Updated March 5, 2024
The ability to pursue diverse career paths is one of the distinguishing features of WashU Medicine faculty and sets us apart as a top medical school. Your work in all our mission areas is essential for WashU to be a leading, thriving academic medical center. With this in mind, the school’s leadership has placed a priority on updating and modernizing our faculty Appointments & Promotions Guidelines and Requirements (APGAR).
Modernization of the APGAR is designed to benefit individual faculty, the School of Medicine, and university as a whole. We aim to provide appropriate flexibility to reward the full range of faculty activities at WashU Medicine and celebrate the diversity of careers in academic medicine.
Congratulations, your new APGAR is approved!
Voting on the modernized APGAR closed on March 4, 2024, at 6 p.m.
We are pleased to report that 94% of WashU Medicine faculty voted in favor of modernizing the faculty Appointments & Promotions Guidelines and Requirements (APGAR)!
The updated APGAR will take effect on July 1, 2024. In March 2024, faculty will hear from department heads and department faculty affairs offices about APGAR training and implementation efforts.
About the APGAR modernization
The APGAR revision process was designed to be open and inclusive, and we thank the hundreds of faculty who provided feedback, attended departmental meetings, and participated in the town halls. Your input has shaped the revision in meaningful ways.
Our goal is to foster your career development. More specifically, the modernized APGAR is intended to:
- Reinforce the essential value of clinicians’ careers. Exceptional patient care is a crucial means of institutional impact and is ideally accomplished by multiple career phenotypes.
- Strengthen how we recognize outstanding accomplishments in teaching and mentorship of students, trainees and faculty.
- Emphasize and uphold the longstanding tradition of excellence in research at WashU School of Medicine, while expanding recognition of team science and entrepreneurship.
Background and process
A draft of the APGAR changes is available in this Box folder, along with slides and FAQs. Faculty were asked to review the proposed updates and provide feedback in October 2023. The comment period closed on November 15th, 2023. The Academic Affairs Committee voted to approve the revised APGAR on November 16th, 2023. The proposed draft was approved by the Executive Faculty on January 4th, 2024. Prior to going to vote by the Faculty Council, faculty members were invited to attend one of several town hall sessions, held in late January.
Voting on the proposed APGAR opened to the Faculty Council (all WashU Medicine faculty members) on February 13th, 2024, and remained open for 21 days, passing on March 4th, 2024. The new APGAR will take effect on July 1st, 2024.
Timeline
APRIL – SEPT 2023
APGAR revision drafted by the Office of Faculty Promotions & Career Development, in consultation with department and program leaders, the Academic Affairs Committee, the Dean’s leadership team, the Executive Faculty Task Force on Climate & Culture, and the Executive Committee of the Faculty Council
OCT – NOV 2023
Faculty comment period
NOV 2023 – JAN 2024
Final revision presented for votes by Academic Affairs Committee (approved 11/16/23) and then Executive Faculty (approved 1/4/24)
FEB 13 – MARCH 4 2024
Faculty Council (all faculty members at the School of Medicine) vote on the revised APGAR (passed 3/4/24)
2024 – 2025 ACADEMIC YEAR
Modernized APGAR implemented; takes effect 7/1/24
Updated 3/4/24.