Academic Clinical Faculty Tracks Policy

Effective: 9/19/2025

To whom this policy applies

All University of Nevada Reno, School of Medicine faculty.

Definitions

Academic Faculty: Instructional, research, and library faculty as defined by the NSHE Board of Regents.

Academic Clinical Faculty: Faculty whose primary appointment is in a clinical department, and may include faculty members, who are employed by a major NSHE affiliate as per NSHE Code, Chapter 5.4.11 and for whom approval of this designation has been granted by the Dean of UNR Med.

Community Faculty: Volunteer clinical faculty who are not employed by a major NSHE affiliate.

Tenured Faculty: Academic faculty who have received appointments with tenure.

Tenure-track Faculty: Academic faculty who are on probationary status, and who are eligible to be considered for tenure.

Non-tenure track faculty: Academic faculty who are not eligible for tenure.

Purpose/background

This policy describes the pathways to success for academic faculty at our major affiliate institutions, and community faculty who wish to pursue an academic faculty position and rank at UNR Med. Defining faculty member tracks serves two purposes: (1) to establish sufficiency of faculty to guide the academic mission of the school and (2) to establish the resources and mentorship required to support faculty career development and success.

Policy

The following tracks broadly define the career pathways for academic faculty at UNR Med:

Biomedical Research Faculty Appointments

There are three faculty tracks for biomedical research appointments.

  1. Tenure track or tenured faculty: this appointment is generally decided upon job posting, but in some cases can be offered for a research track faculty member, as set forth in UNR Bylaws 3.4.2, who has achieved excellence in the standards of teaching/performance of assigned duties, research, scholarly, creative and entrepreneurial activity and service.
  2. Non-Tenure Research track: this appointment is intended for faculty who are not on the tenure track but hold a full-time or part-time position (≥5 FTE), typically on a contract (often renewable), focused primarily on research.
  3. Non-Tenure Teaching track: this appointment is intended for faculty who are not on the tenure track but hold a full-time position or part-time position (≥5 FTE), typically on a contract (often renewable), focused primarily on teaching.

Clinical Practice and Research Faculty Appointments

There are two categories of faculty appointments with four associated tracks for Clinical Practice and Research faculty.

  1. Academic Clinical Faculty: As an employee of UNR Med or of a major NSHE affiliate, MD/DO physicians can become fully appointed clinical faculty members at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine. Academic clinical faculty are further categorized into three tracks based on their involvement in UNR Med’s academic mission—primarily education and research.
    1. Clinician Educator Non-Tenure Track: non-tenure clinician educator track faculty members hold a full-time or part-time faculty position, typically on a renewable contract, focused primarily on clinical education and typically involve ≥0.10 FTE of academic effort. Assignment to this track is determined by the department chair, in alignment with institutional and affiliate needs. Clinician Educator track faculty are required to develop an annual Academic Role Statement which defines their individualized expectations and to participate in the formal annual review process with the academic department chair. Changes between research and teaching track require chair and dean approval following a review of academic activity. Faculty who are interested in tenure-track roles are required to apply for those through a competitive process when a position is open and subject to the UNR Bylaws, including but not limited to UNR Bylaw 3.4.2 et seq.
    2. Clinician Researcher Non-Tenure Track: non-tenure clinician researcher track faculty members hold a full-time or part-time faculty position, typically on a renewable contract, focused primarily on clinical or translational research. and typically involve ≥0.10 FTE of academic effort. Assignment to this track is determined by the department chair, in alignment with institutional and affiliate needs. Changes between research and teaching track require chair and dean approval following a review of academic activity. Faculty who are interested in tenure-track roles are required to apply for those through a competitive process when a position is open and subject to the UNR Bylaws, including but not limited to UNR Bylaw 3.4.2 et seq. Clinical researcher track faculty are required to develop an annual Academic Role Statement which defines their individualized expectations and to participate in the formal annual review process with the academic department chair.
    3. Affiliate Faculty Non-Tenure Track: faculty who are non-tenure affiliate track faculty members hold a full-time or part time faculty position, typically on a renewable contract, focused primarily on clinical work with some involvement in teaching, research or service. Each Affiliate Track faculty member receives an annual written evaluation summarizing their rank, appointment year, academic activities (e.g., training, development, teaching), and student evaluations if available. It is a requirement that the faculty member meet the minimum requirements of a Meaningful Participation Program. A meeting with the department chair is recommended at least once every three (3) years.
  1. Community Clinical Faculty: MD/DO physicians not employed by UNR Med or a major affiliation may be appointed as Community Faculty
    1. Community Track: faculty who are on the community track contribute meaningfully to UNR Med’s academic mission with expectations defined by the department chair. They complete required trainings and certifications as determined by UNR Med. Appointments are granted for a period of up to three (3) years and are renewable through the primary department. Written evaluations are provided at least every two (2) years, summarizing rank, appointment year, academic activities, and student evaluations if available.

Promotion and Tenure:

The promotion process for the UNR Academic Faculty will follow that of the NHSE Code, UNR Bylaws, the UNR Administrative Manual and UNR Med Bylaws. Biomedical Research Faculty are eligible for tenure based on their track. The tenure process is similarly governed by the NHSE Code, UNR Bylaws, the UNR Administrative Manual and UNR Med Bylaws.

Review

Approved by Medical Executive Committee, 09/17/2025