Dear UMBC Community,

 

We are pleased to announce that effective January 1, 2025, we will be changing the titles of “lecturer,” “senior lecturer,” and “principal lecturer” to “assistant teaching professor,” “associate teaching professor,” and “teaching professor,” respectively.

 

These title changes reflect the roles and duties of our full-time teaching faculty and give UMBC the opportunity to model inclusive excellence within faculty ranks. Aligning our titles with those used at many other universities and systems nationwide will also enhance our ability to recruit and retain the most qualified full-time teaching faculty.

 

The decision to update the titles arose from a collaborative process involving shared governance, and UMBC faculty were essential in guiding changes at the system level. I would like to thank all UMBC faculty who participated in this multi-year process. In fall 2021, the UMBC Faculty Senate Executive Committee began exploring the possibility of a title change for lecturer rank faculty that better reflected the roles and duties of non-tenure track faculty. Through surveys and listening sessions, the Faculty Senate Executive Committee learned that including the word “professor” in the title would: align better with job descriptions and responsibilities than the word “lecturer”; improve how lecturers are perceived and valued on campus by students and other faculty and off campus at professional conferences; enhance perceived credibility when signing recommendations letters for their students; and reaffirm UMBC’s commitment to inclusive excellence within faculty ranks by giving our teaching faculty the recognition they deserve.

 

The title name changes were approved by the Faculty Senate on April 12, 2022. The University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents approved and added the titles of “assistant teaching professor,” “associate teaching professor,” and “teaching professor” to the II-1.00 USM Policy on Appointment, Rank, and Tenure of Faculty on June 14, 2024. 

 

We believe these changes will positively impact our community and further UMBC’s mission of inclusivity and excellence.

 

Sincerely,