The opportunity for tenured faculty to concurrently hold their academic appointment while engaging in industry work fosters access to research, expertise and resources that benefit the University, as well as faculty and students. These collaborations strengthen the University’s connections to industry, enhance opportunities for innovation and create pathways for faculty and students to engage with real-world applications of their academic work.

An External Appointment allows a tenured faculty member to temporarily hold a tenured University faculty appointment (of between 20% and 80% FTE) paired with an approved External Appointment for the remaining effort, such that the combined responsibilities total 100% in the fall and spring terms of an academic year.

The following overview of the External Appointment opportunity only provides a high-level summary. Complete details about External Appointments can be found in the associated Guidelines.

Eligibility

To request a first-time External Appointment, a current UT faculty member must:

• Hold a tenured faculty position at UT Austin at the time the External Appointment begins,
• Have held a faculty appointment at UT Austin for three consecutive academic years immediately prior to the academic year in which the External Appointment will begin,
• Have met or exceeded expectations in their three most recent annual reviews’ holistic ratings and have demonstrated a strong track record in
  • Teaching and advising students,
  • Research, scholarly and creative activities, with
  • Active participation in service and mentoring in the department, college/school and/or University, and
• Not be within a period of sanctions pursuant to HOP 2-2320.

In exceptional circumstances, a tenured faculty member being recruited to UT Austin may be eligible to request a tenured position with an External Appointment with the following eligibility requirements, the faculty member must

• Be appointed with tenure at UT Austin,
• Hold a 50% or higher University Appointment for their first three full academic years at UT Austin, and
• Teach at least one formula-funded organized course at UT Austin in each of the three academic years of their University Appointment.

Request Process

1. Discuss with Supervisor. Faculty member must discuss External Appointment details with their supervisor and obtain approval to submit a formal request.
2. OVPR Disclosures. Faculty member must submit the UTRMS-COI Outside Activities Pre-Approval Request before requesting the External Appointment. Faculty who are engaged in research activities managed by UT Austin (OSP, Discovery to Impact or ORSC) must also complete the Research Portfolio and Outside Activity Information Form. Direct questions about research disclosures to the Office of Research Support and Compliance (ORSC) at coi@austin.utexas.edu.
3. Mentoring Plan. Faculty member must finalize a Mentoring Plan laying out their plan for advising of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars during the External Appointment.
4. Request Submission. Faculty member must submit the External Appointment Request Form in ServiceNow to request dean’s approval. The following attachments must be included with the request:
   • PDF Proof of Submission of the UTRMS-COI Outside Activities Pre-Approval Request
   • PDF Proof of Submission of the Research Portfolio and Outside Activity Information Form (if required)
   • Signed Mentoring Plan
5. Dean Review. If the dean approves the External Appointment Request, prepare the External Appointments MOU. Add the MOU to the ServiceNow ticket and route for EVPP review (by July 15 for fall requests and November 23 for spring requests).
6. Provost Review. EVPP leadership will review the request, provide feedback and determine whether the request is approved.

Deadlines

All materials supporting an External Appointment request (as described in steps 1 through 5 under the Request Process) must be submitted for provost’s review as follows for Appointments starting in the:

• Fall Term: Submit by July 15
• Spring Term: Submit by November 23

Renewal and Term Limits

External Appointments may be approved for up to two years at a time. Renewal eligibility is determined by the University Appointment %FTE across fall and spring terms of each academic year with maximum total terms outlined in the Table below:

To reset eligibility once the maximum total term limit is reached, faculty must either return full-time to UT for two consecutive years, or permanently reduce their tenured UT appointment (with approval), or resign their tenured position, or request reclassification to the professional track.

Impacts to Benefits

The faculty member is responsible for determining how the reduction in UT Austin % FTE during an External Appointment will impact their benefits, including health insurance and retirement contributions, by consulting with Human Resources.

Questions?

• Please contact the provost’s Faculty Affairs team at facultyaffairs@utexas.edu with policy and process questions for an External Appointment.
• Please address questions about research disclosure forms, policies and process to ORSC at coi@austin.utexas.edu.
• Please address questions about benefits and retirement contributions to Human Resources through one of the contact methods listed here.