November 24, 2021

Dear Faculty members,

Re: Accommodations Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 crisis, starting in March 2020, faculty members who are parents of young children were forced to face special challenges. The main difficulty was that for a considerable part of the said period the children stayed at home, either due to a general lockdown or due to the obligation to stay in home quarantine. Added to this were stress and anxiety, difficulty in conducting studies involving humans, difficulties in the operation of research laboratories and in the activities of research assistants. Against this background, already a year ago, the University's administration established special arrangements for accommodations for untenured faculty members. As the pandemic continued and its negative impact on the research activities of faculty members worsened and following an appeal pertaining to this subject made by a group of faculty members, the University administration, in coordination with the deans, has decided on several additional adjustments below. As the consequences of the crisis continue, the need for further adjustments and extension of existing ones will be examined.

The arrangements listed below apply to non-tenured faculty members, who are parents of young children (up to the age of 12), who began serving on the University faculty in the 2020/2021 academic year or earlier and have not yet received tenure. These arrangements apply automatically to all female faculty members in this group, and they will also be applied to male faculty members in this group for whom it will be determined, after they submit a reasoned request to the dean, that there is justification for this.

• Extension of the appointment period: The faculty member has the right to a one-year extension of their appointment as faculty members. The period will be extended at the request of the faculty member. The extension is in addition to the extension of the appointment period due to childbirth or for other circumstances. The extension will not change the threshold that is applied in terms of the scope and quality of the academic contribution as pertains to tenure.
• Promotion: The deans were instructed to examine the promotion of faculty members from the rank of lecturer to the rank of senior lecturer during the non-tenure appointment period, especially for those whose term of appointment was extended as aforesaid. The promotion is made by a decision of a professional committee, with the approval of the respective dean and then the President and the Rector, and it does not affect the procedure for granting tenure.
• Reduction in teaching load: Faculty members have the right to a one-time reduction in the teaching load in the 2022/2023 academic year. The reduction in teaching load is 4 credits for those who were supposed to teach 12 credits and 2 credits for those who were supposed to teach less than that. Faculty members may consult with the Dean the possibility of bringing forward the teaching load reduction to the second semester of the 2021/2022 academic year, as long as this does not adversely affect the teaching program in the relevant academic unit.
• Academic Administration Positions: Staff members will not be assigned academic management and administration positions (except for the role of advisor to undergraduate or master’s degree students). Filling academic management and administration positions can only be done with the consent of the faculty member and with the approval of the Rector.
• Assistance in financing research activities: The University will provide financial assistance to fund special research expenditures required due to the difficulties created as a result of delays in advancing research during the COVID-19 crisis. The assistance will be in financing the employment of research assistants, in increasing the budget for scholarships (for faculty members in the experimental sciences), in assisting in the employment of teaching assistants, and the like. The allocation of assistance will be made by the President's Adviser on the Advancement of Women in Science and the Vice President for Research and Development, after the faculty member who is seeking the assistance submits a reasoned request. A total of at least NIS 500,000 is allocated for funding this assistance. The President's Adviser will publish a call for submissions on the subject.

The above arrangements are not exhaustive. The deans were instructed to hold regular meetings with members of the untenured faculty (at least once per semester), to clarify special needs. Members of the faculty are also invited to contact the dean or the President's Adviser on the Advancement of Women in the Academy to formulate a suitable dedicated arrangement together.

 

Sincerely yours,

Asher Cohen, President

Barak Medina, Rector