REAPPOINTMENT AND NON-REAPPOINTMENT OF NON-TENURED FACULTY

Non-tenure-earning faculty shall be reviewed for reappointment by the department chair on a schedule that allows adequate notice regarding reappointment or, should a decision not to reappoint be made, notice shall be in accordance with the schedule defined in this Handbook.

2.13.2 Review for Reappointment and Non-reappointment of Tenure-Earning Faculty 

2.13.3 Notice of Non-reappointment

1. During the first full year of service, a non-tenure-earning faculty member must receive a minimum of three months' notice of non-reappointment.  As used herein, a full year of service is equal to nine months for faculty on nine-month appointments and twelve months for faculty on 12-month appointments.  Tenure-earning faculty appointed for an initial period of less than two years must receive a minimum of twelve months' notice of non-reappointment.
2. After one or more full years of service to UAB, a faculty member must receive twelve months' notice that their appointment will not be renewed. The date upon which the initial notice is given of non-reappointment shall commence the running of the 12-month terminal appointment. For tenure-earning faculty who have been denied tenure, the date of the notification of the tenure denial shall commence the running of the 12-month terminal appointment (2.15.8.3).

The following American Association of University Professors (AAUP) statement, while not being UAB policy, may be pertinent and may provide guidance in many instances:

"At many institutions, moreover, the procedures of evaluation and decision may make it difficult, if not impossible, to compile a statement of reasons which precisely reflect the basis of the decision. When a number of faculty members participate in the decision, they may oppose a reappointment for a variety of reasons, few or none of which may represent a majority view. To include every reason, no matter how few have held it, in a written statement to the faculty member may misrepresent the general view and damage unnecessarily both the morale and the professional future of the faculty member.

In many situations, of course, a decision not to reappoint will not reflect adversely upon the faculty member. An institution may, for example, find it necessary for financial or other reasons to restrict its offerings in a given department. The acquisition of tenure may depend not only upon satisfactory performance but also upon a long-term opening. Non-renewal in these cases does not suggest a serious adverse judgment. In these situations, providing a statement of reasons, either written or oral, should pose no difficulty, and such a statement may in fact assist the faculty member in searching for a new position."

(This statement was extracted from the AAUP Statement on Procedural Standards in the Renewal or Non-renewal of Faculty Appointments, a revision of a statement originally adopted in 1971, which was approved by Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure, adopted by the Council as Association policy in November 1989, and endorsed by representatives in attendance at the Seventy-Sixth Annual Meeting.)

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2.13.4 Non-reappointment Because of Changes in Program Priorities

Although an individual faculty member may meet the criteria for reappointment, a decision to deny reappointment may be based on considerations of curriculum, enrollment, finances, or other program factors not prevalent or predictable at the time of the original appointment. It shall be the responsibility of the department chair to ensure the earliest possible notification of faculty who will be affected by such changes, but in no case shall such notice be less than that specified in this Handbook.

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2.13.5 Termination of a Non-Tenured Faculty Member for Cause