APPENDIX D.
TENURE AND PROMOTION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
OF EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

Prologue

Academic freedom, the set of norms and values that protects a faculty member's freedom of intellectual expression and inquiry, is essential to the achievement of knowledge and understanding. East Carolina University supports academic freedom of inquiry, discourse, teaching, research, and publication for all faculty members. See Part III, Academic Freedom of the ECU Faculty Manual. East Carolina University shall not penalize or discipline faculty members because of the exercise of academic freedom in the lawful pursuit of their respective areas of scholarly and professional interest and responsibility.

With respect to personnel matters relating to Appendix D of the East Carolina University Faculty Manual, academic units are defined as departments described in the codes of operation of professional colleges and schools, the departments in the College of Arts and Sciences, professional colleges and schools without departments, Academic Library Services, Health Sciences Library, and any other units in which faculty appointments are made. In the College of Arts and Sciences and in professional colleges and schools whose unit codes describe departmental structures, departmental chairs are the unit administrators. In schools that do not have departments described in their unit codes, the dean of the school is the unit administrator.

I. Tenure

Academic tenure serves to insure academic freedom by guarding faculty members against negative consequences of expressing unpopular points of view. Academic tenure refers to the conditions and guarantees that apply to a faculty member's professional employment. Tenure protects a faculty member against involuntary suspension or discharge from employment or reduction in rank except upon specified grounds and in accordance with the procedures provided in Section VI.; or against termination of employment except as provided for in Section VII. During the term of such guarantees, the faculty member may be discharged or suspended from employment or diminished in rank only for reasons of incompetence, neglect of duty, misconduct of such a nature as to indicate that the individual is unfit to continue as a member of the faculty, or demonstrable, bona fide institutional financial exigency or major curtailment or elimination of a teaching, research, or public service program as detailed in Sections VII.A.1 and VII.A.2. (Faculty Senate Resolution #03-44)

A. Tenure While Under Contract to East Carolina University

A faculty member who does not have permanent tenure has the protection of tenure until the expiration of the faculty member's employment contract.

B. Permanent Tenure

1. Permanent tenure may be conferred only by action of the Board of Trustees of East Carolina University, and is always held with reference to employment by East Carolina University rather than to employment by The University of North Carolina. The conferral of permanent tenure is allowed only as the result of the processes enunciated in this document.

2. Conferral of permanent tenure shall be based on the faculty member's demonstrated professional competence in teaching, research and creative activity, and service; a potential for future contributions; and the institution's needs and resources. While teaching is the first consideration, neither teaching nor research and creative activity nor patient care nor service is the sole measure of a faculty member's competence and contribution. Permanent tenure is independent of promotion but sound academic practice supports the concept that an assistant professor eligible for tenure should qualify for promotion to associate professor.