Guidelines on External Academic Activities for Primary Faculty Members

In conjunction with the university's policy on outside activities, (Statement on Outside Activities of Holders of Academic Appointments), the Harvard School of Public Health has created specific guidelines governing the external teaching and research activities of faculty members whose primary academic appointments are at HSPH. These guidelines apply regardless of the source of salary.

Some involvement outside of the university is both appropriate and an established aspect of academic life. These guidelines are intended to reflect the university's expectation that primary faculty members will commit their principal professional efforts to Harvard and that their outside professional activities will not conflict with obligations to students, colleagues, and the university as a whole. Each faculty member is responsible for being familiar with university and school policy and for ensuring that his or her activities are consistent with that policy.

HSPH faculty members engage in many kinds of academic work, in many different settings. These guidelines are thus presented as categories of activities ranging from innocuous to potentially in conflict with university policy. The categories take into account such factors as the extent of time commitment, intended use of scholarly products, and degree to which an activity is performed for competing institutions or educational enterprises. The listing below cannot anticipate every specific case but should be seen as an illustration of general principles.

A request for permission must be submitted to the Office of Faculty Affairs for all activities falling into categories two and three (and in all instances where the faculty member is uncertain into which category the activity falls). Faculty members are encouraged to consult with either the dean for academic affairs or the associate dean for faculty affairs whenever there are questions.

Category One: External activities that are part of the normal privileges of a Harvard University faculty member. Disclosure to the dean is not required. Such activities include

• Service on dissertation committees
  Example: John Adams, professor of bioengineering at HSPH, serves on the dissertation committee of a PhD candidate in this field at MIT.
  
  
• Occasional lectures or participation in seminars that do not constitute a complete or major part of a course at another educational institution
  Example: Every spring semester, Professor Mary Brown gives a guest lecture on the social determinants of health in the course of a colleague at the Boston University School of Public Health.
  
  
• Teaching all or a major part of not-for-credit, time-concentrated courses lasting sixteen hours or fewer
  Example: In connection with the annual meeting of the American Statistical Association, Professor Jim Clark will conduct a two-day seminar on computational biology.
  
  
• Summer teaching in a not-for-credit program, while not receiving summer salary and when not associated with a regular academic appointment at another institution
  Example: Professor Maureen Davis, who does not take summer salary, will spend six weeks in July and August teaching in the Occupational Health Summer Institute (a noncredit, continuing education program) at the University of North Carolina.
  
  
• Teaching/research while on sabbatical or leave and when not associated with a regular academic appointment at another institution
  Example: Professor Jerry Edwards is spending his sabbatical leave as a visiting professor at the University of Michigan, working with colleagues on the development of a malaria vaccine; while there, he is teaching a course on vaccine development for students in the school of public health.
  
  
• Nonexclusive distribution of electronic materials that are not a major part of a course if they were produced without substantial university resources
  Example: As a public service, the American Health Management Association sponsors a web site that includes several on-line courses aimed at improving the management skills of health professionals; these courses are available to any member of the public, at no charge. Professor Monica Irving has contributed a segment on quality improvement that includes a lecture, an on-line exercise, and a reading list.
  
  
• Development of electronic materials to supplement a textbook for use by an instructor if they were produced without substantial university resources
  Example: Professor Jack Johnson has written a new textbook on applied longitudinal analysis. Tucked into the back cover of the textbook is a CD-ROM that includes interactive exercises for students enrolled in courses adopting the textbook.

Category Two: External activities that are ordinarily allowable but must be disclosed to and approved in advance by the dean. Responsibility for approval of activities in this category has been delegated by the corporation to the dean, in consultation with the provost. These activities include

• Teaching all or a substantial part of not-for-credit, time-concentrated courses lasting more than sixteen hours
  Example: Marie Kell, a lecturer at the Harvard School of Public Health, has been invited to serve as the lead instructor for a continuing education course at Columbia University that will take place during the week of spring break, entailing twenty hours of class time.
• Teaching of courses outside the United States, whether for credit or not, that serve an important public health purpose and that take place in venues where competition with the school's offerings and audiences is minimal
  Example: WHO's Office for Maternal and Child Health is sponsoring a series of courses in developing countries to train public health workers in the design, implementation, and analysis of MCH programs at the local level. Participation by Professors Lee and Martin would represent an important service, as well as a potential recruitment opportunity for the school, for few HSPH students currently come from the countries in which the courses will be held.
  
  
• Teaching, educational consulting, or research stipulated in a formal agreement between HSPH and another institution or stipulated in a grant or contract carried out through HSPH
  Example: The school has signed a formal agreement with the University of Senegal in which that university supports the research of HSPH faculty and, in return, HSPH faculty members teach courses in epidemiology. Professors French, Gordon, and Harris each spend several weeks a year doing research and teaching under this agreement.

Category Three: External activities that require the advance approval of the dean and of the corporation (the president and fellows of Harvard College); faculty members must demonstrate the compatibility of the proposed activity with university policy. These requests are sent to the dean; if approved, they will be transmitted to the provost, who will submit appropriate cases to the corporation. These activities include

• Development of free-standing, electronically delivered courses (or substantial parts thereof) for use other than under the auspices of Harvard, whether or not created while on vacation, on leave, or "after hours"
  Example: WEB-SPH-an independent, for-profit, on-line school of public health-has been established, and faculty members are being sought to provide web-based courses. Assistant Professor Jim Nolan is being recruited to provide a course on the fundamentals of demographic methods; the contract calls for ten lectures, student contact via email, and the evaluation of student homework assignments and exams.
  
  
• Teaching (even that falling into categories one or two) that is expected to generate electronic materials that may be used later as a course or a substantial part of a course under auspices other than Harvard
  Example: While on sabbatical leave, Professor Karen Quintana teaches an introductory biostatistics course at the University of Washington School of Public Health. The course is filmed for eventual commercial distribution by HealthEducate.com.
  
  
• Teaching of courses for institutions other than Harvard University while employed by HSPH (except for the situations listed in categories one and two)
  Example: Professor Margaret Oswald is invited to offer a course in the nutrition program at Tufts.
  
  
• Regular research and teaching appointments not covered by formal agreements between HSPH and the institution
  Example: Professor Joseph Peck, who collaborates on research with colleagues at the University of Massachusetts medical school, has been offered a concurrent position at that institution, with a regular faculty title (professor) and full faculty privileges.
  
  
• Consulting at another educational institution (except as described in category two)
  Example: Professor Amy Smith is asked by a prominent private university to help them design a new MPH program.

BLA 4-29-04

 

Request for Approval Forms are available online.