Departments and programs authorized to offer graduate degrees are responsible for nominating members of their faculties to the graduate faculty. All nominations for membership in the graduate faculty are forwarded to The Graduate School's associate dean for academic affairs.

Before a nomination can be submitted to the associate dean for academic affairs:

  • Nomination for appointment to full membership in the graduate faculty must be voted on by the full graduate faculty members of the nominating department, with a majority in favor.
  • Nominations for term membership must be approved and recommended by the DGS of the degree-sponsoring unit, with the nomination form accompanied by a current curriculum vitae.

    Nomination Materials

    Nominations submitted to the associate dean must include:

    • a completed and signed nomination form (download above) from the director of graduate studies and the department chair,
    • notification of the final decision voted upon by members of the graduate faculty in the academic unit (for full-membership nominations), and
    • a current curriculum vitae.

    In addition, for secondary faculty from clinical departments, the nomination must include a letter of support for the graduate faculty appointment from the candidate’s department chair or division chief.

    The dean reserves the right of effective review of each request and has the obligation to submit to the Executive Committee of the Graduate Faculty any nomination deemed to be questionable.

    Waivers

    In special cases, departments and programs may request that the dean waive one of these prerequisites. Waiver of any prerequisites is considered in cases where the nominated faculty member has the experience and distinction of tenure-track faculty members currently being appointed at Duke and will contribute demonstrably and substantially to the educational, training, and mentoring mission of the nominating department or degree program. The dean will report such waivers to the Executive Committee of the Graduate Faculty in a timely manner.

    Review of Graduate Faculty

    Full graduate faculty status ends when a member ceases full-time, active employment as a Duke faculty member; such members may be re-nominated as term faculty.

    With Graduate School oversight, nominating departments are also responsible for reviewing the effectiveness of their graduate faculty, and are expected to recommend removal from the Graduate Faculty of any of their faculty members who fail to maintain an appropriate level of scholarship, engagement in student advising, or other essential participation in graduate training and education. In addition, departments nominating secondary faculty are responsible for assuring that home departments/institutes allow the requisite level of participation in graduate training by those faculty.