Tenure and Promotion Handbook
Item E: Letters from St. Olaf Colleagues Outside the Department
See Faculty Manual §4.XI.4.(e).
1. Individuals who have access to this item:
- All those granted access to the dossier:
- The initiator
- The Associate Dean
- Members of the Tenure and Promotion Committee
- The Dean of the College
- The President
2. Participants in preparing this item, and role of each participant:
- Candidate – Identifies 3-5 colleagues from whom letters will be solicited; candidate may consult with initiator in selecting colleagues
- Initiator – Provides advice to candidate concerning the selection of colleagues to write; sends letters to identified colleagues soliciting letters for the candidate’s dossier
- Colleagues outside the department – Prepare letters for the dossier
3. Guidelines and suggestions:
- While the Faculty Manual indicates that this portion of the dossier may include only three letters, a larger number of letters solicited from colleagues in a variety of departments or other units of the College will provide a more complete picture of the candidate’s contributions.
- While the individuals asked to write on behalf of the candidate are typically faculty members in other departments, it may be appropriate to invite a member of another unit of the College to write, if that individual has had significant opportunity to observe the candidate’s performance.
- In cases of joint appointment, the colleagues asked to write on behalf of the candidate should be members of neither of the candidate’s departments. The initiators have discretion in determining which of them will solicit and receive these letters.
- The initiator should include the candidate’s CV with the solicitation letter.
- While the letter-writers will be referred to the Standards for Faculty Evaluation, they are not expected to have detailed or first-hand knowledge of the candidate’s performance in all three categories of faculty work. They should be invited to comment on those aspects of the candidate’s work with which they are most familiar, and to provide concrete examples and specific evidence in support of their evaluation.
4. Additional resources:
- Sample Initiator’s letter to St. Olaf colleagues outside the department (Appendix 2)
5. Contact for questions or concerns:
