Summary of Information for Visiting/Honorary Appointments

Visiting appointees to research, teaching, and outreach programs in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) should be appointed on a Visiting/Honorary Appointment within the CALS Department/Center with which they will affiliate during their time at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Under a visiting/honorary appointment, the appointee should have access to departmental research facilities, office and/or laboratory space as appropriate, and access to colleagues. In addition, they should have all rights accorded to University of Wisconsin-Madison visiting appointees, including the use of libraries.

We strongly recommend that all visiting/honorary appointees discuss these issues with their Chair, Director, or research mentor prior to the start of their appointment. We further recommend that Chairs, Directors, and research mentors contact the CALS Research Division and CALS Human Resources with any questions about these issues prior to the start of the visitor’s appointment.

Visiting/honorary appointees should discuss with their sponsoring Department/Center their appointment type, campus/department policies/procedures, enrollment procedures, accesses, rights and expectations involving research and intellectual property, and liability/insurance issues. Departments/Centers will provide an official appointment letter for the individual when the appointment is finalized (see appointment letter template).

The University of Wisconsin-Madison does not waive costs for visitors to enroll in classes. Visitors would have the option to apply for enrollment through Admissions through their website. Dependent upon the enrollment type appropriate for the visitor (e.g., graduate, professional, special guest), procedures and costs will vary.

The UW-Madison requires investigators to satisfy compliance requirements when conducting research involving animal care and use, human subjects, or stem cells, as well as biological safety (basic), radiation safety, and/or chemical safety. Information about these compliance requirements can be found here. Visiting/honorary appointees are encouraged to visit this website and to discuss with their Chair, Director, or research mentor how to meet the compliance requirements listed.

In general, under federal law the University, through its designated patent management organization, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), has first right to retain title to any inventions conceived or made in whole or in part during federally funded research. Ownership of intellectual property or tangible products or research generated during the course of non-federally funded research varies widely and is defined by the terms of the agreement between the University and the sponsor. Details on how intellectual property is viewed, protected, and assessed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison can be found at the Graduate School’s website.

Agreements that support certain visiting/honorary appointments may reference the use of University resources but do not provide funds to support the cost of these resources. In such cases, it may be possible to develop a visiting Scientist Agreement that includes training fees or other costs to defray research expenses. Please contact the CALS Research Division for more information about such agreements.