Faculty Appointments and Promotions

Faculty Appointments

Faculty appointments are granted to individuals who are actively involved in the educational program of Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine.

Recommendations for faculty appointments within the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine are initiated by Department Chairs.

To apply for appointment to all ranks, an individual must meet the following criteria:

  • Show evidence of involvement in the educational program
  • Have an affiliation with Corewell Health or Oakland University
  • Possess an appropriate terminal degree relevant to the discipline under consideration

The school of medicine's faculty appointment process is managed through OUWB's online appointment and promotion system SmartPath

Candidates interested in a faculty appointment should contact the appropriate Department Chair to initiate the appointment request. 

Upon confirmation, the applicant will receive an email to prepare their CV in the SmartPath system.


Types of Appointments
 

Standard Appointment

  • Time limited non-tenure track appointment
  • Must maintain active affiliation with Corewell Health or Oakland University
  • 3 year renewable appointment

Tenure Track 

  • Available to Oakland University employed faculty at the rank of Assistant or Associate. Not available to those with a clinical focus.
  • Must maintain active employment with Corewell Health or Oakland University
  • Assistant Professors must advance to the rank of Associate with tenure
  • Tenure track faculty in the rank of Associate are required to seek and obtain tenure within four years of initial appointment

Tenured

  • Recognizes an exceptional level of academic achievement at the rank of Associate Professor and Professor
  • Granted in seven-year terms; renewable indefinitely
  • Subject to post-tenure review

Supplemental

  • Adjunct, Secondary, Emeritus, Visiting (for more information regarding supplemental appointments, please see the OUWB Faculty Handbook).

For further information regarding the appointment process, please contact us at medfacaffairs@oakland.edu

Promotion
Promotion Training
The Office of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development is dedicated to facilitating the career success and academic advancement of the faculty of Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine.

Join us to learn about the promotion process; including criteria for promotion, how to format your CV and promotion dossier, and tips for documenting your achievements.

Promotion training is available to any faculty member who is planning to apply for promotion, or for those who would like to learn more about the OUWB promotion process. 

Instructors applying to the rank of Assistant Professor Promotion Requirements:

  • Hold rank of instructor for 2 years or more prior to applying
  • Attend the virtual session Understanding the Requirements for Promotion
  • View the recorded training module Completing Your Promotion Application in Smartpath

Assistant Professors applying to the rank of Associate Professor and Associate Professors applying to the rank of Professor Promotion Training Requirements:

The following promotion training sessions are required for any faculty member seeking promotion. 
  • Strategies for Success: Navigating the OUWB Faculty Promotion Process (Virtual session)
  • Completing Your Promotion Application in SmartPath (Recorded Session)

Standard Faculty Promotions (Corewell Health Based): For a standard faculty promotion to the rank of associate OR professor candidates must have completed a minimum of 5 years as an assistant OR associate professor or equivalent at the time the promotion is initiated.  

Tenure Track Faculty (Oakland University Based): Assistant professors must apply for promotion and tenure in the 6th year and achieve promotion and tenure by the 7th year.

Tenured Associate Professors (Oakland University Based): Tenured associate professors are under no time constraint to apply for promotion to the rank of professor.

If you are an OUWB faculty member interested in attending promotion training, please complete the Promotion Training Interest Survey to receive information on upcoming sessions.

Standard Promotions
A standard promotion process depends upon the faculty member's ability to document appropriate achievements in the following areas of academic life:
  1. Education
  2. Scholarship
  3. Service 
  4. Patient Care/Clinical Activities
Faculty members applying to the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor must document excellence in three of the four achievement categories. Faculty members with a Clinician focus must document achievement in Service and two additional achievement categories. Faculty members with a Clinician Investigator or Clinician Educator focus must document achievement in Scholarship, Service and one additional achievement category.  Faculty members who are applying for the rank of Professor (all focuses) must document excellence in all four Achievement categories. 

Tenure Track - Tenured Promotions 
A tenure track-tenured promotion process depends upon the faculty member's ability to document excellence in achievement in all of the following areas of academic life:
  1. Education
  2. Scholarship
  3. Service
General Information for Promotion
Candidates for both standard and tenure track-tenured promotions must specifically document that they have met or exceeded the guidelines for the relevant promotion.

The responsibility to prove that academic promotion has been earned rests with the applicant
.
This documentation must be clear and unequivocal as the promotion and/or tenure application is scrutinized at several levels of the School of Medicine and the University to verify that criteria have been met.The OUWB faculty promotion process is announced on an annual basis in the month of March. The process is managed through our faculty data tracking system SmartPath. The system optimizes the promotion process by facilitating web based submissions for the material required for promotion; including but not limited to the promotion application, curriculum vitae (CV), personal statement, achievement summaries and electronic reference solicitation. Faculty who are interested in seeking promotion must meet with the appropriate department chair to discuss readiness. At the appropriate time, supported recommendations for promotion shall be given access to the promotion module in the SmartPath system. Additional information on the promotion process and criteria can be found in the OUWB Faculty Handbook

Contact Us for Further Information 
For further information regarding the promotion process, please contact Deirdre Pitts, Ph.D.,
Associate Dean for Faculty & Staff Affairs & Professional Development, at  pitts@oakland.edu or Janine DeWitte, M.Ed., Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs and Professional Development, at  jmdewitt@oakland.edu
SmartPath

All OUWB faculty have access to the SmartPath Curriculum Vitae (CV) module at any time and are welcome and encouraged to make CV updates regularly.

Please contact medfacaffairs@oakland.edu if you have any questions, or any issues logging in.

Corewell Affiliated Login:
Username: Corewell Health ID (DR#, BH# or 6 digit pin)
Password: the corresponding password for your ID  
*Password is case sensitive. 
Affiliation: Corewell Health 

Oakland University Affiliated Login: 
Username: Oakland University NetID
Password: the corresponding password for your NetID
*Password is case sensitive. 
Affiliation: Oakland

SmartPath Login

Workflow Access
Promotion and appointment applicants, CAPT and DCAPT members, Department Chairs, and Administrative Assistants will be able to toggle between the CV module and the workflow module to enter information. This button is found at the top right of the SmartPath webpage.

Workflow Access Button