Affiliate and Adjunct Faculty

Welcome

Affiliate and adjunct faculty are a vital component of the School of Oceanography community. They foster strong, creative collaborations within the School, the university, and our scientific neighbors by sharing their research expertice, mentoring and teaching skills. To our current affiliate and adjunct faculty members, thank you! For our future faculty, we are excited to welcome you to the School.

The School articulates clear goals for our Affiliate and Adjunct faculty:  

• For the Researcher: Helps to build a broad and strong scientific community for the scientist that is larger than their home research unit, encourages new scientific collaborations with scientists within academic units, allows researchers to advise and mentor graduate students and postdocs, and provides limited teaching opportunities intended to strengthen the researcher’s portfolio without significantly impacting their primary research focus. 
• For Oceanography: Provides ties to other research entities that enhance the School’s research opportunities and portfolio, broadens the areas where a unit can recruit and train graduate students and postdocs, and provides an opportunity to educate students in research topics and skills that the core faculty might not have.

Appointment Process

The faculty of the School of Oceanography can request to appoint an adjunct or affiliate faculty to the department when that person’s interests are relevant to ours and when that person has made a significant contribution to our department in the areas of teaching or research and appears to be likely to continue to do so.

To qualify for or maintain an annual appointment of adjunct and affiliate, faculty are expected to participate in at least one, but preferably more than one, of the following activities annually:

• Seminar participation or guest speaking.
• Identification of opportunities and supervision of internship or student projects.
• Teaching or co-teaching of courses available to SoO students.
• Supervision of research projects related or unrelated to thesis or dissertation work.
• Thesis or dissertation committee membership.
• Participation in advisory or governance groups for the Department.
• Collaboration in the Department’s research and/or teaching activities.
• Participation in new course development, including development of teaching materials and content for Department courses.

Additional activities and other forms of involvement are discretionary, and adjunct and affiliate faculty are encouraged to participate in University affairs in relation to their interests and time availability.

To nominate a new adjunct or affiliate faculty member, please contact our interim director, Susan Hautala (hautala@uw.edu) and cc Taylor Hospenthal (tmh15@uw.edu). The director will evaluate the nominee and their qualifications to determine if they are approved to move forward. The nominee will need to provide the following and the title will be officially awared by the following quarter after a faculty discussion and vote:

• Copy of current CV
• A statement from the candidate explaining their qualifications and the role they see themselves playing in the School
• Three letters of recommendation, with at least one letter from a reviewer external of UW 

Adjunct and Affiliate Faculty Code

Adjunct appointments in the School of Oceanography are governed by the following section of the Faculty Code (vol. II–33, section 24–34):

"An adjunct appointment is made only to a faculty member (including one in each research professorial rank) already holding a primary appointment in another department. This title recognizes the contributions of a member of the faculty to a secondary department. Adjunct appointments do not confer governance or voting privileges or eligibility for tenure in the secondary department. These appointments are annual; the question of their renewal shall be considered each year by the faculty of the secondary department."

Affiliate appointments in the School of Oceanography are governed by the following section of the Faculty Code (vol. II–33, section 24–34):

"Appointment with an affiliate rank requires qualifications comparable to those required for appointment to the corresponding rank. It recognizes the professional contribution of an individual whose principal employment responsibilities lie outside the colleges or schools of the University. Affiliate appointments are annual; the question of their renewal shall be considered each year by the faculty of the department (or undepartmentalized college or school) in which they are held."

Reappointment of Adjunct and Affiliate Faculty

Adjunct and affiliate faculty appointments are made and/or renewed every year during winter quarter. Each winter, the director will request that each adjunct and affiliate faculty member or potential member document their participation in departmental activities. To be considered for appointment or reappointment, candidates will be asked to submit an updated CV and a list of activities about their involvement with the School in the previous year. If this documentation is not received by the deadline provided at time of request, the adjunct or affiliate faculty title will not be renewed. Notices of renewal or non-renewal will be sent during spring quarter. 

For additional information about the history of adjunct and affiliate titles, affiliate and adjunct promotions, the types of faculty at our School, etc., click here.