1.5.3 Graduate Faculty Status

1. Membership

The Graduate Faculty consists of tenured and tenure-track members of the academic faculty holding the rank of ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, or PROFESSOR who have been appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School. Tenured and tenure-track faculty who are awarded EMERITUS status upon retirement remain members of the Graduate Faculty.

The Dean of the Graduate School may also grant graduate faculty status to others with an on-going professional relationship with Michigan Tech, including RESEARCH, PART-TIME, VISITING, or ADJUNCT faculty members, LECTURERS and INSTRUCTORS, RESEARCH ENGINEERS, and RESEARCH SCIENTISTS.

Under special circumstances, the graduate dean may appoint individuals with special technical expertise to the Graduate Faculty for a specific term and purpose, such as serving as a member of a student's advisory committee.

Graduate faculty members are eligible to teach graduate courses (5000 level and above), serve as examining members on Masters and PhD committees, and supervise Masters and PhD students.

Persons who are not members of the Graduate Faculty may teach 5000 and 6000 level courses only after obtaining written approval from the Dean of the Graduate School.

2. Qualifications of Graduate Faculty

1. Qualifications expected for graduate faculty appointment:

1. Experience and continued interest in the conduct of research.
2. The necessary background for, and a continued interest in, teaching graduate courses.
3. Continued interest in serving as a graduate student advisor.

2. Evidence of Qualifications
3. Faculty may meet the qualification requirements if they:

1. Are currently involved in research work or graduate instruction or in advising graduate students.
2. Regularly publish articles in recognized journals having national distribution or books related to their field of study.
3. Have earned the terminal degree in their field.

3. Appointment Procedures

Graduate Faculty appointment and retention decisions are made by the Dean of the Graduate School with recommendations and advice from department chairs, deans of colleges and schools, and the Graduate Faculty Council.

Recommendation for Graduate Faculty status is made in writing by the department chair of the appropriate academic unit or by the deans of the appropriate School. These recommendations are forwarded to the college dean, where appropriate, and then to the Graduate Dean.

4. Review of Graduate Faculty

It is expected that department chairs/school deans will continually review the performance of all individuals holding graduate faculty status in their respective units using criteria outlined in Section B above.

When, in a department chair/school dean's professional judgement, a faculty member holding a graduate faculty appointment is no longer satisfactorily functioning in this capacity, s/he must recommend that the individual in question be removed from graduate faculty status. The Dean of the Graduate School may also initiate the removal process in consultation with the appropriate chair/dean. The Dean of the Graduate School will act on recommendations with the advice and consent of the Graduate Council.