As part of the process of filling some 600 Academic Senate faculty positions over the next six to seven years, UC Davis has carved out special funding for the new Hiring Investment Program, or HIP.

The hiring plan responds to enrollment growth associated with the 2020 Initiative (about 200 positions), and faculty retirements and separations (about 400 positions).

HIP will account for only 10 percent of the hiring — approximately 60 positions — but has the potential to add faculty members who could take UC Davis in many new and creative directions, say, for example, by extending the university’s disciplinary range.

Meanwhile, schools, colleges and divisions — with the funding made available to them under the new budget model — will support 90 percent of the new hires.

“The Hiring Investment Program is an opportunity for the faculty to request positions that address our important strategic goals in ways that for whatever reason may be hard to achieve with existing resources,” said Ralph J. Hexter, provost and executive vice chancellor.

Hexter announced HIP in mid-December, by letter to the Council of Deans and Vice Chancellors, and Academic Senate faculty. The provost set a deadline of Feb. 24 for HIP proposals.

Later this week, Hexter will host a public discussion of the program, to answer questions or concerns of academics who may be developing proposals, and to engage in a dialog about his goals for HIP. The forum is scheduled from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Friday (Jan. 24) n MU II at the Memorial Union.

In his letter announcing HIP, Hexter said rationales for proposals “might include but are certainly not limited to” the following:

• The hiring of a group of faculty whose disciplinary focus or foci address(es) an important campus need but transcend(s) the boundaries between traditional departments, schools and/or colleges.
• The hiring of a critical mass of faculty that would extend the disciplinary range of a single department, school or college into critical new areas and result in a transformative augmentation of that department.

Campus officials anticipate filling approximately 20 HIP positions every two years, starting with searches in the fall quarters of 2014, 2016 and 2018.

The Office of the Provost will provide the salary and benefits to support the HIP positions, and will set aside no less than $6 million to partner with the relevant deans and departments for startup costs associated with each biennial hiring program.

Hexter noted that proposals may come forward for hiring associated with the creation of new centers or institutes. However, he cautioned, infrastructure costs to support such entities, beyond standard faculty startup costs, are not available through HIP, and would need to be identified separately.

HIP “is directed specifically at investing in new senate faculty positions, one critical component of our many ongoing investments in faculty, staff, classrooms and research facilities to advance the excellence of UC Davis,” Hexter wrote in his letter.

Online

Hiring Investment Program

Questions regarding proposal submission or the review process should be addressed to Ken Burtis, faculty adviser to the chancellor and provost, by email. You can also check here for frequently asked questions.

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