5.3. Search Requirements

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 for more than two (2) years, a new search is required if the department wishes to have the individual join the faculty. An exception may be made if, at the completion of HMS/HSDM training, the department offers a faculty position to a candidate, contingent upon the individual obtaining additional training outside HMS/HSDM.

There is no requirement that an individual just completing clinical 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 Instructor, Assistant Professor and Associate Professor

• A 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. Advertising must specify that appointment will be at a rank of Associate Professor or below. Only a search approved by the Dean to recruit a Professor may state or imply the potential for appointment at the rank of Professor in advertisements.
• 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, whether Full-time or Part-time rank are conducted by Search Committees appointed by the Dean unless they meet criteria for an exception as outlined. The procedures for a search are outlined below.
• 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

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. Additionally, the essential colleague should be advised that if the recruited Professorial candidate does not achieve the rank of Professor, the essential colleague will need a search to gain an academic appointment in the Faculty of Medicine
• 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, part-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.

Exception to the requirement for a search does not eliminate the requirement for a complete evaluation of the candidate for appointment to the proposed rank. If a Full-time or 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 subsequent appointments or promotions as long as the candidate meets eligibility for a ladder appointment. This exception does not apply for professorial candidates, who all require a search.