Visiting Academic Appointment Categories

 
Visiting appointments fall into two broad categories.

  • First, there are visitors who are invited here to meet a need that we have, or to explore a possible faculty position here. The University typically either pays the visitor a salary or reimburses the visitor's home institution for its cost of salary and benefits. For such individuals, units should request appointments as, e.g., Visiting Professor.

  • Second, some visitors come to collaborate, learn techniques, use our Libraries or other research facilities, while on leave from their home institution, but not to provide services to the University. Generally such individuals should come as a "Visiting Scholar." A "Visiting Scholar" is asked to indicate acceptance of a letter of agreement form, approved by the chair, dean, and provost, offering a temporary affiliation with the University for a defined purpose, under the sponsorship of a member of the faculty who must be in residence during the visit.

    • Unpaid appointments as Visiting Professor, Visiting Research Associate, etc., are strongly discouraged under these circumstances, because of the implication that by using those titles we are offering a person employment. Justification will be required.

Sometimes we offer tenured faculty positions to individuals who decline to accept because, for whatever reason, they are not willing to resign from the positions they hold. Although our offer with tenure remains open, such a person cannot be a member of our faculty until they have resigned their previous appointment. Such persons may spend part of the year here as a visitor.