Chapter 11
Visiting Faculty
Note: For the specific purposes of this document and its associated procedures, except as otherwise noted, “divisional dean” also refers to the John A. Paulson Dean of SEAS, and “department chairs” to SEAS area chairs. Although SEAS faculty members follow the same policies, some procedures may vary. Therefore, members of SEAS should also consult SEAS-specific documents.
Note: All procedural questions regarding faculty hiring, reviews, promotions, and leaves should be directed to the appropriate associate dean, and the associate dean should receive a copy of all documentation regarding these procedures. For more detailed listings on whom to contact, please see the “FAS Contacts by Topic” table in Chapter 1.
Description: Visiting Faculty
A visiting appointment is a short-term, non-tenure-track teaching position that is held by an individual who ordinarily continues to hold a tenure-track or tenured position at another academic institution. It is ordinarily expected that visiting faculty members, if paid by Harvard, will be on unpaid leave from their home institutions. In rare instances of significant curricular need, however, faculty members from Boston-area institutions may be appointed as visitors in the FAS, even when they continue to teach full-time at their home institution. In such cases, it is expected that the faculty members will have gained approval from the relevant administrative units at their home institutions in advance. Departments or degree committees may make such appointments as a short-term measure to help meet the curricular needs of the appointing unit in a given term or year. Visiting faculty may serve as course heads for courses that would otherwise be taught by tenure-track or tenured faculty.
When appointing visitors, departments are expected to give priority to scholars who are at the early stages of their careers. The titles for visiting faculty members will be at the same ranks as the tenure-track or tenured positions they hold at their home institutions. Individuals holding non-ladder faculty ranks or those visiting from non-academic institutions (e.g., a research institute) are ordinarily appointed as visiting lecturers. All questions about appropriate titles for visitors should be referred to the Office for Faculty Affairs before an invitation is extended.
Visiting appointments are annual, ordinarily limited to a maximum of three years within a ten-year period, whether full- or part-time. The three years need not be consecutive. The title is held only for the term in which the visiting faculty member is teaching.
Note: Members of the FAS and University community are expected to familiarize themselves with, and conform to, Harvard policies on teaching, research, and service, as appropriate to their position. Please see Chapter 2, “FAS and University Policies,” for more information.
In keeping with Harvard University’s Intellectual Property policies and other research policies, visitors (individuals for whom Harvard is not their primary affiliation) must submit an electronic PDF of a signed hard copy of one of three Harvard University Visitor Participation Agreements by the start of their appointment. Note: Visitors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) are not required to submit a VPA form, with the exception of M.I.T. undergraduates, who must submit a VPA form.
If working in one of Harvard’s laboratories, and if not receiving any form of payment from Harvard, visitors should also submit an electronic PDF of a signed hard copy of the Acknowledgement of Risk and Release for Non-Harvard Personnel Using Harvard Research and Instructional Laboratory Facilities form by the start of their appointment.
A. Appointment of Visiting Faculty
The department chair writes to the divisional dean requesting approval for a visiting appointment.
The letter should discuss the curricular need for the short-term visiting faculty member appointment. No search is required for these appointments; however, departments should take care when making such appointments to consider a broad pool of potential short-term visiting faculty members, to meet the appointing unit’s and students’ curricular needs.
Following approval from the divisional dean, the department follows its standard procedures to review candidate(s) for appointment.
The department sends a draft offer letter, the candidate’s curriculum vitae, and course information to the associate dean for the division/SEAS.
A draft course title, course description, and syllabus for the course(s) that the candidate(s) intend to teach during their first semester should be solicited by the department before the hire and submitted to the divisional associate dean with the candidate’s CV and a draft offer letter, for approval. (Obtaining this information is not necessary for candidates who would be teaching established courses such as certain language or mathematics courses, etc.)
Please securely send one electronic copy of the draft offer letter, the candidate’s CV, and course information to the associate dean. Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer (e.g., Accellion Kiteworks, encryption, etc.), which can vary by user platform.
After approval from the divisional dean, the department issues the offer letter to the candidate.
Once approval for the appointment has been granted, the department should ask the individual during the hiring process to confirm the department’s understanding of what the course title, description, and syllabus are.
The department sends the items below to the Appointments Office in the Office for Faculty Affairs via Aurora, and delivers the I-9 form and any necessary payroll documents. Completion of an I-9 on or before the appointment start date and submission of any other necessary documents is required of all new employees, or after a break in service of one year or more. Questions about I-9 completion should be directed to FAS Central Payroll for faculty appointed through FAS or SEAS Office for Faculty Affairs for faculty appointed through SEAS.
- 1 electronic PDF copy of a cover letter explaining the reasons for the appointment and describing the teaching duties. Note: For endowed visiting positions to which visitors are appointed regularly, the cover letter should also include a list of other candidates considered and the reasons for selecting the candidate.
- 1 electronic PDF copy of the candidate’s curriculum vitae.
- 1 electronic PDF copy of the signed offer letter.
- 1 electronic PDF of a signed hard copy of one of the Visitor Participation Agreements. Note: Visitors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) are not required to submit a VPA form, with the exception of M.I.T. undergraduates, who must submit a VPA form.
- 1 electronic PDF of a signed hard copy of the Acknowledgement of Risk and Release for Non-Harvard Personnel Using Harvard Research and Instructional Laboratory Facilities form (if working in one of Harvard’s laboratories and if not receiving any form of payment from Harvard).
B. Reappointment of Visiting Faculty
Visiting faculty members are not ordinarily reappointed in consecutive years. If a department or degree committee wishes to pursue a reappointment, they should review the visiting faculty member’s performance and discuss the curricular need and FTE availability with the Office for Faculty Affairs before any offer is extended.