B. Affiliate Appointments

(1)   Affiliate Appointments

a.   Description

An affiliate appointment is made to acknowledge a faculty member’s association with another FAS ladder-faculty-appointing unit[1] or another Faculty, if appropriate. All FAS ladder-faculty-appointing units may offer affiliate appointments. This association may include teaching, student supervision, and research collaborations that are substantial but do not warrant a permanent joint appointment. Affiliations are made for a circumscribed term, usually three to five years. Affiliates will be listed in the affiliate section of the unit’s masthead for the duration of their appointment.

Affiliate faculty may attend departmental faculty meetings and vote on issues determined by the affiliate unit. Affiliate status does not confer voting rights beyond the unit (e.g., regular meetings of the Faculty).

If a unit proposes to offer an affiliate appointment to a faculty member from another unit, it is expected to carefully consider the rationale for the invitation. There needs to be a clear understanding concerning the individual’s involvement in the academic unit, such as whether the individual will offer courses, advise students, or serve on committees.

Tenured affiliate members of a unit do not have the right to vote on tenure appointments but may be invited to vote on other business.

Note: Voting on tenured affiliate appointments (including zero-FTE affiliate appointments) is done by tenured faculty.

Special Considerations: Professors of the Practice and Senior Lecturers

Professors of the Practice and Senior Lecturers are allowed to hold affiliate appointments.

Special Considerations: Assistant and Associate Professors

Affiliate appointments for assistant and associate professors should be carefully considered, due to the additional burdens they may impose on tenure-track faculty. Any unit wishing to propose an affiliate appointment for a tenure-track member of the Faculty will first consult with the Office for Faculty Affairs.

Special Considerations: Tenured Professors

An affiliate appointment for a tenured professor may encompass a variety of arrangements but does not include a titled appointment as Professor in the department offering affiliate status.

b.   Appointment Process

There are two paths to an affiliate appointment at the tenure-track or tenured rank. One path is for faculty who are in the FAS (including SEAS). The second path is for faculty who are in a non-FAS Harvard School. The appointment process in each case is described below.

Note:  In all of these appointment processes, the divisional dean/SEAS Dean and/or their designee and the Dean for Faculty Affairs and Planning can ask for changes to the dossier at any time.

Note: For the purposes of this discussion in “b. Appointment Processes,” the term “department” includes SEAS areas, and the term “FAS” includes SEAS.

If an FAS unit anticipates offering affiliate status to a tenured professor from another (non-FAS) Harvard School, the FAS divisional dean or SEAS Dean and the appropriate dean from the other School must discuss the proposal before any agreements are finalized.

i. For appointments between two FAS departments

Step 1) The faculty member has a discussion about the possibility of an affiliate appointment with the chairs of his/her/their home unit and the prospective unit.

Step 2) The chair of the prospective unit should then convene a departmental meeting for a discussion and a vote.

  • For appointments involving two FAS departments, if the vote is favorable, the chair of the prospective unit informs his/her/their divisional/SEAS assistant dean and the chair of the faculty member’s home unit.

Step 3) The chair of the prospective unit then writes to the divisional deans or SEAS Dean of both the home and prospective unit, cc'ing the appropriate people (see table below). The chair of the home unit may co-sign this letter (or write separately) to indicate his/her/their support to the deans. The chair of the prospective unit should:

  • provide a rationale for the appointment,
  • provide a summary of the departmental discussion and vote,
  • indicate that the home chair has been consulted,
  • provide the parameters of the affiliation (including an enumeration of the prospective affiliate's voting rights, which the prospective unit can subsequently expand, as appropriate), and the length of term.
  • The chair also includes a draft of the letter to the prospective faculty member, outlining the terms of the affiliation and specifying that the affiliation has been confirmed with the home unit.

Whom to CC on the Letter to the Divisional or SEAS Deans

For appointments between two FAS departments, the prospective chair should cc: For appointments between a SEAS area and an FAS department, the prospective chair should cc:
The divisional assistant dean(s) for both units The divisional/SEAS assistant dean(s) for both units

Step 4) If the affiliate appointment and the draft letter are approved, the chair of the prospective unit sends the letter to the faculty member confirming the affiliate appointment, cc'ing the appropriate people (see table below).

Whom to CC on the Future Chair’s Letter to the Faculty Member

For appointments between two FAS departments, the future chair should cc: For appointments between a SEAS area and an FAS department, the future chair should cc:

The chair of the home department

The divisional assistant dean(s) for both units

The chair of the home department

The divisional/SEAS assistant dean(s) for both units

Step 5) The Office for Faculty Affairs enters and processes the appointment in Aurora.

            ii.  For appointments between the FAS and another non-FAS School

Note: If a faculty member receives an appointment at another School, he/she/they should inform his/her/their home unit chair and the assistant dean.

Step 1) The faculty member has a discussion about the possibility of an affiliate appointment with the chairs of his/her/their home unit and the prospective unit.

Step 2) The chair of the prospective unit should then convene a departmental meeting for a discussion and a vote.

  • For an FAS department seeking to make an affiliate appointment with a faculty member from another (non-FAS) Harvard School, if the vote is favorable, the chair of the FAS department informs the divisional dean or SEAS Dean (the divisional/SEAS assistant dean should be copied on this communication), who will then inform the chair and Dean of the other School.

Step 3) The chair of the prospective unit then writes to the divisional dean of the home unit and the appropriate Dean in the other Harvard School, cc'ing the appropriate people (see table below). The chair of the home unit may co-sign this letter (or write separately) to indicate his/her/their support to the deans. The chair of the prospective unit should:

  • provide a rationale for the appointment,
  • provide a summary of the departmental discussion and vote,
  • indicate that the home chair has been consulted,
  • provide the parameters of the affiliation (including an enumeration of the prospective affiliate's voting rights, which the prospective unit can subsequently expand, as appropriate), and the length of term.
  • The chair also includes a draft of the letter to the prospective faculty member, outlining the terms of the affiliation and specifying that the affiliation has been confirmed with the home unit.

Whom to CC on the Letter to the Divisional Dean and non-FAS Dean

The FAS chair should cc:

The divisional or SEAS assistant dean

The appropriate assistant-dean counterpart in the other (non-FAS) School

Step 4) If the affiliate appointment and the draft letter are approved, the chair of the future unit sends the letter to the faculty member confirming the affiliate appointment, cc'ing the appropriate people (see table below).

Whom to CC on the Future Chair’s Letter to the Faculty Member

The FAS chair should cc:

The chair of the home unit

The Edgerley Family Dean of the FAS

The Dean of the other (non-FAS) School

The divisional or SEAS assistant dean

The appropriate assistant-dean counterpart in the other (non-FAS) School

Step 5) The Office for Faculty Affairs enters and processes the appointment in Aurora.

(2) Reviews of Affiliate Appointments

a. In the penultimate year of the faculty member’s affiliate appointment, the unit offering affiliate status convenes a departmental meeting to review the intellectual rationale for the appointment and the level of the affiliate’s involvement and to vote on whether to renew the appointment.

b. If the affiliation is being renewed, the chair of the additional unit informs his/her/their divisional/SEAS assistant dean and the chair of the faculty member's home unit and then writes to the appropriate people (see bullets below). The chair of the additional unit should:

  • provide a rationale for the renewal of the affiliation,
  • provide a summary of the departmental discussion and vote,
  • indicate that the home chair has been informed,
  • provide the parameters of the affiliation, and the length of term.
  • The chair also includes a draft of the letter to the faculty member, outlining the terms of the affiliation and specifying that the affiliation has been confirmed with the home unit.

Whom to CC on the Renewal Request Letter

For appointments between two FAS departments, the chair should cc: For appointments between a SEAS area and an FAS department, the chair should cc: For appointments between FAS and a non-FAS school, the chair should cc:
The divisional assistant dean(s) for both units The divisional/SEAS assistant dean(s) for both units

The divisional or SEAS assistant dean

The appropriate assistant-dean counterpart in the other (non-FAS) School

c. If the deans approve the renewal of the affiliate appointment and the draft letter, then the chair of the additional unit sends the letter to the faculty member, copying the appropriate people (see bullets below).

Whom to CC on the Letter to the Faculty Member

For appointments between two FAS departments, the chair should cc: For appointments between a SEAS area and an FAS department, the chair should cc: For appointments between FAS and a non-FAS school, the chair should cc:

The chairs of each department

The divisional assistant dean(s) for both units

The divisional/SEAS assistant dean(s) for both units

The chair of the home unit

The Edgerley Family Dean of the FAS

The Dean of the other (non-FAS) School

The divisional or SEAS assistant dean

The appropriate assistant-dean counterpart in the other (non-FAS) School

[1] This includes all FAS departments, the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, History and Literature, Folklore and Mythology, Study of Religion, Social Studies, and Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality.