Faculty Appointments

Faculty Titles and Ranks

  • Assistant Professors: should have the terminal degree appropriate to their field or equivalent qualifications. They should be well-qualified to teach at the undergraduate or graduate levels, participate in scholarly/creative work, and if applicable, clinical activities.
  • Associate Professors: should have the terminal degree appropriate to their field or equivalent qualifications, a record of successful teaching experience, accomplishment and promise for significant contributions in scholarly/creative work, and leadership and service experience. If applicable, they will also have a record of successful clinical activity. In most cases, the award of tenure accompanies appointment or promotion to associate professor, with the exception of the University of Colorado Law School, where promotion and tenure can be separate processes.
  • Professors (also called “Full Professors”):should have the terminal degree appropriate to their field or equivalent qualifications, and: (a) a record since earning the terminal degree or equivalent qualifications that, taken as a whole, may be judged to be excellent; (b) a record of significant contribution to graduate and undergraduate education, unless individual or departmental circumstances can be shown to require a stronger emphasis, or singular focus, on one or the other; and (c) a record since receiving tenure or promotion to Associate Professor that indicates substantial, significant, continued growth, development, and accomplishment in teaching, scholarly/creative work, leadership and service, and if applicable, clinical activities.
  • Distinguished Professors: This title is extended by the Board of Regents to recognize the outstanding contributions of tenured full professors to their academic disciplines (see subsection (J) of and ). The faculty awarded this title must demonstrate accomplishments in accordance with the following criteria: (a) excellence in the promotion of learning and student attainment of knowledge and skills; (b) distinguished performance in scholarly/creative work; and (c) outstanding leadership and service to the profession and to CU and/or affiliate institutions. It is reserved for a select group of faculty members who are leaders in their respective fields as attested to by national or international recognition and/or their significant public service achievements.

ϳԹwill use only the Teaching Professor series for all of our faculty who specialize in teaching. ϳԹ will not use the Instructor series outlined in APS 5060 because we do not want to create an additional tier or hierarchy of faculty who specialize in teaching (i.e., teaching-track faculty).

  • Assistant Teaching Professors:should have the terminal degree appropriate to their field or equivalent experience and should be well-qualified to teach at the level of instruction to which they are assigned.
  • Associate Teaching Professors:should have the terminal degree appropriate to their field or equivalent experience, and a record of successful teaching experience.
  • Teaching Professors: should have the terminal degree appropriate to their field or equivalent experience, and a consistent record of excellent teaching and pedagogical development since being appointed as Associate Teaching Professor.
  • Chairs: The chair shall be the principal officer of the department and is responsible for the effective and efficient administration of the department. The chair shall also have the responsibility for providing intellectual leadership toward achievement of the highest possible level of excellence in the teaching, research, and service activities of the department, and for providing direction in academic planning and support for faculty development. Administratively, the chair is responsible to the dean of the college as well as to the department. With the advice and counsel of colleagues in the department and acting under the rules of the department, the chair is the departmental representative and spokesperson. In implementing the rules of the department with respect to recommendations for faculty appointments, promotions, tenure, and salary increments, the chair may submit their own comments to the dean in addition to the recommendations of the department, but may not overrule decisions of the department or of regularly constituted committees of the department.
  • Associate Chairs: The title of Associate Chair may be appointed to departments in which size and/or complexity require the assistance of an associate to the chair. The Associate Chair supports the work and role of the department chair and is also responsible to the dean of the college and the department. The role of Associate Chair may necessitate serving as acting chair at those times when the department chair’s schedule requires her/him to be either absent from a departmental event or, for example, when the chair is recused from personnel voting procedures.
  • Faculty Directors: The title Faculty Director is designated for those faculty members who serve as faculty-rank directors of academic programs and for faculty in academic programs who perform activities comparable to that of a chair in an academic department.
  • Associate Faculty Directors: The title Associate Faculty Director may be appointed to programs in which size and/or complexity require the assistance of an associate to the faculty director. This title is reserved for individuals assigned responsibilities similar to those of an associate chair.

Clinical faculty titles are meant for faculty working in healthcare education, clinical or public health practice, or a healthcare or health sciences setting.

  • Instructor, Clinical Teaching Track: should have a master’s degree in their field or equivalent experience and should be well qualified in their primary area(s) of responsibility.
  • Senior Instructor, Clinical Teaching Track: should have at least a master’s degree or equivalent experience and a record of successful experience in their primary area(s) of responsibility.
  • Principal Instructor, Clinical Teaching Track: should have at least a master’s degree or equivalent experience and a consistent record of excellence in their primary area(s) of responsibility.
  • Assistant Professor, Clinical Teaching Track: should have the terminal degree in their field or equivalent experience and demonstrated success in their primary area(s) of responsibility.
  • Associate Professor, Clinical Teaching Track: should have the terminal degree in their field or equivalent experience, considerable evidence of success in their primary area(s) o