5.4. Search Requirements and Exceptions

For Harvard Clinical and Research Fellows moving directly to faculty positions, the search performed at the level of the internship/residency/fellowship selection process serves as the required search. The period of fellow appointment at HMS/HSDM must be at least one (1) year. In this case, no search documentation will be required at the time of first faculty appointment or subsequent promotion.

If a trainee moves to a position at an institution not affiliated with Harvard at the completion of training and remains outside the Harvard system for more than two (2) years, a new search is required to recruit the individual back to join the faculty. An exception may be made if a department offers a faculty position to a candidate at the time they complete their HMS/HSDM training, contingent upon the individual obtaining additional training outside HMS/HSDM and then returning immediately thereafter.

There is no requirement that an individual just completing training can only be proposed for an initial appointment as an Instructor. However, the departmental nominating letter must provide a robust rationale for proposing the candidate for a first appointment as an Assistant Professor, which can include: 1) length of postgraduate training, 2) extended period of time during training dedicated to research, 3) evidence of an accelerated academic trajectory during training, and 4) any additional circumstances that may have facilitated scholarship and accomplishments that are comparable to other candidates for Assistant Professor at HMS/HSDM.

Search requirements for full-time Instructors, Assistant Professors, and Associate Professors:

• A national search must be conducted for faculty whose first HMS/HSDM appointment is at the level of full-time Instructor, Assistant Professor, or Associate Professor, unless they meet criteria for a search exception
• On occasion, a search for a faculty member at the rank of Associate Professor or below identifies a candidate who likely would qualify for a professorial appointment. However, there is no mechanism to convert a search for faculty below the rank of professor to a professorial search without starting anew
• Departments should request a temporary holding title as Member of the Faculty for any newly recruited faculty member who will be proposed for a ladder faculty rank other than Instructor or Lecturer

Search requirements for Professor:

• All searches for positions at the Professor rank, whether full-time or part-time, are conducted by Search Committees appointed by the Dean unless they meet criteria for an exception as outlined
• Departments should request a temporary holding title as Member of the Faculty for any newly recruited faculty member who will be proposed for a professorial title

Exceptions to the search requirements are made for the specific circumstances below:

• Essential colleagues of a newly recruited candidate proposed for rank at the level of Professor
  • Individuals who are eligible for the “essential colleague” exception have actively worked with the recruited Professor, often as part of a laboratory, up until the point of the recruitment, and are proposed for a faculty appointment within one (1) year of the recruited Professor’s start date at HMS/HSDM
  • A list of essential colleagues, ordinarily no more than two, should be submitted to the OFA at the time of offer acceptance, along with a rationale for how the colleague is integral to the recruited professor’s academic projects and the contributions they would bring to the Harvard community, which can include diversity
  • Although no search is required, the essential colleague’s rank is not guaranteed and will be reviewed by the appropriate appointment committee.
• Spouse or registered domestic partner of a newly recruited faculty member. If the recruited faculty member receives an annual (Instructor) or term (Assistant or Associate Professor) appointment, the spouse cannot be reviewed for a rank higher than a term appointment. Documentation of the search for the recruited faculty member will be required
• Faculty below the rank of Professor, whose work effort at HMS/HSDM meets Part-time criteria and does not meet Full-time criteria. Searches are highly recommended, although not required. Stated otherwise, an appointment for Professor, Part-time requires a search. Converting from a non-ladder or Part-time position to a Full-time ladder position will require a search unless an exception has been met
• Appointments to the rank of Professor in Residence or Professor of the Practice do not necessarily require a search, though it is strongly recommended
• Harvard Clinical and Research Fellows moving directly to faculty positions after one (1) year or more in a Harvard training program
• Target of Opportunity note: This exception mechanism is only available for candidates recruited at the rank of Professor

If an individual completed at least one year of Harvard post-doctoral training and then proceeded to a continuous non-ladder Harvard appointment as Lecturer, Full-time, a search is not required for a proposed new ladder appointment, assuming clear documentation of > 50 hours/year of continuous teaching of Harvard learners during their time as Lecturer.

A search exception does not eliminate the requirement for a complete academic evaluation of the candidate for appointment to the proposed rank.

If a Part-time ladder faculty member or a Full-time Lecturer has been continuously appointed at HMS/HSDM for more than 6 years and no search documents were requested and provided at the time of prior promotion or appointment, search documentation will not be requested for a full-time ladder appointment, as long as the candidate meets eligibility for that appointment. This exception does not apply for professorial candidates, who all require a search.