Version April 10, 2025
Washington University School of Public Health (SPH) grants sabbatical leaves to encourage faculty members to engage in scholarly research or other activities leading to professional growth and an increased capacity for service to the university. After each period of at least six years of full-time service at Washington University, faculty members may be considered for a sabbatical leave consisting of one-half academic year (i.e., 4.5 months) at full salary coverage or one full academic year (i.e., 9 months) at 50% salary coverage. To make sabbatical leave possible, responsibilities within the SPH will be adjusted to take account of the faculty member’s absence. A faculty member on sabbatical leave retains all employee benefits during the leave period.
Eligibility
Full-time faculty members with professorial titles (Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor) or with Teaching, Research, or Practice track modifiers of those titles are eligible for sabbatical leaves (except the Dean or Associate Deans, who are not eligible for sabbatical while serving in their leadership roles). Faculty members may apply for a sabbatical leave after each period of at least six years of full-time service in good standing at Washington University. For eligibility, full-time is defined as a minimum of 75% effort. Periods of service that include a paid or unpaid leave of absence, a Workload Reduction for Primary Caregivers, or a sabbatical leave do not count toward service eligibility.
Application
Each application for leave is considered on its own merits. Factors include length of service, scholarly promise, planned scholarly or research activity, nearness to completion of a major book, delays in production caused by heavy teaching, administrative or committee loads, etc. Leave is granted only annually and may be for all or a portion of the academic/fiscal year. Refer to Sections II.A, IV.B.2 and VI.B.2.a of the Tenure Policy.
A request for a sabbatical leave must be submitted for consideration at least 12 months prior to the proposed start date. Sabbaticals must have a start date of either July 1 (for a fall semester sabbatical) or January 1 (for a spring semester sabbatical). The request shall be made to the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs (ADFA) using the online application that includes the following: (a) a proposed plan for scholarly work or other activity leading to professional growth, (b) a proposed plan for covering their teaching, advising, administrative, and service responsibilities that will relinquish during their absence.
The expectation is that faculty members will continue externally funded activities during the sabbatical leave if the activities are important to the faculty member’s professional growth or are essential to the successful completion of a project. However, in some cases, given the nature of the funded activities, it may be acceptable to reassign externally funded activities if it is either (a) not possible to perform the activities while on sabbatical or (b) not in the best interest of the faculty member’s career development to continue the activities while on sabbatical.
Obtaining external funds to support a sabbatical (via fellowship, grant, etc.) is encouraged but not required. If the sabbatical leave is to be supported by a funding mechanism that prohibits the continuation of other funded activities, then these details should also be described in the application.
Any sabbatical should comply with all applicable university and school policies and will require Dean approval.
Decision
The ADFA will review the merits of the request concerning the faculty member’s goals for professional growth while also considering the feasibility of the proposed plan for covering the faculty member’s teaching, advising, administrative, and service responsibilities during the sabbatical. If necessary, the ADFA will work with the faculty member to revise their sabbatical request to reflect the updated plan for covering these responsibilities. Within four weeks of receiving the request, the ADFA will inform the faculty member of his/her recommendation and forward the request letter and their recommendation to the Dean. The Dean will review the merits of the request and, after consultation with the ADFA, inform the faculty member of the decision to approve or deny the request. The faculty member will receive a written explanation for the decision.
If approved, the faculty member must agree to return to full-time service for at least one year following the conclusion of the sabbatical leave. If the sabbatical leave involves a relocation or a suspension of externally funded activities, then the faculty member should coordinate with the principal investigator and outside funder of each affected project.
A sabbatical request may be denied based on merit and past performance, in which case the written explanation will provide feedback intended to help the faculty member improve their sabbatical plan and ensure that the proposed activities allow them to achieve their professional development goals. After considering feedback, the faculty member may submit a revised request without prejudice within one year of denial.
A sabbatical request may be denied because the department cannot reassign responsibilities during the absence. If a meritorious request is denied for this reason, the applicant and the ADFA shall devise a plan that would facilitate the coverage of department needs to allow the sabbatical in the future. If a sabbatical is thereafter granted, the year or years of denial based on SPH needs will be credited toward eligibility for the subsequent sabbatical.
A sabbatical request may be denied because there are insufficient resources available at SPH to fund the sabbatical. The SPH may establish a cap on the number and/or dollar amount of sabbaticals that will be approved in a given fiscal year. Any caps should be set with the aim of balancing the important role that sabbaticals play in faculty development with the need to responsibly manage the annual budget of the school.
The ADFA will receive a copy of the sabbatical decision letter from the Dean to maintain records of all sabbatical applications and approvals. A summary of the data will be reviewed periodically by the ADFA and shared annually with SPH faculty.