About Research Faculty
- Karla Steffen
For College policies related to faculty research, see COE: Research-Related Policies.
For research faculty hiring process guidance, including PARs, see COE: Hiring Research Faculty.
For information about the College’s initiative to hire research faculty, see COE Research Faculty Initiative.
For guidance applicable to all professional-track faculty series and titles, see COE: Professional Track Faculty.
What are research faculty?
Research faculty are expected to focus primarily on conducting research rather than to assume the full academic responsibilities of teaching, research, and service. They should demonstrate evidence of an independent research agenda and of the ability to build and sustain an independent research program, with scholarly credentials comparable to what one would expect for a tenured/tenure-track faculty member at the equivalent rank. They are also expected to be somehow involved in the academics of their department/ whether in teaching, or through other involvement as defined by their department/college.
Research faculty are professional-track and hold a single 12-month position. (In the legacy system, they held two concurrent positions: a nine-month faculty position and a 12-month A&P position.) They are expected to be full-time (40 SWH), and fully-funded by external grants. Instructional/state funds may be used only when the faculty member is instructor of record for an organized class. If teaching, position funding should be adjusted via Assign Costing Allocation in Workday to reflect the appropriate instructional effort. Contracts are normally for one year but can be longer if determined by the Dean to be in the best interest of the institution.
Note that the expectation is that Research Faculty positions are 100%, and exceptions are at the discretion of EVPP/VPR.
Faculty, including research faculty, do not enter hours worked on timesheets, but are required to enter absence time such as sick leave, floating holiday, and, for those appointed into positions eligible to earn vacation, vacation time used. See COE: Leave - Faculty for more information.
Faculty, including research faculty, are not eligible for longevity pay.
Research faculty vs. research staff
The key distinction is evidence of engagement with the academic enterprise through teaching, mentorship, or supervision of students at some level. For information on research staff, see COE: Research Positions.
Research faculty titles
See EVPP: Research Faculty Titles.
Title | Job Code | Description |
|---|---|---|
Research Professor | 0017 | Research accomplishments and scholarly credentials equivalent to that of a full professor, including supervision of research programs/projects as a principal investigator. |
Research Associate Professor | 0027 | Research accomplishments and scholarly credentials equivalent to that of an established assistant professor or a new associate professor. The individual must have an established record as a mature, independent researcher. |
Research Assistant Professor | 0037 | Expected to show the potential to develop an independent research program that represents a significant portion of their activity and also be involved in activities traditionally thought of as professorial. |
Appointment dates
Research faculty are 12-month positions and use appointment dates of September 1-August 31. See more on dates associated with different types of faculty positions at COE: Dates for Faculty Employment Changes.
Contract requirements
Active contracts are required for research faculty, as they are for all professional-track faculty. For more information on professional-track contracts, see COE: Contracts - Professional-Track Faculty. For guidance on the administrative processes required to manage contracts, see COE: Managing Professional Track Faculty in Workday.
Managing research faculty appointments
 All faculty positions live in an academic department, and all research faculty will have an appointment in an academic department. The table below summarizes the distribution of administrative responsibilities between the academic department and the research center.
Action | Processed by Research Center | Processed by Academic Department |
|---|---|---|
Interfolio posting | Â | X |
Recruitment: Advertising, evaluating and communicating with applicants, campus visit arrangements and vendor payments, etc. | X | Â |
PAR | Â | X |
Offer letter | Â | X - in collaboration with research center and COE Faculty Affairs |
Contract management (renewal, Workday upload, etc.) | Â | X |
Ad-hoc costing changes in Workday | X | Â |
HR processes in Workday (Data Changes, Termination, etc.) | Â | X |
Performance appraisals | X - in collaboration with academic department | Â |
Assignment of merit | Â | X - in collaboration with research center |
PI (Principal Investigator) eligibility
Research faculty are granted automatic PI status. See Principal Investigator (PI) Eligibility Administrative Procedures for more information.
Please send suggested additions to this page and notifications about broken links to COE-FacultyAffairs@austin.utexas.edu.
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