2.4.J. Specific/Supplementary Criteria for Assistant Professors

1. Appointment as Assistant Professor (for a term of years)

Individuals appointed as Assistant Professors in the UTL will have completed housestaff training (where applicable) and, additionally, one or two years of postdoctoral research experience.  Their accomplishments during graduate and postgraduate training should already have stamped them as creative and promising investigators.  If these individuals have not had formal teaching experience, they should have demonstrated during their postdoctoral training a commitment to develop the skills necessary for first-rate teaching.  In short, the successful candidate must have demonstrated true distinction (or the promise of achieving true distinction) in research, and the capability of sustaining first-rate performance (or the promise of this) in teaching, and excellence in patient care (if applicable) appropriate to the programmatic need upon which the appointment is based.

The initial term of appointment will be four years.

2. Reappointment as Assistant Professor (for a term of years)

Assistant Professors in the UTL are assessed for reappointment on the basis of their performance and achievements in the areas of scholarship, teaching and, if applicable, clinical care.  They may be reappointed based on evidence of progress, high-level performance, and their continuing to fill a programmatic need.  There should be evidence that the candidate will continue to make meritorious contributions to their discipline and to the School.

At the time of reappointment, it is expected that an Assistant Professor will be on a career trajectory consistent with both Stanford standards and the standards of their discipline in scholarship, teaching and (if applicable) clinical care.  The reappointment process should include an evaluation of whether there is a realistic chance for promotion in the future on the basis of continuation of the candidate’s work.

The term of reappointment will be three years.  Total time in service at Stanford in an untenured rank is normally limited to seven years (or, with approved extensions, up to ten years).

For the timing of reappointment consideration, see Section 2.4.G.