The University Handbook for Appointed Personnel, Section 3.06 provides that the period of tenure eligibility does not include leaves of absence without pay unless specifically provided otherwise by the Provost. Thus, for example, a faculty member who takes a full year leave of absence during his or her third year would not be reviewed for tenure until his or her seventh year at the University.

On rare occasions an individual wishes to take a leave of absence without pay during his or her sixth year, when the tenure review would normally take place. The review focuses on the candidate's achievements prior to the beginning of the sixth year, and the candidate's preparation of tenure packet materials must normally be completed prior to the beginning of the sixth year. Hence, there is usually no reason to defer the tenure review beyond the sixth year even though the candidate is on leave during that year.

In view of these circumstances, I would appreciate your advising your department heads and faculty that the Provost will normally not extend the period of tenure eligibility for faculty members who are on leave of absence without pay during the year in which they are scheduled for tenure review. Of course in such a case the department and the dean must ensure that the tenure candidate receives a timely notification of actions taken at the various stages of review, as provided by UHAP Section 3.15.

MAC/HMS/lko