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Faculty Categories

Provided below are brief descriptions of certain types of faculty categories, with information regarding governance documents and structures for those categories. This is not an exhaustive list. If you have questions, please contact facultyrecords@northwestern.edu.

Tenure-Track and Full-Time, Long-Term, Instructional/Clinical Faculty

Includes tenured and tenure-track faculty as well as full-time, non-tenure-track faculty with at least three years of continuous full-time service or who are currently serving in an academic appointment with an appointment length of three years or longer.

The Faculty Handbook describes the rights and responsibilities of membership in the faculty of Northwestern University. For more on the salaries of full-time instructional faculty, see the Faculty Salary Table.

Research Faculty

Includes the following titles: Research Professor, Research Associate Professor, Research Assistant Professor, Senior Research Investigator, Research Scientist-Professor, Research Scientist-Associate Professor, and Research Scientist-Assistant Professor. Appointees are professional investigators who support the research mission of the University.

For a description of the appointment terms and processes for research faculty, please review the Research Appointments Policy.  Individuals should consult with the Office of the Provost and/or the Office of Human Resources, as appropriate, in cases where the applicable policy is unclear, missing, or in dispute.

Additional policies pertaining to research faculty may be found on the Office for Research website.

See also Documents for Staff Research Administrators.

Librarian Faculty

Librarian Faculty is a hybrid category: some staff polices and some faculty policies apply to this population. For a complete description of the employment terms and policies for librarian faculty, please review the Librarian Faculty Terms of Appointment.

For librarians, the myHR position type is FAC, and the position category is LIB. Librarian hiring, salary, and many personnel issues are overseen by the Office of the Provost. Northwestern University's Human Resources office assists with matters such as payroll, benefits, leave reporting and management, employee relations, and performance management. All other regular staff members working in the University Libraries and other NU library organizations are employed under the terms and policies in the Northwestern University Staff Handbook.

In general, if a policy is not explicitly included in the Librarian Faculty Terms of Appointment, librarians are governed by the relevant sections of the staff handbook. The dean of libraries (or other appropriate administrator for librarians outside the University Libraries) will consult with the Office of the Provost and/or the Office of Human Resources, as appropriate, in cases where the applicable policy is unclear, missing, or in dispute.