Use of Titles of Distinction

[su_note note_color=”#dbe2ed”] May 17, 2018

ACADEMIC DEANS AND DEPARTMENT CHAIRS

RE:   Use of Titles of Distinction on the UCI Campus

I am pleased to share with you the following revisions regarding use of titles of distinction on our campus.

  1. Faculty at Above-Scale will be extended the title of Distinguished Professor (effective July 1, 2018).
  2. Individual faculty members may simultaneously hold a campus title of distinction, and an endowed chair, and an administrative chair after appropriate review for each title.

Background: Current campus policy includes a range of campus honors for exceptional faculty, but with a limitation of one title per person. In addition, unlike the majority of UC campuses, Above-Scale faculty at UC Irvine are not automatically given the title “Distinguished Professor.”

Review: In light of requests for multiple titles of distinction and dissatisfaction with the title “Above-Scale”, a joint Senate-Administration ad hoc Committee was formed to review our policy and make recommendations on the use of titles of distinction. This committee was charged with considering: 1) current use of titles at UCI, 2) the restriction of holding multiple titles, and 3) evaluation of the diversity of faculty holding titles of distinction. The report and recommendations were shared with the campus Distinctions Committee and CAP who provided comments.

Policy Change Details: Guided by the recommendation of the review committees, and in order to recognize the accomplishments of our Above Scale faculty and improve the consistency of use of distinguished titles within the UC and in the wider academic community, the following changes will be effective July 1, 2018:

  1. Distinguished Professor Titles and Above-Scale
    • Current faculty at the rank of Above-Scale will be titled Distinguished Professor.
    • Faculty who advance to Above-Scale will be titled Distinguished Professor.
    • Current faculty with the title of Distinguished Professors who do not hold the step of Above-Scale will keep the title of Distinguished Professor.
    • Distinguished Professors who are not at the rank of Above-Scale can achieve the level only through the academic personnel process of Advancement to Above-Scale.
  2. Multiple Titles of Distinction
    • Faculty may simultaneously hold a combination of the following:
      • Campus title of distinction (e.g., Chancellor’s or Distinguished Professor)
      • Endowed chair
      • Administrative chair
    • Faculty may not simultaneously hold the Chancellor’s Professor and Distinguished Professor

Campus Distinctions Review Committee:

  • Will continue to review nominations for the title of Chancellor’s Professor.
  • Will continue to review nominations for faculty being recruited through the Distinguished Pr0Jessor Hiring Program.

If you have any questions about the use of titles of distinction on our campus, please contact Vice Provost Diane O’Dowd (dkodowd@uci.edu).

Sincerely,

Enrique J. Lavernia, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor

cc: Chancellor Gillman, Vice Provost O’Dowd, Academic Senate, Assistant Deans, Chief Personnel Officers, Academic Personnel[/su_note]