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David A. Bloom, Margaret Gyetko, James Meador-Woodruff, Petter Eldevik

In 2002 the Medical School of the University of Michigan created and approved its first bylaws. During the previous 152 years of existence of the Medical School, organizational function was governed by various pragmatic policies of the school’s leaders, regulations of the Standard Practice Guide, or by the supervening Regents Bylaws.

Once the Medical School Bylaws had been approved by the Provost, the Medical School began to function according to its own rules, which specifically empowered significant decision making and responsibility to the faculty as exercised through the Executive Committee and Medical School leadership for most day-to-day issues, but through the faculty-at-large for major issues. The Medical School Bylaws mandated three annual faculty meetings, and at the second of these meetings, in the winter of 2002, faculty tracks and ranks were discussed in a well-filled Dow Auditorium. A number of high profile concerns were raised, and as a result three task forces, one for each faculty track, were formed.

The charges for these task forces evolved from a wide base: general faculty comments, leadership discussions, advisory-promotional committee members, and the Executive Committee. In short, the task forces were asked to discuss important concerns relevant to each track and to make recommendations. Additionally, the task forces were asked to review a new set of track and rank descriptions that had been written during the previous year, for future implementation by the Faculty Affairs Office.

The task forces reported back to a faculty meeting on January 28, 2003. Herein you will find these reports along with a revision of our document on faculty tracks and criteria for appointments and promotions. Please look at these critically just as you would read a paper in your major journal. Think about these issues and discuss them with your colleagues in clinics, hallways, cafeterias, and offices. Give us your feedback by email at facultycomments@umich.edu. After about 6 weeks we will begin to coalesce your comments and create a final report for which we will seek a faculty referendum to determine if the ultimate report of the faculty captures our aggregate opinions and underlying philosophy concerning the implementation of our academic ranks and titles.

This document will then be sent to our Provost, Paul Courant. After a period of study in the Provost’s Office, we anticipate that our Dean, Allen Lichter, and our Provost will use the report as a blueprint for change, consistent with the goals of the University and equanimity with its other schools and colleges.

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