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Faculty Regulations
12. Qualifications for Specific Ranks
(Section 9 of the University Faculty
Manual)
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| In
addition to fulfilling the general requirements
of the evaluative criteria above, each faculty
member of the Washington College of Law
shall meet the following specific requirements
for initial appointment or for promotion
to the indicated rank: |
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| a. Instructor |
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| An appointment
to the rank of Instructor is a temporary one-year
appointment. Reappointments are subject to annual review,
with total service not to exceed five years.
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| In rare instances,
Instructors may be promoted to the rank of
Assistant Professor, and then make progress
toward tenure through the normal annual reappointment
process. |
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| In such instances,
the applicable portion of Section 12. b. iii
of the University Faculty Manual stating that
prior service at American University may not
be waived must be incorporated explicitly
in the faculty action. |
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| b. Assistant Professor |
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| An appointee
to the rank of Assistant Professor shall hold
the juris doctor or equivalent professional
or academic degree and shall have: |
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| • potential to achieve excellence in teaching
and scholarly activities; |
| • demonstrated the promise of future professional
growth in law teaching and scholarship; |
| • promise of participating in university
affairs, such as institutional service to
the Washington College of Law community and
mentoring and advising students. |
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| c. Associate Professor |
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| An appointee
to the rank of Associate Professor shall hold
the juris doctor or equivalent professional
or academic degree and shall have demonstrated: |
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| • high quality teaching ability; |
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| • significant scholarly achievement and
professional growth; |
| • significant experience in the legal
profession or public service; |
| • potential for becoming a scholar of
distinction; |
| • academic engagement with students in
and outside the classroom. |
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| No initial appointment or promotion to this rank may be made
for a person having less than three years
of prior service at the rank of Assistant
Professor or its equivalent in an accredited
law school unless the background and experience
of the person demonstrates unique potential
for meeting the above criteria through a combination
of factors such as: |
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| • special experience such as law clerk to
a judge;
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| • graduate academic or professional study
beyond the juris doctor degree; |
| • part‑time teaching with adjunct
rank in a law school or in a graduate academic
program related to law; |
| • significant publications and scholarship. |
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| d. Professor |
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| An appointee
to the rank of Professor shall hold the juris
doctor or equivalent professional or academic
degree and shall have demonstrated: |
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| • excellent teaching ability and continuing
academic engagement with students in and outside
the classroom; |
| • a record of significant and substantial
contribution to
scholarship in law and the legal profession
and community. |
There must be a record of continuing evidence
of relevant and effective professional service
and demonstrated ability for continuing achievement
in all areas. No initial appointment or promotion to this
rank may be made for a person with less than
three years prior full‑time faculty
service at the rank of Associate Professor
or its equivalent in an accredited law school
unless the background and experience of such
person demonstrates truly outstanding capacity
for teaching and for scholarship through distinction
in the legal profession, research, and writing,
as well as through other factors. |
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| e. University Professor |
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| An appointee to this rank must meet the requirements for the
rank of Professor and, in addition, must have
achieved distinction in his/her field of research
and/or teaching, in his/her profession, or
in the University and/or public service. Recommendation
for appointment to this rank must come from
two or more teaching units with the concurrence
of the dean or deans of the relevant schools
and colleges. Recommendations for the appointment of a University
Professor involving the Washington College
of Law must be approved by the Committee on
Rank and Tenure and must also be approved
by the University Committee on Faculty Relations. |
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| f. Distinguished Professor |
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| There is a small number of specially-designated Distinguished
Professorships at American University, so
designated by the provost, with the approval
of the president and the Board of Trustees.
A faculty member appointed at that
rank will have met all the criteria for the
rank of Professor in his/her discipline and
will have demonstrated excellence in teaching
with a clearly demonstrated understanding
of his/ her subject area. |
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| The faculty
member will have achieved national and international
recognition in his/her academic field or area
of performance, a sustained record of achievement
at the higher professional and scholarly level,
and a record of service to the profession
and to the wider community which the University
serves. The faculty member will have achieved distinction
in scholarship, research, or professional
performance by means of such evidence as: |
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| (1) outstanding publications or other public
demonstrations of professional or academic
excellence which provide significantly new
knowledge in the candidate’s field of specialization,
new and useful techniques for the constructive
utilization of existing knowledge in that
field, or a revision or reinterpretation of
data in a given field which engenders new
perspectives for thought and action; |
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| (2) recognition by professional societies or
established critics in the faculty member’s
field or medium; |
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| (3) recognition based on professional merit
by groups other than professional societies,
such as foundations, government bodies or
community groups; |
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| (4) a record of significant research funded
by outside agencies as a result of recognition
in the faculty member’s field of specialization. |
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| The scholarship and professional achievement of the faculty member
will be attested to by reputable professionals
in the field.
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| Appointments
to this rank will follow the procedures outlined
in section 9 of the Faculty Manual. |
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| g. The Director of the Law Library |
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Promotion
of the Director of the Law Library through
the academic ranks of Assistant Professor,
Associate Professor, and Professor will be
determined on the criteria applicable to that
rank, except that such evaluation will not
be based primarily on his/her activities as
the Director of the Law Library. Teaching ability will be a factor to be considered
as well as his/her record of publications. In the evaluation of such publications, the
Committee on Rank and Tenure will consider
the pressures of administrative duties on
the office of Director of the Law Library.
The expectation of publications is
primarily in the area of Library Sciences,
book review, and showing development in the
area of interaction of law and librarianship.
Similarly, his/her activities in professional
law school and law library organizations will
provide criteria in the evaluation of the
Director of the Law Library for promotion
through the academic ranks.
The Committee on Rank and Tenure in
making its recommendations will seek to determine
the continuous development in the areas indicated
rather than determine that the requirements
for individual faculty rank have been satisfied
by the Director of the Law Library.
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