The Indiana University Board of Trustees approved a new academic rank for non-tenure track faculty at its campuses earlier this summer. The new position is called “teaching professor” and will be the highest rank a lecturer can achieve.
J Duncan is a senior lecturer for the School of Informatics and Computing and a representative for the Bloomington Faculty Council.
He says "lecturer" is an out-of-date term and the new title gives more recognition for the work someone does in the position.
“Having our third appointment as teaching professor is an acknowledgment of what we do and at what level,” Duncan says.
Before the trustees approved the teaching professor position, lecturers were the only IU faculty members with only two ranks. Duncan says the new position provides opportunity for promotion that mimics tenure faculty’s options and provides opportunity for more pay.
Duncan says individual schools and departments are still deciding what the new position will mean internally and who will be eligible for promotion.
