Visiting Scholar Status

The title of Visiting Scholar is appropriate when a person intends to be present on the UTA campus for purposes of research, scholarship, or study, but will neither be enrolled as a student nor be a permanent employee of UTA, if employed at all. Examples include students from other universities coming to UTA for training in specific research methodologies or collaborations with UTA researchers, faculty from other institutions engaged in collaborations with UTA researchers, or employees of other entities engaged in collaborations with UTA researchers.

Depending on the nature of the activities and collaborations involved, the title of Visiting Scholar may be appropriate. Visiting Scholar carries an expectation of engagement with the research community at UTA that deepens and enriches our own scholarly capacity and impact. Characteristics that would make Visiting Scholar status suitable include:

• There is a defined length to the appointment. The visitor will be physically in residence at UTA for at least one month or 50% of the term of the proposed appointment.
• Requests for access to UTA resources that exceed customary guest access (customary access includes temporary desk space or supervised lab use without a requirement for key access, internet access through EduRoam, limited access to necessary data through SharePoint or other approved means, guest access at the Library).
• Providing seminars, presentations, or guest lectures for the UTA community during the visit, in addition to research and scholarly collaborations.

For collaborations on research or other scholarly purposes that do not have these characteristics but do require resources or access beyond customary guest access, the designation of Person of Interest may be appropriate. Examples would include cases where the collaboration will be primarily remote, with occasional short visits to campus less than one month long.

There are many collaborations between individual faculty and those from other institutions or entities that do not require a formal designation such as Visiting Scholar or Person of Interest. Whether or not such titles are used, specific formal agreements for some collaborative activities may be needed, such as Non-Disclosure Agreements, Data Use Agreements, Materials Transfer Agreements, Facilities Use Agreements, or others. The Agreement Management office in the Office of Research and Innovation should be consulted for such arrangements.

The Dean’s Office in CONHI will make appointments to the titles of Visiting Scholar or Person of Interest when these titles are appropriate. The Associate Dean for Research will contribute to the evaluation of applications submitted on the required form.