Home > Finance and Personnel > Junior faculty review and awards

JUNIOR FACULTY REVIEW AND AWARDS

Dean's Office contacts: Carol Rush, Margie Ramsdell, Divisional Dean

Review committees for promotion and tenure

Junior Faculty Development Program

Review committees for promotion and tenure. The Handbook requires that every faculty member below the rank of Professor be considered each year for possible promotion. The chair and/or departmental faculty should examine the list of faculty members below the rank of Professor and should initiate formal promotion evaluations for any promising candidates. Chairs might also send a letter annually to all faculty below the rank of Professor, asking for a response if they are interested in being reviewed for promotion.

If a unit does not have at least three eligible departmental faculty members to make a promotion/tenure review and recommendation, a standing committee should be appointed by the Dean for this purpose (see Standing committees).

When a faculty member asks for a promotion review, the chair and/or departmental faculty should consider the person's documented record of achievement and determine whether a formal promotion evaluation is merited. If the record does not warrant promotion or if the departmental vote is likely to be negative, the department is not required to continue with the promotion process. (This does not apply in any mandatory promotion/tenure case.)

A departmental committee may be appointed to review each faculty member who is being considered for promotion and/or tenure. The committee should be composed of at least two members; all members should be senior in rank to the candidate. In small units the entire complement of senior faculty might be members. A unit may prefer to use the same committee for all Assistant Professors and/or Associate Professors. The review committee may have members from other units or disciplines that are closely related to the candidate's areas of interest.

Documentation forwarded to the College for a promotion/tenure recommendation should include a report from the review committee which is separate from the department chair's report.

Junior Faculty Development Program. Sponsored by the College in partnership with the College's departments and schools, this program is available to all tenure-track Assistant Professors. Its goal is to assist junior faculty in their professional development by providing them with time and opportunity to enhance their scholarly and teaching careers.

Beginning with the 2009-2010 academic year, the Junior Faculty Development Program will be limited to one award for each junior faculty member. This limitation will apply to any faculty member whose initial appointment as Assistant Professor is September 16, 2009 or later.

For faculty with initial appointments before the 2009-10 academic year, two awards may be given to each Assistant Professor--one is available before and one is available after the approval of renewal for a second three-year term. The renewal review takes place during the second year of employment; therefore the pre-renewal award is given during the first or second year of employment, and the post-renewal award is given during the third, fourth, or fifth year of employment (provided no delays have taken place in the renewal process). Part-time Assistant Professors would have additional years available for the second award.

Each award include two items: (1) one faculty development quarter (one-course teaching reduction and no assigned teaching responsibilities) and (2) one month of summer salary or the equivalent in research support.

Requests for each award are submitted to the Dean's Office by the department chair on behalf of the eligible faculty member; see Junior Faculty Development Award request form.