The Office of Faculty Affairs and the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs oversee faculty appointments and the promotion and tenure review processes for all faculty members at the Penn State College of Medicine. This section of the faculty website provides information about academic appointments and about policies and procedures for promotion reviews and tenure reviews.
Overview
All faculty members in the College of Medicine (at both the Hershey and University Park locations) are appointed by the Dean and hold a primary appointment in one of the academic departments of the College.
The College of Medicine has two tracks for faculty members employed by either Penn State or Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center: the tenure line and the non-tenure line. Determination of track is made at the time of hire.
Tenure-line faculty members are eligible for tenure at the rank of Associate Professor on a 10-year tenure clock, with provisional tenure reviews occurring in years three and six and the final tenure review in year nine.
Non-tenure-line faculty members are not eligible for tenure. Doctoral-level faculty members at the College of Medicine hold the faculty titles of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor. Those participating only in research are appointed as Researchers. Master’s-level faculty members generally are appointed as Instructors.
The College of Medicine also has a large adjunct faculty. These faculty members are not employed by The Pennsylvania State University or by Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and provide educational or research services for the College of Medicine.
The College of Medicine Emeritus faculty consists of those who have been awarded Emeritus status by the University.
Relevant policies and additional details are provided in this section of the faculty website.