Celebrations and Support of UH Faculty Career Advancement

UH Research & Education Update | September 2023

Career Development and Advancement Offerings

The Career Development and Advancement Office (CDAO), led by Marjorie Greenfield, MD, provides presentations and individual meetings to support academic career development. The CDAO also advocates for faculty interests; discusses career planning and promotions; offers workshops and presentations for groups on topics such as promotions, negotiation, and mentoring; and provides advocacy for faculty development and well-being.

Information for Academic Promotions

Many faculty members are interested in pursuing academic promotion. If you are, please talk with your department promotions committee Chair, Department Chair or Division Chief to understand the requirements. Dr. Greenfield is happy to meet with faculty at any stage of their career to discuss how to leverage academic activities to position faculty for promotion.

The deadlines for promotion packet submissions to Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) changed last year to allow official promotion on January 1 or July 1 each year. CWRU deadlines vary by expected promotion date and whether the applicant is tenure track or non-tenure track. The department promotions committee must review the promotions packet before submission to the medical school committee, and departmental deadlines vary. Visit the CWRU Appointments, Promotion & Tenure Information website for the most up-to-date information on the promotion processes and deadlines and other resources. The CDAO office developed playbooks for department administrators to streamline appointments and promotions.

Please email Abigail Zona to track submitted promotions through the CWRU system.

Annual Reviews by Your Chair or Chief

In the original 2018 faculty development survey, the CDAO learned that not all faculty members received an annual review of their career progress, but of those who did meet with their Chair or Chief annually, 74% found it helpful for career development. In 2019, UH leadership started auditing the completion of at least one annual review meeting for each faculty member in every department. That first year, 76% received an annual review. This year we reached 92%. With the current procedures, the number of of faculty successfully promoted and the number of survey respondents who report at least one senior or peer mentor improved from 57% in 2018 to 75% in 2021. If you have suggestions on how to improve annual reviews, please contact your Department Chair or Marjorie Greenfield, MD.

Celebrating UH Faculty Achievements

“Senior” Physicians, Surgeons, and Staff Scientists

Last year, Dr. Greenfield initiated the Senior Faculty Recognition Project also known as the Signature Project. Physician and research faculty members more than ten years out from training and in good professional standing were identified by their department chairs and given the title “Senior Attending Physician,” “Senior Attending Surgeon” or “Senior Staff Scientist.”  These titles can be used in email signatures, presentations and posters, CVs, business cards, etc., to recognize clinical and scientific maturity within a role at UH.  937 UH faculty members from UHMG and UHMP achieved this milestone in 2022. This year, the new cohort will, of course, will be smaller, consisting of those who moved from nine years to ten years out and “senior” new hires. This change typically occurs on July 1, but this year, due to EPIC implementation, it will be announced in September.

Academic Promotion

From 2018-2021, between 30 and 38 UH faculty were successfully promoted to Associate or Full Professor annually. In 2022 that number jumped to 46, but when the number of faculty members initially given the rank of “Clinical Assistant Professor” and successfully moved to “Associate Professor,” are included, the total number of promotions is 52. CWRU considers those to be appointments on a new track and not promotions, so they were not included in the past data reporting. The total number of promoted in 2023 reached a new record of 54 new Associate and Full Professors promoted, plus eight newly hired faculty who were promoted to these ranks upon arrival.

On August 24, Dean Stan Gerson, and Drs. Cliff Megerian, Dan Simon, and Dr. Greenfield welcomed our newly promoted faculty members with a ceremony and reception at Wolstein Auditorium. Learn more and watch the event at UH R&E Events

Please email the Office of Career Development or Dr. Greenfield for more information.