The College of Humanities and Sciences participates in a program originally sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, now adopted in full for the College of Humanities and Sciences, whereby tenure-track faculty members whose tenure track is interrupted by family responsibilities will not be adversely affected by taking a family leave. Family responsibilities under the 'Sloan' leave program include the birth/adoption of a child and dependent care. The faculty member also can elect to extend his/her promotion and tenure review date by up to one year. Sloan pre-tenure leave is distinguished from educational leave in that Sloan stops the tenure clock so that tenure-eligible faculty can focus on family obligations. Educational leave is an opportunity for tenure-eligible faculty to take leave from instructional and service responsibilities to focus on research.

An eligible faculty member is any tenure-track faculty member who has not yet reached his/her tenure review date.

A family member is defined as a child (biological, adopted, foster, step or legal ward) under age 18, a dependent child over 18 years of age who is incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability, a spouse, or a parent who has a serious health condition. This also includes 'next of kin,' defined as the closest blood relative, if the leave is used for the serious health condition of a covered service member.

Eligible faculty must submit a written request for leave under the Sloan pre-tenure leave program to their respective department chair or school director. The request must include the following information:

• A statement regarding the dates of the proposed leave
• Whether the leave is full- or part-time
• The exact conditions related to child-bearing or dependent care that have prompted the request for a leave, including the birth date or adoption date of the new family member
• How the described family responsibilities conflict with the faculty member’s professional advancement
• What effect the leave will have on the faculty member’s tenure clock (if the faculty member wishes to have an extension to his/her promotion and tenure review date, the request should include how long of an extension is requested — up to one year)
• A discussion of how the taking of leave will contribute to the faculty member’s future career success.

The department chair or school director will then review the request, prepare a recommendation and forward it, along with the faculty member’s request, to the dean of the College. The dean will forward a recommendation to the provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Although the use of Sloan pre-tenure leave mirrors portions of the Family and Medical leave Act (FMLA), eligibility criteria are different such that Sloan leave may be available when FMLA is not (e.g., Sloan is available in the first year of employment regardless of hours worked). Use of Sloan leave will run concurrently with FMLA when the faculty member also is eligible for FMLA.

If the request is approved, the faculty member will be placed on a leave of absence with pay for the approved period of leave. The leave period is typically one semester, although lengths of time may be considered depending on the faculty member’s individual situation. During this time, the faculty member will not be required to use any of their accrued leave. If the faculty member is also eligible for FMLA leave, that leave will run concurrently for up to 480 hours or 12 weeks. Medical certifications and other requirements of FMLA must be met.