Faculty Resources

Academic appointments (e.g., Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor): activities that include Teaching plus at least one of the following components: Research, Scholarship, Institutional Scholarship, Clinical

Research appointments (e.g., Research Assistant Professor): expectations are solely for research activities, with appointments contingent on funding

Professional appointments (e.g., Assistant Professor of Clinical): expectations are solely for clinical or other professional services, and may contribute significantly to teaching

Voluntary clinical appointments (e.g., Clinical Assistant Professor): typically community-based, non-salaried faculty members involved in teaching or other activities at the SMD

Other / special appointments include non-doctoral-level appointments, Adjunct, Visiting, Interim, and Emeritus faculty members

Proposal Guideline Template

Academic Leave Proposal Template

Required Documents

Leave of Absence Form 1

Leave of Absence Form 2

Academic Leave of Absence Financial Information Form

Template for Academic Leave Report

Once you have returned from your leave, upload post-leave reports to your department’s designated box folder – contact your chair’s office for assistance

CIAG Staff

Definitions FAQs

Q: Which faculty members are subject to the University of Rochester (UR) faculty conflict of interest policy?
A: The faculty members subject to the policy include “all individuals holding a paid academic, clinical, or research appointment within the UR."

Q: Who is an “investigator” and therefore subject to the policy?
A: Any individual who is “responsible for the administration, design, conduct or reporting of research” is an investigator subject to the policy. Typically, this will include the principal investigator(PI), Co-PIs, co-Investigators, and study coordinators, and may include others as well.

Q: Who determines that an individual is considered an investigator on a research project and, therefore, subject to the policy?
A: The PI of the research project is responsible for identifying those individuals that serve as an investigator in a particular research project, sometimes in conjunction with the academic advisor, department chair or Dean.

Q: Are study coordinators considered to be investigators under the policy?
A: Yes. They will therefore be required to submit annual and ad hoc disclosures, starting with the2012 reporting cycle (typically conducted in February-March for the previous calendar year).

Q: Are graduate students and postdoctoral appointees ever considered to be investigators?
A: Sometimes. Graduate students and postdoctoral appointees are “investigators” subject to the policy if they are independently responsible for the design, conduct or reporting of research. While graduate students and postdoctoral appointees are ordinarily under supervision and/or guidance from a faculty mentor or advisor, graduate students and postdoctoral appointees may, on rare occasion, independently perform these responsibilities, and they will be subject to the policy.

Q: Are consultants or collaborators named on grant applications/awards considered to be investigators under the policy?
A: It depends. Consultants or collaborators are considered investigators under the policy if they are independently responsible for the design, conduct or reporting of research. Ordinarily, consultants are directed to perform specific tasks on a research project, and would not be viewed as independently responsible for these tasks. Collaborators typically provide insight in areas of their expertise, but are not be responsible for the design, conduct or reporting.

COI Training FAQs

Q: Does every investigator need to complete the on-line training course?
A: No. Only those investigators with PHS funded projects need to complete the training. This must be done prior to receipt of a PHS award (competing or non-competing) funded after August 24, 2012. The training should be completed as soon as possible, to avoid any potential delay in the UR’s release of the PHS award. In the future, Deans may require that all faculty in their schools complete the training, regardless of whether they have PHS funded research. At this point in time, only PHS investigators are required to complete the training.

Q: Do scientific consultants on PHS-funded projects need to complete the on-line training course?
A: Possibly. A consultant must complete the training if he/she exercises independence in the planning, conduct and/or reporting of any aspect of the research. At this time, if a consultant is defined as an investigator, the training will be done off-line (manual reading of course materials and completion of the course quiz).

Q: Are study coordinators required to complete the on-line training course?
A: Yes. Study coordinators are now defined as “investigators” under the revised UR policy. Thus, study coordinators will need to complete the mandatory on-line training, if any portion of their salary is paid from PHS funding.

Q: A faculty member has a K award. Their mentor has left the UR but will continue to act as mentor; however, the mentor will not be paid (either individually or through a UR subcontract with her new institution). Is the mentor required to complete the conflict of interest training?
A: No, the mentor does not need to complete the training, because she serves only in an advisory capacity. The K award recipient, and not the mentor, is the named individual with independent responsibility for the design, conduct or reporting of the funded research.

Q: In addition to the PI, a PHS funded project names a project coordinator, a full-time research assistant, a graduate student research assistant, and an undergraduate research assistant who are working on the project for independent study credit. All of these individuals are assisting in the conduct of the study. With the exception of the PI and the graduate research assistant, the remaining personnel are not publishing or benefiting from the research. Do these study team members need to complete the on-line training?
A: Probably not. The training must be completed by individuals who have the independent responsibility for design, conduct or reporting of PHS funded research. If the activities of the students are reviewed or overseen by the PI, they are not “independent.” However, the determination of who has independence, or who does not, is subjective. The PI’s judgment is relied upon in assessing the independence of the individuals working on the project and therefore whether they need to complete the COI training.

Q: If a faculty member is required to complete a different (non-UR) COI training course by a sponsor (e.g. the CITI course or NIH tutorial), is it necessary to also complete the UR course?
A: Yes. The faculty member must take the UR training it covers specifics of the UR policy and UR reporting requirements. This is required by the PHS regulations.

Q: A faculty member with no current PHS funding has recently submitted a proposal to a PHS agency. It has been reviewed, but a decision has not been made regarding whether it will be funded or not. Is it necessary for the faculty member to complete the COI training at this time?
A: No. However, the training must be completed if the PHS award is funded, and prior to any expenditure of funds on the PHS project. The Office of Research and Project Administration (ORPA) will not release a sub-ledger 5 account number for the project until all investigators (as defined in UR’s policy) associated with the project complete the training.

Q: How can individuals confirm that they have received credit for completing the training?
A: When a score of at least eighty (80) is obtained on the course quiz and the course evaluation is completed, it will be reflected in the individual’s HRMS training record. This might take up to three (3) days after completion of the course evaluation. Physicians with appointments at the School of Medicine and Dentistry may also request a course completion certificate valid for one continuing medical education credit by answering “yes” to the last question on the course evaluation form.

Reporting of External Compensation FAQs

Q: How frequently must faculty members and other investigators report their financial interests?
A: All faculty members and other investigators are required to submit annual reports, ordinarily in the February-March timeframe for the prior calendar year. In addition, all faculty members and investigators must disclose any additional financial interests that they acquire, within thirty (30) days of discovering or acquiring the financial interest.

Q: How do faculty and non-faculty investigators report their financial interests?
A: The UR schools/colleges have developed reporting mechanisms to capture annual and ad hoc reporting. School/college conflict of interest forms or reporting systems can be found by accessing http://www.rochester.edu/orpa/COI.html. The URMC reporting system is located at: https://coi.urmcsh.rochester.edu/public/home.aspx. The AS&E reporting system is located at https://www.rochester.edu/asei/index.php.

Q: Do all faculty also need to report reimbursed or sponsored travel related to their institutional responsibilities?
A: No, only investigators that are funded by PHS must report their sponsored and reimbursed travel.

Q: How do PHS-funded investigators report their sponsored or reimbursed travel?
A: The schools/colleges have developed reporting mechanisms to capture sponsored and reimbursed travel. School/college conflict of interest forms or reporting systems can be found by accessing http://www.rochester.edu/orpa/COI.html . The AS&E reporting system is located at: https://www.rochester.edu/asei/index.php.

Q: A PHS investigator is reimbursed by an outside entity for travel that is related to his/her institutional responsibilities. Are they required to disclose this travel, even if it is not related to PHS funded research?
A: Maybe, depending on what entity sponsors the travel. The travel must be reported unless it is sponsored or reimbursed by a Federal, state or local governmental agency, an institution of higher education, a research institute affiliated with an institution of higher education, an academic teaching hospital, or an academic medical center.

Q: If a PHS-funded investigator travels to a scientific conference and is reimbursed by the UR for the travel, are they required to report this travel reimbursement?
A: No. Travel reimbursed by the UR is not included in the definition of sponsored or reimbursed travel for purposes of the PHS regulation and UR policy’s reporting requirements.

Q: If a PHS funded investigator serves on an NIH study section and is compensated for these services, does that compensation need to be reported?
A: No, it is not necessary to report compensation from a Federal, state or local governmental agency.

Q: A PHS funded faculty member travels abroad to attend a conference. The travel has been partially sponsored (i.e., hotel and meals were reimbursed, but airfare was paid from a UR discretionary account). Are they required to report the non-UR reimbursement?
A: Yes. Assuming the travel relates to the faculty member’s institutional responsibilities, and if the travel sponsorship is not from an exempt entity (as described above), then the hotel and meal charges must be reported.

Q: If a faculty member attends a study section sponsored by a professional society, for example, the American Heart Association or the American Cancer Society. The professional society pays for travel (which they arrange for and pay for in advance), and also reimburses participants for incidental expenses. Does this need to be reported to the UR?
A: Yes. The federal regulations only exempt travel reimbursement from federal, state or local governmental agencies; U.S. institutions of higher education; research institutes affiliated with institutions of higher education; and academic teaching hospitals and medical centers. Thus, travel reimbursement from voluntary health associations would need to be reported.

Interactions with Institutions that Subcontract to the UR FAQs

Q: UR is a sub-recipient on a grant issued to a peer institution (e.g., Cornell University). The peer institution asks UR whether UR’s COI policy complies with the PHS conflict of interest regulations. What is the proper response?
Answer: The proper response is that the UR COI policy is compliant with the PHS regulations. Inform the prime grantee that the Federal Demonstration Partnership (a cooperative initiative among 10 federal agencies and 119 institutional recipients of which UR is a member) website http://sites.nationalacadmies.org/PGA/fdp/PDG_061001 that includes a publicly-available list of institutions (FCP Institutional Clearinghouse) who have attested that they will be compliant with the new PHS FCOI regulations as of August 24, 2012. The UR is named on this list.

• Conflict of Interest Advisory Group guidelines for clinical trials in URMC
• URMC Industry Interactions Policy
• UR Purchasing COI policy
• URMC Code of Conduct
• UR Intellectual Property Policies
• UR Faculty Consulting Guidance:  N.B. — outside clinical work is not allowed under the consulting policy; as per the SMD clinician compensation plan, patient care must be done through the UR Medical Faculty Group for all full-time and most part-time employed faculty members.

• On-line confidential survey and a voluntary 1:1exit interview are available for faculty departing URMC.
• When completing the departure form, faculty may choose to participate in the Exit Survey and/or an interview.
• In-person interviews will take approximately 30-45 minutes.
• When the departure form is received by the Office of Academic Affairs, faculty who elect to have an exit interview will be contacted to schedule a date and time.

Q: Are there resources available regarding finding another job, preparing my CV or job interview skills?

A: Please see the Office of Faculty Development website.

Q: How much advance notice should faculty provide when departing?

A: The more advance notice the better. The SMD Regulations of the Faculty ask that faculty give sufficient notice to ensure that their responsibilities can be properly covered after their departure. For specific notification requirements, review the section of the SMD Regulations relevant to your appointment, and review the language in your initial job offer letter or any subsequent letters or contracts,which also may stipulate the advance notice period required.

Q: What happens to my benefits when I leave?

A: We recommend you contact the Office of Human Resources. 

Q: Will I get paid for unused vacation time?

A: Faculty do not receive a payout for unused vacation time.

Q: Can accrued vacation be used at the end of employment, that is, stop working before the end of my employment at UR?

A: Faculty may only use vacation time at the end of their employment with explicit permission of their department chair.

Q: What do I need to turn in before I leave?

A: Please review this with the appropriate administrative staff person in your department. This generally will include your UR ID card, keys, and any other UR-owned property (such as computers purchased with UR funds).

1. Clinicians must return any paper charts or other records kept on patients seen as part of your UR employment; you must return these before you depart.
2. Funded investigators should work with their department administrator, chair or chair designee, ORPA-assigned administrator and any funding agencies to plan for the close-out and subsequent transfer of grants or contracts.
3. Other research-related issues may include coordination with your new institution of transfers of grants, the disposition of equipment, protocols, requirements, record retention, material transfer agreements, or intellectual property, and discussion with the RSRB and UCAR regarding human subject and animal use approvals/closeouts and the disposition of data deriving from human or animal research.

Q: What else do I need to do before I leave?

A: Discuss any remaining departure actions with your department chair/administrator. Faculty departure conversations should include consideration of future plans for personnel in your area (staff, trainees, faculty colleagues), and for supervisory, teaching and administrative roles.

A: At our School, all voluntary faculty appointments are preceded by the term "Clinical," with ranks from Instructor through Professor. Thus a typical title would take the form of, for example, "Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics." (Please note the difference compared with a title such as "Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics," the latter being an example of a professional appointment, that is, a UR-employed faculty member whose principal responsibilities are in patient care.)

Q: Who decides whether I get my voluntary faculty appointment established or renewed? Who decides if I can be promoted in rank?

A: While the Office of Academic Affairs processes all faculty appointments, all appointments and promotions originate as proposals to the Dean's Office from the various departments of the medical school It is therefore up to the chair of your home department to determine whether someone's contributions are consistent with that department's expectations for a voluntary faculty appointment, and at what rank. We are always glad to answer general questions, but will refer you to your department chair office for more specific questions about such expectations or about the internal department processing of your faculty appointment, reappointment, or promotion in rank.

More senior faculty ranks (e.g., Clinical Associate Professor, Clinical Professor) require approval of the school-wide promotions committee ("Steering Committee") and the University of Rochester Board of Trustees, again based on proposals originating from the department chair.

Q: Are there any "perks" that come with my voluntary faculty appointment?

A: We of course hope that the teaching or other contributions you offer are personally rewarding to you in and of themselves! But, yes, there may be additional things you can gain. At your request and at your primary department's discretion, you may be given:

• A UR ID, giving you access to the University of Rochester and URMC premises
• A URMC email address, generally taking the form of FirstName_LastName@urmc.rochester.edu. This gives you a secure email account on the URMC Exchange email server.
• The ability to login to the URMC network while offsite using VPN (Virtual Private Networking). This may give you access to web resources kept securely behind the URMC firewall, including:
  • The URMC Intranet
  • Miner digital library, with online access to a wide range of licensed reference and reading materials. (N.B. – your UR ID card also gives you physical access to the Miner Library and its hard copy resources.)
• Having a role at the medical school, and a ".edu" email address, may allow you to access educator discounts offered by a number of companies, including software products from Microsoft and Adobe, and hardware and software products from Apple; many such products and discounts are also available to faculty through the UR Tech Store

Q: What CME/educational activities are available to me as a voluntary clinical faculty member?

A: 

• You are able to attend departmental Grand Rounds and the majority of other, free, regular clinical and scientific conferences and presentations at URMC
• Access to CEL Activities
• Some conferences may offer reduced fees to faculty, at the discretion of the conference activity director
  • For example, the annual Health Professions Faculty Development Colloquium is offered at no charge to UR faculty and staff

Q: Do the URMC conflict of interest policies apply to me?

A: The URMC policy on interactions with industry applies to voluntary clinical faculty when on URMC premises or conducting activities on behalf of URMC, such as teaching URMC trainees in one's clinical practice. You may familiarize yourself with URMC policies collated in the above 'Conflicts of Interest Policies and Resources section'. The policy specifically on industry interactions with industry is linked from that Academic Affairs site, or may be viewed directly on the Quality site along with its own FAQs.

Please submit nominations by November 3rd, 2025

Mentoring can be a powerful force in the personal and professional development of an individual. It benefits not only the mentee, but also the mentor and the University. To recognize mentoring as a valuable contribution to the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, we will honor individuals who have a primary appointment within the School of Medicine and Dentistry and excel in this important endeavor. There are three awards, one for mentoring junior faculty, one for mentoring doctoral trainees/fellows in basic science research, and one for mentoring residents, fellows, or other clinical trainees in clinical care or clinical research. These awards will be presented at the Award Ceremony, April 20, 2026.

Characteristics of the ideal mentor (recognizing that no one person may have all of these skills):

1. Critical traits of the mentor:
   • Accepts responsibility for being a mentor
   • Gives time and is approachable
   • Respected, well-established, secure; not threatened by success of a junior person
   • Altruistic; able to invest in the success of another’s career
   • Objective and insightful; can evaluate new ideas free of bias
     • Capable of empathy and caring; respectful of diversity and differences among people; able to appreciate mentee despite possible differences
     • Culturally Responsive: recognizes and addresses the different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences that mentees may have. Demonstrates cultural humility and a willingness to learn from mentees.

2. Role of the mentor
   • Role model, teacher, Counselor and advisor
     • Support and challenge the person being mentored, balancing the two to promote personal and professional development
     • Sponsor, advocate, and ally, including facilitating and helping establish additional skills, collaborators, mentors, and role models, as needed
       • Motivates excellence
       • Acts as an ally by challenging inequities and facilitating connections that uplift underrepresented mentees. Actively advocates for policies, resources, and opportunities that support diversity in career growth.

3. Knowledge and skills of the mentor
   • Understands the science of hypothesis development and testing and how to guide a mentee to what is important scientifically
     • Able to listen, critique, and communicate effectively and constructively
       • Knowledgeable about different career tracks, stages of a faculty career, markers of development and progress, criteria, and systems for promotion, informal and formal expectations of faculty development
       • Knowledgeable about scientific writing, grant writing, choice of grants, choosing journals in which to publish, time management, human resource management/supervision, team management, budgeting, etc.
       • Knowledgeable about balancing multiple professional demands, including service to the Division/Department/School/University
       • Understands how the intersectionality of race, gender, ability, and other identities can influence career development and professional experiences.

4. Nature of the relationship between mentor and mentee
   • Regard for the individual, recognizing the multiple personal and professional roles they may be balancing against professional goals
     • Fair, honest, respectful, and ethical relationship
     • Proactive, with explicit goals, agendas, and timelines
     • Establishes a relationship built on mutual respect, where both mentor and mentee can learn from each other’s experiences and perspectives.

There are THREE MENTOR AWARDS, presented to the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry faculty members:

FACULTY ACADEMIC MENTORING AWARD – for a faculty member who has mentored junior faculty (Assistant Professor or Senior Instructor).

TRAINEE ACADEMIC MENTORING AWARD in BASIC SCIENCE – for a faculty member who has mentored doctoral trainees/fellows in basic science research.

TRAINEE ACADEMIC MENTORING AWARD in CLINICAL PROGRAMS – for a faculty

member who has mentored residents, fellows, or other clinical trainees in clinical care or clinical research.

THE NOMINATIONS PROCESS

1. Nominations will consist of one letter of recommendation from the Chair or Unit Director and the nominated mentor’s complete Curriculum Vitae. 
2. Nomination letters should summarize the extent and impact of the nominee’s accomplishments as a mentor including specific mentoring characteristics and traits, examples of mentoring quality, breadth of experience and relationships.  Nomination letters should also include brief quotes from prior mentees.   
3. Only one awardee per category from each Department or Unit will be considered.
4. Please do not include any additional materials.  To ensure fairness, additional materials will not be considered.

Please submit by November 3^rd, 2025, to: britney_swanger@urmc.rochester.edu

In the subject line of the email, please include the nominee’s name and nomination award title.  

Questions regarding the nomination process may be directed to the Office of Academic Affairs at 275-3030 or via e-mail at:  britney_swanger@urmc.rochester.edu

Mentoring Awards List