Professional Researchers and Professional Specialists

Professional researchers or professional specialists who have regular appointments of at least 50% duty time with at least one year of service may be eligible for research leaves or detached service agreements.

It is believed that under certain circumstances professional researchers or professional specialists and the University can mutually benefit from these staff members' being relieved of regular responsibilities--for example, to enable them to pursue new or unusual projects or to bring together the accomplishments of several related programs. Such activities, like projects regularly carried out by members of the staff, should normally be funded from grants, contracts, or fellowships. In those instances where leaves for research are approved and external support is not available, paid leaves for members of these staff may be granted for up to six months at full salary or up to 12 months at half salary.

Professional researchers or professional specialists may be assigned to projects at laboratories not affiliated with the University. Detached service assignments are not leaves with pay. Salaries to staff members on detached service will be charged to projects at the University in proportion to the time spent for the benefit of those projects during the staff members' periods of detached service. The balance of the staff members' salaries, if any, should be paid by the host institution or by other sources external to the University. The periods of detached service assignments vary and depend on the requirements of the projects involved. All arrangements for detached service are subject to the approval of the relevant sponsoring agencies and should be made only after consultation with the Office of Research and Project Administration as well as the Office of the Dean of the Faculty.

Librarians

Members of the professional library staff holding the rank of Librarian or higher are eligible for research leaves with pay. These leaves typically last between one and three months, but six months is the maximum time allowed at full pay.

All requests for research leaves are submitted to the Promotion, Continuing Appointment and Review Committee and to the department head level or higher. These requests should describe the applicant’s proposed research program and its purposes and be accompanied by a statement from the appropriate Deputy or appropriate Associate University Librarian indicating support of the application in terms of its scholarly merit, of its benefit to the department, and of its impact on the department during the individual’s absence. Committee recommendations are transmitted to the University Librarian who then makes a recommendation to the Dean of the Faculty. Approval of research leaves will be dependent upon the quality of the proposed program and financial considerations relating to the Library. Such activities should normally be funded from grants, contracts or fellowships.