Sloan Pre-tenure Leave
Purpose
The College of Humanities and Sciences participates in a program originally sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, now adopted in full by VCU, whereby tenure-track faculty members whose tenure track is interrupted by family responsibilities will not be adversely affected by taking a family leave. Family responsibilities include the birth/adoption of a child and dependent care. The faculty member also can elect to extend his/her promotion and tenure review date by up to one year. Sloan Pre-tenure leave is distinguished from educational leave in that Sloan stops the tenure clock so that tenure-eligible faculty can focus on family obligations. Educational leave is an opportunity for tenure-eligible faculty to take leave from instructional and service responsibilities to focus on research.
Application process
Eligible faculty must submit a written request for leave under the Sloan Pre-tenure Leave program to their respective department chair or school director. The request must include the following information:
- A statement regarding the dates of the proposed leave
- Whether the leave is full- or part-time
- The exact conditions related to child-bearing or dependent care that have prompted the request for a leave, including the birth date or adoption date of the new family member
- How the described family responsibilities conflict with the faculty member’s professional advancement
- What effect the leave will have on the faculty member’s tenure clock (If the faculty member wishes to have an extension to his/her promotion and tenure review date, the request should include how long of an extension is requested — up to one year)
- A discussion of how the taking of leave will contribute to the faculty member’s future career success
The department chair or school director will then review the request, prepare a recommendation and forward it, along with the faculty member’s request, to the dean of the College. The dean will forward a recommendation to the provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Benefits
If the request is approved, the faculty member will be placed on a leave of absence with pay for the approved period of leave. The leave period is typically one semester, although lengths of time may be considered depending on the faculty member’s individual situation. During this time, the faculty member will not be required to use any of their accrued leave.
Additional information
Should you have any questions about this program, please contact the director of administration for the College at (804) 828-1674.
