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Research Scientist Appointments

Background
The University recognizes that outstanding research and scholarship are required to have distinguished undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral training programs. Research Scientists and Senior Research Scientists are an important part of the research endeavor of the University. The principal duty of individuals in these positions is to conduct research related to the academic program of the appointing unit(s). The research program may involve students, classified staff, administrative and professional staff and other faculty.

Qualifications
To qualify as a Research Scientist, he/she must have earned a doctoral degree in an appropriate field and have previous research experience. A candidate will typically have authored publications, made presentations of papers to professional societies, and/or will have contributed inventions, new designs or techniques that are of material significance in the solution of important applied programs. An example would be a person who has served in a postdoctoral position for at least two full years, has demonstrated productivity and, for example, would be competitive for an RO1 grant from the NIH. He/she should have demonstrated a level of experience and productivity beyond what might be expected for appointing a person as a postdoctoral fellow.

Rights and Responsibilities
Research Scientists and Senior Research Scientists are expected to secure external funding for their salary and to support their research program. They may direct undergraduate research and advise graduate students subject to the approval of the departmental graduate studies committee and the Graduate School; they may also train postdoctoral fellows. If the letter of support from the department chair acknowledges that it is his/her understanding that as a Research Scientist this individual will have Principal Investigator (PI) status, then PI status is effective the date of the Research Scientist appointment. If this is not included in the department chair's letter of support, a separate request for PI status and a curriculum vitae must be sent to the Senior Associate Vice President for Research, Janet M. Weisenberger, PhD, 208 Bricker Hall.

Appointment Procedures
Research Scientists and Senior Research Scientists may be appointed in a department, division, center, institute, or laboratory. The initiation of request for such an appointment may come from any faculty member (sponsor) or the department chair. All requests must be accompanied by a letter of support from the department chair and submitted for approval to Janet M. Weisenberger, PhD, the Senior Associate Vice President for Research. The address is 208 Bricker Hall, 190 North Oval Mall. Please copy Anita Bratcher in the Office of Research at the same address (bratcher.1@osu.edu).

An individual should not be offered a Research Scientist or Senior Research Scientist position until the credentials have been reviewed and recommended by the department chair, and approved by the Office of the Senior Vice President for Research. A department has the option of involving the Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee in the review process, if it chooses. For newly created or vacant Research Scientist and Senior Research Scientist positions, a copy of the individual's curriculum vitae and a letter of support from the chair should be sent to the Office of Research before the information is entered into the ARMS Human Resources system. All actions for Research Scientists and Senior Research Scientists in the ARMS Human Resources system are routed to the Office of Research for review and/or approval. If an individual is being considered for the position, the credentials may be reviewed concurrent with or subsequent to the position posting approval.

An individual holding a regular appointment at the University may be reclassified to a Research Scientist or Senior Research Scientist position. Reclassification requests submitted to the Office of Research for review and approval should include a letter from the chair, a position description, and the credentials of the individual. It should be noted that any individual in a temporary or term appointment is considered an external candidate and is not eligible for reclassification. Research Scientist and Senior Research Scientist positions are in the Senior Administrative and Professional category and the 00 Pay Range. Qualified persons may be appointed for indefinite periods of time and renewals of appointment are contingent upon satisfactory performance as determined by the supporting unit and the department chair.

The level of compensation (salary plus benefits) for the Research Scientist or Senior Research Scientist will be negotiated by the candidate and the assigned unit. The amount of compensation established at the time of appointment should be comparable to salary levels for tenure-track faculty or equivalent rank in the appointing unit. Persons in these positions are not eligible for professional leave. They accumulate vacation at the rate of 176 hours/year and sick leave at 10 hours/month.

Senior Research Scientists
For promotion from Research Scientist to Senior Research Scientist, a candidate must have demonstrated the ability to obtain extramural funding over time and to have authored a significant number of publications. The overall productivity of the candidate should be equivalent to the requirements used to promote a person to full professor in the academic unit. The department's Promotion and Tenure Committee, at the request of the department chair, should generally perform the evaluation of an individual for promotion from Research Scientist to Senior Research Scientist. Outside letters of recommendation are required. The candidates should not solicit their own outside letters and the reference letters should speak to and support the research experience and qualifications of the individual. The recommendation of the unit will be forwarded to the office of the Senior Associate Vice President for Research for final approval.

Adjunct Faculty
The department chair has the option of requesting that an individual with a Research Scientist or Senior Research Scientist title be appointed as an adjunct assistant/associate/full professor. This request must be submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs for approval.

Departmental Administration
Classroom teaching is not required as part of the normal duty of a Research Scientist or Senior Research Scientist. However, if a Research Scientist or Senior Research Scientist wishes to participate in a course, he/she may request involvement with the approval of the department chair. There will be no additional compensation for any voluntary teaching duties. Research Scientists or Senior Research Scientists may be eligible to attend faculty meetings and may be allowed to vote and serve on committees within the unit subject to the guidelines of the unit. However, a Research Scientist or Senior Research Scientist may not participate in promotion and tenure matters of the regular faculty. Research Scientists and Senior Research Scientists who hold graduate faculty status are eligible for election to the Council on Research and Graduate Studies.

Classification Specifications and Questions
This page outlines the HR classification specifications for the Research Scientist position.  OSU Job Classification Titles, including other associated information that can be used in the job description submission can be found here.  Please direct any questions regarding the review and appointment procedures to Anita Bratcher at 247-4764 (bratcher.1@osu.edu).