Being a Faculty Member at Sabancı University

Sabancı University's commitment to learning and innovation serves not only the advancement of knowledge as well as its practical and theoretical application but the effective sharing with students, faculty and the public as well. Through interdisciplinary approach and teamwork, Sabancı University achieves these ends.

An appointment to a faculty position at Sabancı University implies that the individual has shown promise for or has already achieved professional recognition in his or her field. A faculty member is expected to advance and transmit this knowledge through research and teaching or, as the case may be, contribute through artistic expression and works of art because teaching and research are conceived as mutually reinforcing at Sabancı University. Moreover, the faculty is required to contribute significantly to the complexity of University governance and operations.

The purpose of this document is to state in broad terms the obligations of a faculty member toward the University. Sabancı University faculty must demonstrate achievement and potential for further progress in the following three areas:

Teaching

All faculty members are required to fully participate in the teaching program and to supervise undergraduate and graduate student research. The teaching of students at all levels is to be distributed equitably among faculty members without regard to rank or seniority. Faculty members are expected to be available to students through regularly scheduled office hours or appointments for advising and consultations. They should also be accessible to their colleagues for collaboration in teaching and research.

Faculty members are expected to demonstrate competence in teaching and an active interest in further improvement. It is also expected that faculty members convey subject matter in ways that go beyond imparting extant knowledge in that they attempt to create a learning environment in which students are encouraged to independently assess, think, and reason.

It is the responsibility of faculty members to treat students equitably and show respect for their interests and intellectual orientations.

Research and Creative Work

All faculty members are required to show competence in carrying out frontier research of scholarly significance, demonstrated through publications in internationally recognized or, as the case may be, artistic work of high quality. Faculty members are expected to continue research and publication throughout their careers at Sabancı University. Regular teaching loads at Sabancı University reflect the assumption that a significant part of the faculty members' time is devoted to research. The University encourages faculty members to obtain grants or other external support for their research or creative activity.

In addition to promoting research, theoretical and applied, Sabancı University desires to be a catalyst for social change and technological innovation. Applied research or development work conducted by faculty members should emanate from frontier research they engage in and have the potential to stimulate further research. The nature of the applied research or practical work should be innovative and beyond that of an ordinary practitioner.

Service

Another aspect of academic activity is service to the University, to the academic profession, and to the community at large. Within the University, faculty members are expected to be involved in student guidance through tutorial system, peer review processes, curriculum design, and program development. Such service and participation in governance, individually and in committees, constitute an important part of faculty membership. Faculty members may, upon the consent of the University, also provide services to professional societies and to public, private, and voluntary organizations.

All three activities namely, teaching, research, and service, are of major importance and all may be considered in determining compensation and eligibility for promotion. Since some faculty members may be called upon at times for additional time and effort in one or more of these areas, such effort may necessitate adjustments in the remaining spheres. In general terms, these three sets of academic activities require a total commitment of a faculty member's professional time and efforts to the University.