Promotion and Tenure Committee

C28D

Membership List

(Information in italics below is repeated from the Faculty Bylaws Article VIII, Section 18)

Membership

The Promotion and Tenure Committee will consist of nine post-probationary teaching faculty members, at least four of whom will be full professors. Of the nine, at least four will be tenured, and all will hold the rank of Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor, or Professor. Members will serve two-year terms with no person serving more than two consecutive terms, nor more than three terms within a ten year period. Members will be elected annually on a two-year cycle.

Year One

• One member from Mathematics and Natural Sciences
• One member from Social Sciences
• One member from the School of Communications
• One at-large member from the College of Arts and Sciences

Year Two

• One member from Fine Arts and Humanities
• One member from the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education
• One member from the School of Health Sciences
• One member from the Love School of Business
• One at-large member

A Chair will be elected from and by the membership of the committee. Faculty members will be ineligible for promotion or tenure while serving on this committee and in the year following service on this committee. Faculty members will be ineligible for service on this committee the year following their promotion or tenure applications. Faculty of the Law School are excluded from service on this committee.

Duties

• To receive from the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs a list of faculty members who are eligible for promotion in rank and/or tenure
• To consider each eligible faculty member who applies for promotion and/or tenure based on the portfolio provided to the committee by the candidate and in accordance with University policies. Members from a candidate’s department serving on Promotion and Tenure may engage in the deliberations of Promotion and Tenure related to the candidate; however, they may not write a letter for inclusion in a candidate’s application materials while on Promotion and Tenure.
• To submit to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs of the University recommendations for the next academic year no later than December 31 of each year and prior to meeting with the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and each candidate’s Dean
• To meet with the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and each candidate’s Dean to discuss the recommendation for each candidate and the rationale for the recommendation
• After notification of Promotion and Tenure decisions, to make available to any eligible faculty member upon request, through the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, its recommendations concerning the faculty member and an explanation of the basis for that recommendation
• None of the above duties of the committee will apply to the promotions and tenure of the faculty of the School of Law.

C34A

Areas of Committee Concern

• Recommending faculty members for promotion in academic rank
• Recommending the granting of tenure

Policies and Procedures

1. The present Chair calls a meeting after the faculty elections.
2. The members of the new committee elect a Chair and a Secretary who will keep minutes of each meeting.
3. The committee reviews procedures and policies at the first meeting, and any areas of committee concern will be discussed.
4. The committee meets during orientation week to review procedures, complete any unfinished business, and consider any recommendations relating to the committee's work for the coming academic year.
5. The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs provides information for the committee.
6. The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Committee Chair meet with eligible faculty members to discuss procedures and policies regarding tenure and promotion.
7. The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs notifies department members the first time they are eligible for promotion and when they are scheduled for decisions on tenure, with copies of the letter sent to the Department Chair and Dean. The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs requests that recommendations be forwarded to his/her office.
8. The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs forwards to the Committee Chair the list of faculty members to be considered for promotion and/or tenure.
9. The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs meets with the committee to discuss procedures and policies related to promotion and tenure.
10. The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs makes the tenure/ promotion files available to the committee.
11. The committee determines the order in which candidates will be considered. Voting is done by secret ballot and a super majority (six of nine members) is required for a positive recommendation to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
12. Committee members evaluate each faculty member using the Criteria for Evaluation. Each committee member formulates judgments and discusses evaluations with the committee.
13. The chair submits the recommendations of the committee directly to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs by December 31. The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and the committee meet to discuss the substance of the deliberations that led to the specific recommendations.
14. Upon request from the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, the chair provides information regarding the reasons for the committee’s recommendations.

Methods of Reporting To the Campus Community

The Committee Chair will submit a written annual report to Academic Council. On matters deemed to be of general concern, the Council may request that the committee report directly to the faculty.