Indeed I have a position without a teaching obligation (though I do teach a bit because I want to), and it's vanishingly rare to find one of those in my field outside of a medical school.

They've just added this position to our school called "Research Faculty". They are soft money supported and have no teaching load. Often they will be attached to some research institute.

Soft money supported versions are fairly common - mine's got a substantial hard money component, which is what makes it rare and honestly a little bit wonderful.

What’s soft vs hard money ?

Soft Money: A position where a substantial portion (usually 50%+) of one's salary is expected to be brought in by grants. Failing to do so is, at best, going to impact your salary, and at worst, is a good way to no longer have a job.

Hard Money: University-level funds (from the university, the state if a state school, etc.) provide a portion of your salary that doesn't have to be tied to a grant. This often comes with other obligations (i.e. teaching).

Most positions are a mix of the two in some form. Purely soft money positions, or >50% soft money positions, are common at some research institutes, medical schools, etc. Hard money positions that don't come with substantial non-research obligations are very rare.

Thanks.

How does that work now at UPenn?

So this is based on what a colleague told me who left my institution for UPenn. The position is "Teaching Professor" or equivalent where the idea is you spend most of your time teaching, with zero expectation of research, although you might want to engage in research about teaching. That kind of introspection comes naturally. Usually this role is without tenure, but universities are trying to make this position more attractive and so some, like UPenn, have attached the potential promise of tenure to the role (although I'm not familiar with the specifics of the promotion process there).

Thanks, this is a helpful explanation since I'm considering a UPenn degree programme at the moment.