SECTION 1. Appointments. All appointments and promotions of members of the faculty shall be made by the President with the approval of the Board of Regents. Recommendations regarding faculty positions shall ordinarily originate with the department and shall be presented to the Dean of the school or college for consideration. Upon approval, the Dean will transmit recommendations to the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost for consideration and transmission to the President. Upon transmittal by the President and upon approval by the Chancellor, the Board of Regents shall elect all faculty members prior to their initial appointments.[17] Every recommendation of an appointment shall be made solely on the basis of merit and the special fitness of the individual for the work demanded by the position.

SECTION 2. Ranks. The following academic ranks shall be recognized: professor, associate professor, assistant professor, and instructor. 

SECTION 3. Tenure. Tenure for University Faculty shall be permanent as governed by the Policies of the Board of Regents.[18] Guidelines and amendments to the Guidelines for tenure shall be proposed by the Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost and approved by University Council.

SECTION 4. Promotions. Guidelines for promotion and amendments thereto, in accordance with criteria of the Policies of the Board of Regents, [19] shall be proposed by the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost and approved by the University Council.

SECTION 5. Academic Freedom. 

1. University Faculty members are entitled to full freedom of expression in research, teaching, and publishing, subject only to those restrictions that are imposed by professional ethics and respect for the rights of others. University Faculty members have the right to criticize and seek alteration of both academic and non-academic University policies, whether or not those policies affect them directly. University Faculty are free from institutional censorship, discipline, or reprisal affecting their professional careers for exercising freedom of expression.
   
   
2. The confidentiality and security of University Faculty files in offices throughout the campus shall be preserved and protected at all times, insofar as is consistent with state and federal law. A University Faculty member shall have the right to examine his/her 
   official records as provided under state and federal law. 

SECTION 6. Conflicts of Interests. Employees of The University of Georgia should avoid actual or apparent conflict of interests between their university obligations and their outside activities.

SECTION 7. Outside Activities -- Occupational. 

1. Employees of The University of Georgia shall not engage in any occupation, pursuit, or endeavor which will interfere with the regular and punctual discharge of official duties.
   
   
2. All full-time faculty, administrators, and other professional staff members employed by the University are expected to give full professional effort to their assignments of teaching, research, and service.
   
   
3. Professional employees are encouraged to participate in professional activity that does not interfere with the regular and punctual discharge of official duties provided the activity meets one of the following criteria: (1) is a means of personal professional development; (2) serves the community, state or nation; or (3) is consistent with the objectives of the institution.
   
   
4. For all activities, except single-occasion activities, the employee shall report in writing through official channels the proposed arrangements and secure the approval of the President or his/her designee prior to engaging in the activities. Such activities include consulting, teaching, speaking, and participating in business or service enterprises.

SECTION 8. Outside Activities -- Consulting. Recognizing that teaching, research, and public service are the primary responsibilities of University Faculty members, it shall be considered reasonable and desirable for faculty members to engage in consulting activities, which are defined for purposes of this policy as any additional activity beyond duties assigned by the institution, professional in nature and based in the appropriate discipline for which the individual receives additional compensation during the contract year.

The guidelines of the University governing consulting activities of faculty members shall include the following: (1) a plan for reimbursing the institution for use of the institution's personnel, facilities, equipment and/or materials consistent with rates charged outside groups or persons; (2) a procedure for obtaining prior approval of the President or his/her designee; and (3) a procedure for defining and prohibiting conflicts of interest.

SECTION 9. Leave of Absence. Upon the request of an individual faculty member, the President may, with the approval of the Chancellor and the Board of Regents, grant a leave of absence, with or without pay. Recommendations for leaves without pay will, as a rule, be approved whenever it appears that the granting of such leaves will not be prejudicial to the interests of the University.

Leave with pay may be granted for illness, military service, or other reasons as provided by the Policies of the Board of Regents.[20a and 20b and 20c and 20d and 20e]  Leave with pay also may be granted for the purpose of promoting scholarly work and encouraging professional development.[21] The program or project on which the applicant proposes to work will be examined carefully and the likelihood of the applicant's being able to accomplish the purposes for which the leave is requested will be considered also.

Leave with pay ordinarily will not be granted if the applicant has completed less than three years' employment in the University, nor will it ordinarily be granted for a person in an academic position who has not already completed the requirements for a master's degree.  Any person who has been granted a leave of absence with pay shall be required, before beginning leave, to sign an agreement to return the full amount of compensation received while on leave should the applicant not return to the University for at least one year of service after the termination of leave.

SECTION 10. Employment and Resignation of Faculty Members. 

1. Tenured.  
   All tenured University Faculty members employed under written contract for the fiscal or academic year of two semesters shall give written notice of their intention to resign to the President or authorized representative, postmarked no later than February 1, immediately preceding the expiration of the contract period.
   
   
2. Non-Tenured. 
   1.  Each year, on or before the dates specified in Regents' Tenure Regulations, the President or authorized representative, shall advise, in writing, all nontenured faculty who have been awarded academic rank and who are employed under written contract whether an employment contract for the succeeding academic year will be offered to them. Such written notice shall be delivered by hand or by certified mail, to be delivered to the addressee only, with receipt to show to whom and when delivered and the address where delivered.
      
      
   2. Notice of intention to renew or not to renew a nontenured faculty member who has been awarded academic rank shall be furnished, in writing, according to the following schedule; (a) at least three months before the date of termination of an initial one-year contract; (b) at least six months before the date of termination of a second one-year contract; (c) at least nine months before the date of termination of a contract after two or more years of service in the institution. This schedule of notification does not apply to persons holding temporary or part-time positions, or persons with courtesy appointments, such as adjunct appointments.
      
      
   3. Nontenured University Faculty members and other nontenured personnel employed under written contract shall be employed only for the term specified in their contracts. Subsequent or future employment, if any, shall result solely from a separate offer and acceptance requisite to execution of a new and distinct contract.

SECTION 11. Suspension of Faculty Members. The President may at any time suspend any University Faculty member for cause. 

SECTION 12. Dismissal of Faculty Members. The grounds and procedure for dismissal of University Faculty shall be in accordance with the Bylaws and Policies of the Board of Regents.[22]

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[17] Policies, § 302.04.
[18] Policies, § 803.09.
[19] Policies, § 803.08.
[20a] Policies, § 802.0801.
[20b] Policies, § 802.0804.
[20c] Policies, § 802.0805.
[20d] Policies, § 802.0806.
[20e] Policies, § 802.0807.
[21] Policies, § 803.15.
[22] Policies, § 803.11