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title: "Best Practices and Expectations for CIRE Faculty Inclusion"
canonical: "https://facultystaff.clas.uconn.edu/space/CFSKB/28971499527/Best%20Practices%20and%20Expectations%20for%20CIRE%20Faculty%20Inclusion"
format: markdown
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**Established:** December 17, 2024 

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Clinical, In-Residence, and Extension (CIRE) faculty are vital contributors to the mission of the University, College, and academic units. Their excellence in clinical and academic teaching, advising, research, and service contributes to the success of all units. Clear and respectful governance practices can help advance equity, inclusion, and opportunity among all faculty members. Together, we are responsible for creating and supporting practices that advance our academic work, build more just and collegial unit governance and climate, and support the consistency of these practices across units.

Below you will find guidance generated through a CIRE working group in collaboration with CLAS.

## Governance

1. A unit’s full-time faculty consists of all faculty with appointments within the unit, including tenure-line and CIRE faculty. CIRE faculty are ideally expected to vote on departmental affairs on par with tenured and tenure-track faculty, and such voting rights should be stipulated in unit by-laws. Appropriate considerations regarding graduate faculty status should follow governance documents. CIRE faculty have the agency to contribute to shaping governance documents.
2. Any unit committee, ad-hoc, or elected structure that makes decisions that impact CIRE faculty should ideally include CIRE representation with voting rights, subject to faculty availability.
3. Units should develop community norms/climate/professional expectations statements that explain principles and practices of parity of CIRE faculty with tenure-line faculty in terms of unit governance.

## Promotion Process, Merit, and Workload, Including Metrics of Evaluation

1. Units should have clear criteria for re-appointment and promotion of their CIRE faculty *specifically* and should communicate those expectations, both in the unit’s governance documents, and to individual faculty through contractual letters and annual performance meetings.
2. Units should develop merit and workload expectations for CIRE faculty that reflect the responsibilities of their appointments and role in the unit, and that advance the need for equity in relationship to tenure-line faculty.
3. Unit processes of scheduling and course allocation should advance equity and, while attending to the specific expectations of the individual faculty appointment, acknowledge the need for CIRE faculty opportunities to develop and support the wider curriculum.
4. Since service is expected from faculty, units are encouraged to develop a guideline on service that sets general expectations for type and amount of service for faculty of different ranks and of different appointment types.

## Professional Development and Leadership Opportunities

1. CIRE faculty may hold administrative roles within units, the College, and University that match their skills and experience.
2. Mentoring committees within units should include a structure that supports the career progression of CIRE faculty.
3. CIRE faculty should be encouraged to pursue professional development opportunities that complement their role and advance their career progression. Such opportunities count towards their reappointment, promotion, and evidence of teaching excellence and professional growth.
4. Unit leadership should work to enable CIRE faculty success, attending with intention to meet the challenges that come with campus location, funding, and constraints of course delivery. Units should seek parity across appointment types in departmental-level resources for professional development.

## Workplace Culture

1. Unit faculty meetings and committee meetings should respect CIRE participation and contributions.
2. CIRE faculty should be invited to present their teaching innovations and/or research at unit brown bags or symposia, and should be permitted to invite outside speakers addressing their academic or pedagogical interests.
3. CIRE faculty accomplishments should be promoted through unit communications, including newsletters, listservs, and reports external to the unit (to the College or University, donors, and alumni) on par with tenure line faculty.
4. Unit leadership should submit appropriate CIRE faculty for award consideration for opportunities within the College and University.

## Research Appointments

All members of the faculty should have a role in unit discussions that relate to the conditions of their appointment. Research faculty should consult with their Department Head or Director to discuss the parameters of their inclusion, acknowledging the terms of the individual’s appointment and responsibilities, and adhering to unit bylaws.