Tenure and Promotion Committee
Activities Prior to the Commencement of a Candidacy
A candidacy for tenure or promotion officially begins with written notification sent by the initiator to the Dean of the College indicating that a faculty member is a candidate. The deadline for notification is established in the Faculty Manual as April 10. However, initiators are encouraged to notify the Dean of a candidacy well before that date, since there are a number of activities related to the preparation of the dossier that begin prior to the April 10 deadline (although these activities can commence prior to the official notification of the Dean). Below are suggestions relating to these activities.
1. Consultation with the prospective candidate (Faculty Manual 4.XI.2): The initiator is to confer with a prospective candidate to discuss the candidacy and the review process. This conference is also an opportunity for the initiator to provide feedback to the candidate concerning the content and organization of the candidate’s current CV, which must be provided subsequently to those members of the department with whom the initiator must consult prior to proceeding with the candidacy (see 2. below). It is recommended that the candidate and initiator confer sometime between mid-January and early February.
2. Consultation with tenured members of the department (Faculty Manual 4.XI.2): If a candidacy involves early tenure, the initiator is to provide a copy of the candidate’s CV to all tenured members of the department and then convene a meeting to discuss the advisability of proceeding with the candidacy. If a candidacy includes promotion, the CV review and consultation includes only those tenured members with a rank equal to or greater than the rank for which the candidate would be considered. In both cases, the initiator is to provide the candidate with a confidential written summary of the departmental discussion. It is recommended that the departmental consultation and subsequent discussion with the candidate be completed by the end of February, to accommodate dossier preparation activities that need to commence in March (see below).
3. Work related to specific dossier items: The preparation of several dossier items begins prior to April 10. Each item is discussed in more detail in this handbook and is referenced in the suggested review calendar. The items requiring work prior to April 10 include:
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Item D – Letters from tenured members of the department. Many departments encourage tenured members to begin observing instruction in the spring semester prior to the academic year of the review.
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Item F – Student evaluations of the candidate’s teaching. The initiator coordinates the recruitment of the student committee members, the student committee and the department prepare additional candidate-specific questions for the evaluation form, and the sampling procedure is developed, to permit E&A to begin mailings to alumni in the sample during the summer prior to the academic year of the review.
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Item I – Peer reviews of teaching. Many departments encourage peer reviewers to begin observing instruction in the spring semester prior to the academic year of the review, so peer reviewers must be selected and initial observations may be conducted.
4. Notification to the Dean of a faculty member’s candidacy (Faculty Manual 4.XI.2): The Faculty Manual requires that the initiator notify the Dean of the College in writing of each candidacy for tenure and/or promotion no later than April 10. The notification need not be lengthy, but it should be provided on paper (rather than electronically). If an initiator is responsible for more than one candidacy, it is recommended that he or she forward a separate written notification for each candidate. In cases of joint appointment, a single letter of notification signed by both initiators is preferable, but if necessary, the initiators may forward separate written notifications.
