Become a Graduate Faculty Member

Following are guidelines for Biomedical Engineering Graduate Faculty (BMEGF).

I) How to become a member

The vote for new membership takes place each winter.

Current University of Minnesota faculty who wish to be considered for membership on the BMEGF should submit this Google form and an up-to-date CV to bmengp@umn.edu by December 1. Those who complete the form will be contacted in December and asked to present at a Biomedical Engineering Graduate Seminar in the second half of spring semester.

After all presentations are complete, a nomination committee comprised of three current BMEGF members, at least one of whom holds a primary appointment outside of the Biomedical Engineering (BME) Department, will thoroughly review each candidate’s qualifications for membership (see below, section II) and recommend one of the following membership levels.

Affiliate Senior Membership (ASM)

An Affiliate Senior Member can represent the BMEGF in any role on a BME student’s MS/PhD committee, including primary advisor, co-advisor, chair, thesis reviewer, and/or committee member. An Affiliate Senior Member does not hold governance or voting privileges.

Affiliate Membership (AM)

An Affiliate Member can represent the BMEGF on a BME student’s MS/PhD committee as co-advisor, chair, thesis reviewer, and/or committee member but cannot be a primary advisor.

An Affiliate Member can be the primary advisor for a student in the BME MS program but cannot serve as the primary advisor for a BME PhD student. An Affiliate Member does not hold governance or voting privileges.

Affiliate Membership-MS Only (AM-MS)

An Affiliate Member-MS can represent the BMEGF in any role on a BME student’s MS committee, including primary advisor, co-advisor, chair, thesis reviewer, and/or committee member.

An Affiliate Member-MS cannot represent the BMEGF on a BME PhD student’s committee in any capacity and does not hold governance or voting privileges.

Note that UMN faculty members may be appointed to this membership level by the BME Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) without a faculty vote. If you’re only interested in this level of membership, contact bmengp@umn.edu for more information.

Voting process

In December/January, once the nomination committee has made its recommendations, the membership ballot will be distributed to voting BMEGF members.

Candidates who receive a majority vote in favor of ASM will be appointed to ASM. Candidates who do not receive a majority vote in favor of ASM, but who receive a majority vote in favor of either ASM or AM will be appointed to AM. Candidates who receive a majority vote in favor of AM-MS will be appointed to AM-MS.

Appointments will take effect once the results are announced. All BMEGF members undergo a review four years after their initial appointment, and every four years thereafter (see below, section IV).

II) Qualifications for Affiliate Senior Membership

Successful candidates for BMEGF Affiliate Senior Membership must demonstrate they are:

  1. Competent to educate PhD engineers independently.

  2. Engaged in research relevant to biomedical engineering.

The nomination committee must be satisfied that these two qualifications are met before recommending a candidate for membership at the ASM level (see above, section I).

Additional factors to be considered are the candidate’s experience and record (degrees, publications, etc.), ability to secure research funds, and potential contribution to improving the rank and prestige of the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program (BMEGP).

III) Membership expectations

All members of the BMEGF, regardless of membership level, should be actively engaged in the research, education, and outreach missions of the program. Participation in at least some of the activities listed below is expected each year in order to remain in good standing in the BMEGF.

  • Advise/co-advise students*

  • Serve on committees*

  • Evaluate dossiers*

  • Attend BME Graduate Seminars (~one per year)†

  • Deliver a guest lecture in a BMEn course (~one per year)†

  • Participate in other BME events (e.g., annual research workshops, Industry Day, BME Graduate Student Colloquium, etc.)†

*These activities are tracked centrally by the BME DGS Assistant.

†BMEGF members should keep track of their own involvement in these activities and will self-report that information when their membership is up for review (see below, section IV).

IV) Quadrennial review of membership status

All BMEGF members undergo a review of their membership status four years after their initial appointment, and every four years thereafter. The purpose of the quadrennial review is to ensure members are still active and contributing to the high quality of the BMEGP. The review vote will take place over the summer.

Review ballots will include information regarding each member’s recent publication record (self-reported) and involvement in BMEGP activities over the previous four years (see above, section III).

Once all the necessary information has been assembled, the nomination committee will examine each member’s record and recommend renewal, renewal at a different membership level (e.g., from Affiliate Membership to Affiliate Senior Membership), or probation.

The quadrennial review ballot will then be distributed to voting BMEGF members. Those who receive a majority vote in favor of renewal will have their membership renewed for another four years at the designated level.

Those who fail to receive a majority vote in favor of renewal will be on probation for the next year, during which time they will have the opportunity to increase their involvement in the BMEGP. At the end of that year their membership will be up for final review. Failure to receive a majority vote in favor of renewal in the final review will result in immediate termination from the BMEGF.

Those who do not provide the requested information for their quadrennial review will automatically be placed on probation with no vote. Those who do not provide the requested information for their final review will automatically have their BMEGF membership terminated with no vote.