TO: Members of the Council of Deans
FROM: Ann E. Cudd, Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor
DATE: May 11, 2022
SUBJECT: Interpretation of the Type A Transfer
The University of Pittsburgh recognizes that the coronavirus pandemic continues to have an impact on the scholarly activities and productivity of faculty. This impact may be particularly profound on tenure stream faculty in their probationary period who have a mandatory review
period but whose work might be temporarily interrupted or impeded by COVID-19 and disruptions that have flowed from the pandemic.
We initially addressed those impacts through the Type E extension, which was a one-year temporary transfer out of the tenure stream that faculty in their probationary period could request under the circumstances described in my March 27, 2020, announcement, “Extending the Tenure Clock.” The opportunity to request a Type E extension was available until January 1, 2022, although we now know that neither the pandemic nor its effects ended by that date.
Accordingly, and to accommodate the continuing effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the work of faculty in their probationary period—with the exception of faculty within the School of Medicine, who are not eligible for the Type A Transfer—the University will interpret the
language in Type A Temporary Transfer Out of the Tenure Stream about “exceptional circumstances that prevent normal progress in the tenure stream [and are] beyond the control of the individual” to include circumstances that are caused by the coronavirus pandemic and related
effects. Specifically, the following language in the Type A policy will be interpreted in this way and should be understood to be illustrative and not exhaustive:
Examples of such circumstances might include long-term serious illness of the faculty member or spouse; expanded teaching, administrative, or clinical duties to meet explicitly-defined department, school, or University needs; or an individual's scholarly activity that clearly requires additional time to judge its outcome.
Among the circumstances related to the coronavirus pandemic that could fall within this language—and again, by way of illustration and not limitation—are the faculty member’s personal illness, including “long COVID,” or that of a partner or family member; dependent care
demands, particularly when caused by COVID-19 infections or staffing shortages; expanded duties to meet the learning or mental health needs of students; and interruptions to research caused by, e.g., funding disruptions, travel restrictions, or administrative slowdowns, whether at
the University or an external entity.
In ordinary times, the use of the adjective “exceptional” connotes rarity. As we all have learned over the past two years, however, these are extraordinary times. With that understanding, I am instructing Deans and Regional Campus Presidents, Division and Department Chairs, and faculty committees or tenured faculty who recommend tenure in the relevant unit to interpret liberally the circumstances warranting a Type A transfer in deliberating on whether to agree to a faculty member’s request.
Existing unit-level processes for requesting and approving a Type A transfer should remain in place.
As a reminder, I recently shared the updated Memo on Revised Guidelines for Annual Review of Faculty related to COVID Impact Statements:
In recognition of the broad range of challenges faculty have faced in 2020, 2021 and 2022 and in consultation with the Council of Deans, I have expanded the scope of the information that faculty are invited to provide for consideration with their annual review and tenure and promotion materials to include documentation of challenges beyond those directly caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and acknowledge that a statement of challenges should be invited again for 2022.
Please keep in mind that, in some situations, a Family or Medical Leave might also or alternatively be an appropriate way to address a faculty member’s medical, parental, or family care needs and that, in some cases, leaves under the FMFL policy can carry with them an
extension of the tenure clock.
Faculty and faculty administrators may direct questions about the Type A transfer, this interpretive guidance, and the various types of leave available to faculty to faculty@pitt.edu.