Faculty Joint Appointments

The Department Chair of the initiating (joint) department is responsible for determining the scope of the faculty members' role in the joint department; this should be developed in dialogue with the primary Department Chair. This content will be supplied in the joint appointment letter (template available for this process). The letter should include that the request is approved by the department APT or Faculty Committee. The effective date for joint appointments can not be backdated and will need to be a future date, minimum of three weeks out from the date of submission.

The joint appointment letter (link) will need to clearly outline the details of the joint appointment:

• Rank and track (the faculty members' joint appointment rank and track should match that of their primary department.) Administrative appointments should not be incorporated into this letter as they are not relevant to the joint faculty appointment process
• Effective date of joint appointment
• Expectations of involvement in joint department/specific tasks
• Allocation of effort between departments (if specified and agreed upon by both chairs; only if cost sharing)
  

The letter should reflect both the primary and joint Chairs' understanding of this relationship. Please utilize the joint faculty appointment letter template to guide this process.

Best Practices: To identify the faculty member's primary department rank and track:

• You can reach out to Office of Faculty Affairs
• You can view the UTMB Online Directory 

Once the joint faculty appointment letter is drafted, it will require the signature of the initiating (joint) Department Chair as well as the primary Department Chair. 

*Please note that a faculty member can hold multiple joint faculty appointments; they only have one primary.

In cases where the faculty joint appointment is across schools, the respective deans of each school will also need to review and sign the letter.

Once all the Chairs and respective Deans have signed the letter, the initiating (joint) department will submit the letter to the Office of Faculty Affairs.

*Review Faculty Relations/HR requirements to ensure that needed documents are being processed simultaneous to the joint appointment letter

When the completed letter is submitted to the Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA), the office will verify that the requested rank is consistent across the primary and joint department. 

OFA will facilitate the signatures from the Provost and President.

Following the final approval by the UTMB President, OFA will return the fully executed letter to the following:

• Primary Department Chair
• Joint Department Chair
• Faculty Member
• Administrator(s)
• Faculty Relations

If the faculty joint appointment is denied at the Provost or Presidential level, the letter will be returned to the initiating department. A discussion may need to take place between the Provost or President and the initiating Department Chair to determine next steps.

The Office of Faculty Relations will process the additional appointment upon receipt of the Employment Authorization Form (EAF) Request in Human Capital Management (HCM) System along with the approved Faculty Joint Appointment letter.

*Departments should work on the Employment Authorization Form (EAF) upon receipt of approved Joint Appointment Letter.

Once processed, Faculty Relations will generate a revised MOA to include the secondary department.

If there is reference to cost sharing/funding on the joint appointment letter, it is the department's responsibility to submit appropriate changes in HCM (i.e. Department Budget Table Request)