This policy supplements the University of Pittsburgh's "Policy and Procedure Governing Appointments to Distinguished Professorships", approved by Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg, on July 4, 2000.
The appointment of a faculty member to an endowed chair or professorship “recognizes eminence in a field of study that reflects outstanding contributions to a discipline. National and, where appropriate, international recognition in a field is expected.” Appointments to endowed chairs and professorships are made by the Chancellor on the recommendation of the Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for the Health Sciences.
All nominations to endowed chairs and professorships to be held by the School of Medicine faculty require review and approval by the School of Medicine Executive Committee, the Vice Dean, and the Dean/Senior Vice Chancellor for the Health Sciences. Review is mandatory prior to awarding any endowed chair or professorship.
The procedure is as follows
- A dossier shall be submitted to Faculty Affairs, Office of the Vice-Dean. The dossier must include
- Comprehensive nomination letter from the department chair outlining the criteria and process for selection, the candidate’s record of achievement upon which the nomination is based, and information on the anticipated productivity and future direction of the candidate.
- Candidate’s curriculum vitae in School of Medicine format.
- Personal statement from the candidate on his/her research, teaching, and service activities.
- Names and addresses of 14-16 external and 4 optional internal referees from internationally, nationally, or regionally recognized experts whose rank is equivalent to or higher than the candidate’s proposed rank who will be asked to assess the candidate’s record of achievement and suitability for the proposed nomination. The preponderance of external letters should be from scholars at distinguished rank, named chairs, or similar titled professorships who are arm's-length from the candidate, excluding former advisors and advisees, co-authors/coeditors, research collaborators, and current/former colleagues. When this is not possible or feasible as, for example, in a new or emerging field of study, an explanation should be provided in the dossier. The Office of Faculty Affairs will solicit the recommendation letters.
- The nomination will be submitted to the School of Medicine Executive Committee for review and approval and subsequent submission to the Vice Dean
- The Vice Dean will transmit the proposal to the Dean/Senior Vice Chancellor for the Health Sciences for review and approval. Once the nomination is endorsed by the SVC, it will be submitted to the Provost, and finally to the Chancellor.
Approved by the Executive Committee on 4/10/01