3.3 Guidelines for Employment of Professional and Scientific Research Staff Members
(Enacted 12/94, Staff Council, Office of the Vice President for Research; amended 7/1/99; 7/18/22)
- Hours/work week. While those professional and scientific staff members at the University not engaged in scientific research usually are able to work a fairly predictable schedule, the nature of scientific research often precludes establishment of a fixed work schedule. The University assumes that professional and scientific research staff will work a flexible schedule to meet the needs of the assigned research project. An investigator who will consistently require a staff member to work irregular hours and/or hours in excess of 40 in a work week should reflect these demands in determining the salary for the staff member at the time of appointment or salary review. Such demands also should be spelled out at the time of appointment in a position description or letter of offer. Moreover, the investigator who requires an irregular schedule should permit the staff member flexibility in scheduling work time, consistent with the demands of the research.
- Recognition and professional development. Research staff who make scholarly contributions to a research project should be included among coauthors or acknowledged in publications that result from the research. Questions of co-authorship and acknowledgement should be discussed with the staff member and agreed upon in advance of the publication or research to which the staff member has contributed. Professional development opportunities for staff members may include support for travel to conferences at which the results of such research are presented. Departments and investigators also should promote professional development by making every effort to support continuing education for research staff, consistent with that provided other faculty and staff in the department in which the staff member is appointed.