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Washington State University
Washington State University Office of the Provost

Pilot Program: Professional Leave for Career-Track Faculty (2025-2026)

Dear Faculty Colleagues,

In partnership with the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, I am delighted to announce that the Provost’s Office will initiate a pilot program for career-track faculty to apply for professional leave during the 2025-2026 academic year.

The pilot program will allow associate or professor rank career-track faculty who are on continuous or multiyear appointments and have at least six years of service to WSU to apply. For those on multi-year contracts, the contract end date must be at least one year after the year in which the leave is taken. Such faculty will be eligible to apply for a one-semester professional leave period focused on teaching enhancement. Requested leaves need to align with the individual’s position, focus on activities related to teaching, pedagogy, and student opportunities (transforming courses, pedagogical scholarship, updating clinical skills, etc.), and contribute to the unit, college, campus, and university’s teaching mission. The application will need to demonstrate that the proposed activity cannot be undertaken during a regular academic appointment.

More information regarding the pilot program will be incorporated into the professional leave guidelines issued by the Provost’s Office and will be available in late September 2024. Applications will be due on January 10, 2025. For the initial round of applications, it is anticipated that twelve (12) professional leaves will be granted and no more than one career-track professional leave will be awarded within a department/school.

Finally, career-track faculty who are granted leave will be paid their full salary for the semester but will sign a contract that guarantees their return to WSU for at least one full year following the leave period.

I greatly appreciate the Faculty Senate Executive Committee’s partnership to help create the pilot program and we will look to releasing additional details regarding the application and review process in the coming months.

In the meantime, questions can be directed to provost@wsu.edu.

Warm regards,

Elizabeth S. Chilton
Provost and Executive Vice President
Chancellor, WSU Pullman
Professor, Department of Anthropology