Library Faculty Assembly

Overview of LFA

Our Library Faculty Assembly (LFA) is our shared governance body that represents faculty needs to library administration. LFA also supports library faculty in their contributions to the mission and goals of the University and the Libraries. Library faculty are also members of the general faculty of the University of Arizona, and participate in shared governance at the campus level through faculty senate.

We elect a Chair and Vice-Chair annually, and have committees including:

  • Executive Committee that includes the Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Member-at-Large, and Liaison(s) to staff governance group(s)
  • Awards Committee that recognizes individual faculty members and provides internal grants
  • Bylaws, Standing Rules, and Elections Committee that runs annual elections and ad-hoc voting, and manages any updates to our bylaws
  • Continuing Status and Promotion (CS&P) Committee that oversees the promotion and continuing status process for faculty, and conducts annual reviews of continuing-eligible faculty
  • Mentoring Committee that coordinates a mentorship program for faculty at all levels and promotes professional development opportunities
  • Peer Review Committee that conducts annual reviews of continued faculty

Continuing status and promotion

Library faculty achieve continuing status, our equivalent of tenure. They are expected to dedicate effort to professional service and scholarship.

When hired, library faculty are appointed to one of three ranks: Assistant, Associate, or Full. They are also hired as either continuing-eligible or continued. Early career library faculty are usually hired at Assistant rank with continuing-eligible status.

Continuing-eligible faculty are required to submit a dossier for promotion to continuing status by their 5th year. This is usually accompanied with a promotion to Associate rank. Once at the Associate rank, optionally, faculty can submit dossiers for promotion to Full rank.

Requirements for continuing status are in our Bylaws.

Mentorship for faculty

Our mentoring program connects library faculty with mentors to provide assistance and guidance throughout their professional development at the University of Arizona Libraries. With a focus on new and early career library faculty, we aim to support any area identified as critical to their professional success, including continuing status & promotion, research, leadership development, career advancement, and psychosocial support. We:

  • Facilitate a mentor matching process
  • Organize and host workshops and professional development events
  • Organize and host informal social events for mentees and mentors as a compliment to the traditional one-to-one mentoring model
  • Assess the mentoring program’s effectiveness with a goal of continuous improvement

Getting in touch

If you have questions about faculty status or support for faculty, contact our Senior HR Coordinator and LFA liaison Armando Cruz.