Cluster Faculty Policies

Course Replacement and Salary Policy When Cluster Faculty Are on 100 Percent Leave or a Position is Vacated with an Approved Search in Progress

When a cluster hire faculty member is on 100 percent leave from the university (whether or not she/he intends to return to UW-Madison), or has resigned his/her position and a replacement search has been authorized, the salary funds (regardless of source) will be returned to campus. The campus will return to the school/college the funds required (up to the amount returned by the school/ college) to pay for replacement instructional staff or visiting professors for those courses that the individual had previously taught and were scheduled to teach for the coming academic year.

To request cluster faculty course replacement costs, the cluster coordinator in consultation with the Lead Dean should provide a request in writing to: The Office of the Provost, Steve Stern, Vice Provost for Faculty and Staff, Room 117 Bascom Hall; or e-mail sjstern@wisc.edu.

The request should include:

  • The name, rank and hiring date of the cluster hire faculty member who will be on leave or has left a position and the time she/he is expected to return to UW-Madison, or a new faculty cluster hire is expected to be completed;
  • An explanation of why the cluster faculty member is taking leave (not needed for approved cluster faculty replacement searches);
  • A list of the courses that the cluster faculty member had previously taught, as well as those courses scheduled or planned during the semester(s) in which the cluster is requesting course replacement funds;
  • A clarification of which courses serve the needs of the cluster and which courses serve the needs of a department;
  • The name and rank of the instructional staff or visiting faculty the cluster intends to hire and the department in which the courses will be taught; and
  • A history of cluster faculty hired to date, how long each has been on campus, and rank(s) and department(s). Also provide the name(s), dates and reason(s) for all visiting faculty or staff that previously have been used for cluster faculty course replacements.

Cluster Faculty Start-up Package Funding

The Cluster Hiring Initiative is reaching critical mass in terms of completing the hiring of all the authorized faculty lines and we are approaching a steady state in terms of budget allocations and annual expenditures. Our priority is and will be to protect and fully fund as many cluster faculty lines as possible. As such, there are no longer any cluster funds available to augment new faculty start-up packages as was the case in the early rounds of cluster faculty hiring when we were able to use some of the funding to help with faculty start-up packages. As a result, all currently open and future cluster faculty start-up packages will be negotiated as with all new hires, relying on a mix of funding from hiring departments, schools/colleges and the Graduate School.

Cluster Faculty Replacement

In the event that a cluster faculty member resigns from UW-Madison or is not granted tenure, the position and corresponding salary return to the central campus. The campus policy is that a cluster faculty line will be replaced only if the cluster is functioning or evolving as it was set up to do, and if the cluster as a whole is viable, productive and making progress. If approved, the replacement line goes back to the cluster: It is not guaranteed to go back to the same department(s) or school/college.

To request a cluster faculty replacement line, the Cluster Coordinator and Lead Dean, in consultation with other cluster faculty and, as appropriate, department chairs, must provide a justification in writing to: The Office of the Provost, Steve Stern, Vice Provost for Faculty and Staff, Room 117 Bascom Hall; or e-mail sjstern@wisc.edu.

The request should include:

  • Evidence the cluster remains viable, productive and functioning as it was set up to do (i.e., current relevance of the cluster; description of how the cluster has evolved; examples of cluster productivity in terms of interdisciplinary courses taught, research awards received and successful outreach activities; awards and honors to individual cluster faculty or associated programs; and other signs of success and recognition);
  • An explanation of why the cluster faculty member left or is leaving UW-Madison;
  • A history of cluster faculty hired to date, how long each has been on campus, and rank(s) and department(s). Also provide the name(s), dates and reason(s) for all visiting faculty or staff that previously have been used for cluster faculty course replacements; and
  • A plan for how the cluster will conduct a successful interdisciplinary search.

Request to Reopen a Failed Cluster Search

In the event that a cluster faculty search fails, the cluster must request reauthorization to reopen the faculty line(s) for a new search. The campus policy is that a cluster faculty search that fails will be reauthorized if: 1) the cluster can explain how a new search will be successful; 2) the cluster is functioning or evolving as it was set up to do; and 3) if the cluster as a whole is viable, productive and making progress.

To request that a failed cluster search be reauthorized for posting and hiring, the cluster search and screen committee chair, along with the Cluster Coordinator, Lead Dean and other cluster faculty, must provide a request in writing to: The Office of the Provost, Steve Stern, Vice Provost for Faculty and Staff, Room 117 Bascom Hall; or e-mail sjstern@wisc.edu.

The request should include:

  • An explanation of why the cluster search was not successful;
  • A plan for how the cluster will conduct a successful interdisciplinary search;
  • Evidence the cluster remains viable, productive and functioning as it was set up to do (i.e., current relevance of the cluster; examples of cluster productivity in terms of interdisciplinary courses taught, research awards received and successful outreach activities; awards and honors to individual cluster faculty or associated programs; and other signs of success and recognition); and
  • A history of cluster faculty hired to date, how long each has been on campus, and rank(s) and department(s). Also provide the name(s), dates and reason(s) for all visiting faculty or staff that previously have been used for cluster faculty course replacements.

Salary Savings When Cluster Faculty Pay a Portion of Their Salary with Extramural Sources

When a cluster hire budgeted faculty member goes off-budget by paying a portion of his/her salary from extramural grants or other funding sources, any salary savings will be retained by the school/college through which the appointment is budgeted and may be used in the same way that salary savings from traditional faculty hires are used (e.g., to pay for covering courses, flexible funding for research support, etc.). If courses need to be covered, it is expected the school/college will use those savings to cover the salaries of any instructional staff or visiting faculty who teach the replacement courses. This policy puts cluster hire faculty on the same footing as other faculty in terms of the benefits that accrue to them and their departments when they find extramural salary funding. It also reduces the bureaucracy involved in negotiating funds to pay for teaching replacements when cluster hire faculty are off-budget.

If you have any questions, contact: Steve Stern, Vice Provost for Faculty and Staff, Room 117 Bascom Hall; or e-mail sjstern@wisc.edu.

Visiting Faculty Appointments

An approved cluster position can be permanently used for visiting faculty with the approval of the Lead Dean and the Provost and/or if it was part of the original proposal. In either case, if the position is not filled during the year or for a semester, the funds for that period of time revert to the campus and no replacement funding of any kind will be available. In rare cases, visiting faculty can be hired as part of the search or during replacement searches to cover courses that were scheduled as part of the previous cluster faculty teaching responsibilities.

Dual Career Couple and Strategic Hire Funds

Dual Career Couple and Strategic Hire funds are available in appropriate cases to facilitate the recruitment of Cluster Hires.