Chapter 8: Service

Service is defined as contributions and activities, including some administrative activities, which promote the general welfare of a department, school, the university, or the broader community. Faculty are expected to participate actively in the conduct of university affairs and to engage in service within and outside of the institution. The idea of "service" includes displaying a collegial spirit of cooperation and collaboration. In addition, academic units have adopted their individual guidelines on the role and requirements for service in the promotion process. In the School of Medicine, for example, service includes "citizenship service" to the school, university, community, and world and "clinical service" for leadership in the delivery of health care both locally and internationally. 

Many academic units have their own service programs. Examples of service include serving as an academic or professional role model for students and more junior colleagues; advising students; providing high quality, compassionate, and innovative clinical care; participating on committees and governance activities; and serving in administrative roles. 

Service at the regional, national, and international level may include, but is not limited to, engaging actively in the development of a professional discipline or professional society; participating in the committees and governance of institutional, regional, national, and international societies; and organizing symposia, seminars, lectureships, and continuing education programs. Involvement in an outside agency or community-based volunteer service also is a highly valued form of service. 

In 2008, the Emory University Senate passed a Service Resolution that acknowledges the critical role that service plays in the life of the university. The resolution states: "To become a destination university requires the fostering of university citizenship, one important component of which is service. The university must do its part to honor multidimensional faculty, staff, and students who demonstrate the energy and commitment to contribute outside their usual sphere — to the betterment of Emory and the world. In return, the university will set criteria and guidelines for evaluating the service its community members provide and will seek greater opportunities to recognize volunteers at all levels and in all areas, who offer exemplary service both inside and outside the institution." 

Emory University and Emory Healthcare's Professional and General Liability Insurance covers its faculty, staff, students, and alumni when faculty and staff are acting in the course of their employment; when students are participating in an activity for which they are receiving academic credit; and when an employed faculty or staff member, student, or alumni (when participating in an activity sponsored by the Emory Alumni Association) is participating in an Approved Volunteer Activity (defined in the policy).