BSD OAA News Brief

March 2023| Issue 01

Introducing the BSD OAA News Brief


We are excited to introduce the inaugural edition of the OAA News Brief. This short-form newsletter aims to be a quarterly, comprehensive round-up of all the latest updates from our office and the Office of the Provost relevant to academic appointive actions in the BSD. To ensure an easily archivable and searchable reference, we will maintain a library of these news briefs on our website.


The OAA News Brief will begin with information relevant to all departments and conclude with updates that are discipline specific. We will never use this publication for new announcements. Instead, the OAA News Brief will be a repository of information that has already been communicated to administrators and departments.


We are eager to hear your feedback and welcome any suggestions you may have to improve this series moving forward. We hope the OAA News Brief will be a valuable resource for everyone in our community, supporting our shared goals of transparency and collaboration.

Visit the News Brief Archive

OAA Staffing Updates

In response to an unprecedented increase in academic recruitment, we are pleased to share the BSD OAA team is growing! Meet our new team members:

New Academic Affairs Specialist

We are thrilled to be adding another academic affairs specialist to the team, who will support faculty searching & screening compliance initiatives under the supervision of our replacement Associate Director. Sara Malmanger will be joining us from Cambridge Educational Services, bringing expertise in academic affairs, advising, and process improvement. Sara’s start date will be March 20.

New Executive Assistant

Shirley McKissick Cooke joined the team on March 6 as our executive assistant, supporting Dr. Sola Olopade and OAA. Prior to joining our team, Shirley assisted several principals and the actuarial health consulting team of Oliver Wyman. Shirley is returning to UChicago Medicine, having previously supported the Information Services team. Shirley is also a licensed realtor and notary signing agent in the State of Illinois who enjoys cooking and traveling with her family. Please join us in welcoming Shirley!

Thank You Simona Ahmed

Simona Ahmed, Associate Director of Academic Affairs, has moved to a new role within the University of Chicago, Office of the Provost effective March 1. While we are sad to lose her, we are excited that Simona will remain within the University and take on new challenges in her new role overseeing the Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellowship Program and are incredibly grateful for her many contributions to OAA and the BSD at large. The OAA team is in the process of interviewing candidates to backfill this opening and have implemented an interim overage plan that has been shared with departmental executive administrators and academic affairs specialists. Access a summary here

Compensation Change Approval

The Office of the Provost is no longer required to review approved compensation increases for Faculty and Clinical Associates​. A memo requesting the compensation change may be uploaded into a compensation change task in Workday​. Compensation decreases, however, will still require Provost approval​. Please reach out to Kathi Gerling with questions. 

Upcoming CLO Template Changes

In response to faculty feedback and institutional concerns about the clarity of the contingent nature of BSD Contingent Letters of Offer (CLOs), we have collaborated with the Office of the Provost and the Office of Legal Counsel to update the cover page of our CLO templates to better reflect that the contingent offer is expressly subject to final approval of the academic appointment by the Dean and Provost. A copy of the new cover page is linked below for your review and will go into effect on March 20, 2023, to coincide with the start date of the University’s new Provost, Katherine Baicker, PhD.


As always, you may find the most current versions of all BSD CLO and LO templates organized by track and rank within the OAA Box Academic Affairs Resources Folder. This folder will be updated with new versions of all impacted templates in anticipation of the March 20, 2023 effective date. Please note that the instructional text and terms of our templates will remain unchanged.


As you discuss contingent offers with prospective appointees, it is critical that you disclose the contingent nature of the offer and avoid making any representations, verbal or in writing, that approval is “pro forma” or that we endorse or support any of the candidate’s actions that rely on the contingent offer’s approval (e.g., resignation of their current appointment/employment, an announcement that they are leaving their institution or transitioning to the University of Chicago, sale of their residence, etc.).

View New CLO Template Cover Page

Clinical Associate News

Urgent CA Appointment Mechanism

In circumstances of critical and time sensitive clinical demand, departments may pursue the Urgent CA Appointment mechanism. This mechanism is intended to assist clinical departments to meet emergent clinical demands and is not a means to permanent appointment. Urgent Clinical Associate appointments are temporary, with a maximum duration of six months. Urgent Clinical Associate appointments are not benefits-eligible.



In general searches for Clinical Associates, the normal search process can ensue or can be modified as described in the Modified Searches for Clinical Associates Policy

CA Appointment & Reappointment Approval Delegation

Effective February 20, 2023, the BSD Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) has the Office of the Provost's delegation to approve the appointment and reappointment of Clinical Associates. Delegation of reappointment approval is contingent on the reappointing department's chair’s assurance of the absence of "concerning behaviors that implicate UChicago and UChicago Medicine policies and compliance obligations, professional standards, and/or standards of patient care." A query to this effect is included in the reappointment case cover sheet. If such assurance is not provided, CA reappointment cases must be escalated to the OOP for approval.


CA Appointment & Reappointment Approval Delegation Process

  1. Continue to load position control materials into Interfolio for divisional financial review​.
  2. Continue to load CLO materials into Interfolio for OAA and Divisional Financial Review​
  3. Once a signed CLO is received, submit appointment materials via department Box folder rather than Interfolio​.
  4. Submitted materials should mimic all required documents that would have been uploaded into Interfolio for OOP approval. See checklist
  5.  Reappointments should continue to be submitted in Interfolio​.