Photo: NYU Faculty

This part of the Faculty Handbook, The Faculty, begins under the heading Faculty Membership, Faculty Meetings, and Faculty Titles. It is followed by: (1) a section on Policies that are applicable to all or most faculty; (2) a section on Policies that are applicable to the Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty; and (3) a section on Policies that are applicable to the Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty. These sections include policies, procedures and conventions in the form of Bylaws, rules adopted by the Senate, and policy summaries. Individual schools may have additional, but not substitute, bylaws, policies and procedures relevant to faculty positions. Other important policies can be found in Selected University Policies.

Faculty Membership, Faculty Meetings, and Faculty Titles

The Bylaws approved by the Board of Trustees on June 11, 2014, effective September 1, 2014, and amended by the Board of Trustees on December 9, 2015, delineated three categories of faculty - the Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty, the Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty, and Other Faculty; and established separate faculty councils for the first two categories, each having multiple faculty representation generally based on the size of each school's faculty. The Bylaws of the University are explicit on the matter of who is a faculty member and on how voting rights are allotted; the relevant texts as amended and restated June 8, 2015 are reproduced here.

Faculty Policies Applicable to All or Most Members of the Faculty Including Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty, Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty, and Other Faculty

Faculty Policies Applicable to Tenured and Tenure Track Faculty

This part of the Faculty Handbook begins under the heading Academic Freedom and Tenure with Titles I- VII of the University’s formal rules of tenure and related provisions. As noted in the preceding section, Faculty Titles, in 1960, the Board of Trustees issued a comprehensive statement on the subject of permanent or continuous tenure. It appeared in a section headed “Statement in Regard to Academic Freedom and Tenure.” This provision has been amended, from time to time, by the Board of Trustees. The current provision is set forth below. 

General criteria for promotion and tenure for tenured and tenure-track faculty are cited in Title I, Article V. The core principles and procedures for tenure and promotion at the University appear in the New York University Promotion and Tenure Guidelines. In addition, colleges and schools have their own internal rules, procedures, and policies, such as statements on faculty appointment policies and procedures, particularly those concerning promotion and tenure criteria and review procedures, which may supplement – but do not supersede or replace – policies outlined in this Faculty Handbook unless an exception has been granted by the Board of Trustees or President and Chancellor. In case of conflicts between school policies and the Faculty Handbook, the text of the Faculty Handbook will govern. 

Faculty Policies Applicable to Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty

Core principles and procedures pertaining to Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty are found in the University Guidelines for Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty Appointments, Grievance Procedures, and Disciplinary Regulations, which are incorporated in this Handbook. For any discrepancies, the Guidelines as maintained in the Handbook will control. In addition, colleges, schools, and institutes have their own internal rules, procedures, and policies, which may supplement but do not supersede or replace policies outlined in this Faculty Handbook.

Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty are a distinct and important part of the University academic community and contribute significantly to the University’s academic missions. School policies applicable to this group of faculty shall recognize the contributions they make to the University’s commitment to teaching excellence, traditional research, and other forms of scholarly and artistic achievement, as well as University service. 

Grievance Procedures for Other Faculty

Selected University Resources for Faculty