The University recognizes that there are significant variations in how candidates qualify for and secure initial appointment, reappointment and promotion, according to field and discipline.  Faculty or faculty candidates come from different backgrounds and receive different educational training.  Nevertheless, all faculty appointments have in common the requirement of excellence, however measured.

The overriding requirement for faculty appointment, reappointment and promotion in the Research Line is that the individual is one of the best scholars at his or her level of professional development in the relevant field.  The definition of the field may be narrower for faculty in the Research Line than in the University Tenure Line. The programmatic need (including financial viability) that contributes to the academic program of the department should be evaluated and must be established for each appointment, reappointment and promotion.

A candidate must have achieved (or, in the case of Assistant Professors, have the promise to achieve) true distinction in scholarship.  For the Associate Professor rank, the scholarship must reveal that the candidate is not only among the best in his or her experience cohort in the field, but is also likely to become one of the very best in that field.  At the rank of Professor, the scholarship must reveal that the candidate is one of the very best in the field.

There should be evidence of outstanding performance (or, in the case of Assistant Professors, the promise of outstanding performance) as a supervisor of graduate students.

While there is no requirement for formal teaching or clinical care in the Research Line, there must be acceptable performance (or in the case of assistant professors, the promise of acceptable performance) in any teaching roles, as well as excellence in clinical care, appropriate to the programmatic need the individual is expected to fulfill.  Such programmatic need (including financial viability) that contributes to the academic program of the department should be evaluated and must be established for each appointment, reappointment and promotion.