidate (refer to the criteria for arm’s-length and/or fresh status of external referees/evaluators for Professor in the Practice).

In some fields, traditional referee letters may not be a conventional form of professional evaluation. In such cases, five examples of the following are permitted: published reviews or other forms of journalistic criticism, committee or jury reports with appropriate clearance, formal critiques, or other modes of field-specific critical evaluation. 

Academic unit chair proposes the list of external referees and comparators by emailing the relevant divisional dean with a copy to fas.dean@yale.edu. The divisional dean works with the chair to approve the referees and comparators.

Academic unit staff send the previously provided referee request email to the referees as soon as possible after receiving approval of the referee list from the relevant divisional dean. These initial messages must be sent by email.

Academic unit staff track all referee responses and send reminder emails to potential referees who have not responded as needed.

The candidate uploads their materials directly into Interfolio as directed in the materials request letter.

The academic unit staff check that these materials are complete and fall within the required word/page counts as described in the materials request letter and request revisions, when necessary, before transmitting the materials to the referees.

After the candidate’s dossier is complete and ready to share, the academic unit staff send the provided referee instructions letter to referees who have agreed to write. These letters must be sent through Interfolio.

NOTE: Please remember that all recommendation letters and referee letters should be held in the strictest confidence. Only those faculty members who are allowed to vote on a candidate’s case have permission to view the letters (see the Yale Faculty Handbook Section IV.F.1 for voting policy). The only document that may be shared with those not directly involved with a faculty search, appointment, or promotion is the candidate’s CV.  

The eligible voting academic unit faculty (see Yale Faculty Handbook section IV.F.1) review the file and vote on the appointment. An affirmative vote is required for the case to move forward in the review process.  

Academic unit votes may take place once all letters have been received or one week after the latest deadline given to a referee (whichever occurs first). Academic unit votes must take place at least 4 weeks prior to the TAC review date.  

In fully joint cases, an affirmative vote is required by both academic units to proceed. Academic units must meet to vote separately, and each submit a department faculty vote form. Votes should occur as concurrently as possible, and results should not be shared between academic units.

Academic unit staff prepare the department faculty vote form.  

Academic unit staff ensure all TAC checklist materials are completed and uploaded appropriately to the case prior to FAS Dean's Office review.

*Note: Refer to the checklist for every case as updates are made periodically without announcement.

If the academic unit vote is positive, the chair and/or other representatives attend the relevant Tenure and Appointments Committee (TAC) to answer questions. 

If the TAC approves the case, the promotion moves on to a vote of the Fellows of the Yale Corporation.  

After an affirmative vote from the TAC, the FAS Dean's Office sends the appointment letter to the candidate with a copy to the academic unit chair and staff. The candidate must send a signed copy of the letter to the FAS Dean's Office at fas.dean@yale.edu. An electronic scan of the offer letter is sufficient.

After receiving the countersigned offer letter, academic unit staff refer to the FAS chart of required documents, submit the listed materials to the Office of Faculty Administrative Services (OFAS) at faculty.admin@yale.edu, and process the hire in Workday.

Complete the onboarding process for the new faculty member once the hire is completed.

*Note: For candidates internal to Yale being promoted to Professor in the Practice, academic unit staff complete the business processes listed under promotion on the FAS chart of required documents.

Sarah Logan, Assistant Director of Faculty Affairs, will email the materials request letter template to the academic unit chair and staff.

Academic unit chair meets with the candidate to explain the process for the review.

Academic unit chair sends the provided materials request letter to the candidate with a copy to fas.dean@yale.edu.

Academic unit staff create the case in Interfolio. Refer to the FAS unit administrator guide to Interfolio RPT.

The candidate uploads the materials listed directly into Interfolio.

- a letter indicating their interest in being renewed

- a description (not to exceed 500 words) of their professional accomplishments, activities, and goals over the term of their appointment

- an updated copy of their CV, professional resume, or biography

- any additional materials they have included for consideration

The academic unit staff check that these materials are complete and fall within the required word/page counts and request revisions, when necessary.

Before the end of the fall semester, the relevant tenure and appointments committee (TAC) will review the dossier in Interfolio to consider whether a full review is necessary.
 

No academic unit vote is necessary before or after the TAC review.

If the TAC determines that further review is warranted, the relevant divisional dean will chair a review committee that includes the academic unit chair and another senior faculty member from another unit from within the division.
 

The committee will determine the process necessary to conduct the review, which could include the solicitation of up to three referee letters or evaluations from inside or outside the university as well as classroom observations.
 

The committee will make a recommendation on reappointment to the FAS Dean before the end of the spring semester.

The Fellows of the Yale Corporation vote on reappointments approved by TAC and the FAS Dean.

Formal reappointment letter is sent to the candidate following approval by TAC and the FAS Dean, with a copy to the academic unit chair and staff.

Academic unit staff refer to the FAS chart of required documents, submit the listed materials to the Office of Faculty Administrative Services (OFAS) at faculty.admin@yale.edu, and process the reappointment in Workday.