Basic Life Sciences Faculty Hiring Initiative: Joint Charles River Campus-School of Medicine Faculty Recruitment Opportunity
From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
Request for Proposals: Joint Faculty Hiring in the Basic Life Sciences in the Medical School, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the College of Engineering
This hiring initiative builds upon the recommendations of the Committee on the Basic Life Sciences. This is a new opportunity to identify, recruit and hire outstanding faculty members who can contribute simultaneously to the research and teaching mission of the School of Medicine, the College of Arts & Sciences, and the College of Engineering in the fields of the basic life sciences. Proposals are due by May 1, 2019.
Faculty recruited through this initiative will have:
- Primary laboratory space at the School of Medicine;
- A faculty office on both campuses;
- A true joint appointment which would include tenure or a tenure-track appointment in a department on the Charles River Campus and a rolling faculty appointment in the Medical School; and
- Ongoing teaching expectations on both campuses.
To facilitate these recruitments, the University Provost will provide:
- A new faculty “slot” for the Charles River Campus College to accommodate the recruitment;
- Substantial start-up funding; and
- Funding for lab renovations as necessary at the School of Medicine.
Level of potential hires:
- Assistant Professor level hires will be given preference
- Proposals for outstanding senior level searches (Associate Professor/Professor) will be considered
- “Open level” searches will not be approved; the individuals identified through an approved search must match the level at which the search was approved
Process for submitting a proposal:
- Faculty members and/or Department Chairs in one of the Basic Life Sciences departments in the Medical School (Anatomy & Neurobiology, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics, or Physiology & Biophysics) and one (or more) of the relevant departments in the College of Arts & Sciences and/or the College of Engineering should first identify a strategic rationale for this particular form of joint appointment and determine how it will benefit the units on both campuses. A possible hire should only be proposed through this initiative when it presents a unique opportunity to foster collaborative work across campuses that extends well beyond the individual who is to be recruited.
- The joint proposers from the two campuses should develop a rationale for a faculty search in memo form, addressed to the University Provost, that includes:
- The strategic benefits of the proposed faculty hire;
- The expected teaching responsibilities;
- A mentoring plan to provide support for what could be a challenging situation, especially for an Assistant Professor;
- A plan, developed in consultation with the Associate Provost for Diversity & Inclusion and/or with other local experts, to conduct an inclusive search that describes how a diverse applicant and interview pool will be built;
- An approximation of the one-time start-up costs;
- Identification of proposed laboratory and office space; and
- Initial estimates of renovation costs for the space developed with the assistance of Amy Barrett, Assistant Provost for Space Planning.
The memo should be no more than 5 pages long, using 12-point font. The completed memo should be submitted by email to Laura Jenks, Chief of Staff to the Provost, at ljenks@bu.edu.
- “Cluster” hires: We recognize the benefits of recruiting faculty into these new types of positions in a cohort or cluster model. Therefore, proposals for simultaneous recruitment of up to three faculty members will be considered. However, because of the prodigious costs of three simultaneous recruitments in the basic life sciences, the strategic rationale must be truly extraordinary and a significant cost share with the recruiting units will be required.
- The search proposal should be developed in consultation with the relevant deans who will work with the proposers in an iterative fashion to help craft strong, realistic proposals, in line with the hiring priorities of the school or college.
- Proposals that are supported by the deans on both campuses will be reviewed by a small cross-campus team of experienced senior faculty, chaired by the University Provost, to determine which ones have highest priority and likelihood of success in a given search cycle.
- It is likely that these searches, once approved, may run for more than one year, given the complexities of this joint recruitment mechanism. We do not anticipate having more than three such searches active at any one time.
- Final approval to commence a search under this mechanism will be made in late August, in coordination with the approval of regular CRC faculty searches.
- Because of the significant central support provided, the final decision to approve a faculty search under this mechanism resides with the University Provost.
- Julie Sandell, Senior Associate Provost, is available to answer any questions throughout the proposal process.