Section 18. Promotion and Tenure Committee

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For procedures, policies, and the names of current members, refer to Promotion and Tenure Committee Section.

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 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 participate in an annual training session, arranged by the provost, to promote awareness of bias in the faculty evaluation process. At a minimum, this training will address biases related to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, age, disability, and nationality.
  • 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.
  • To lead a meeting in the spring with department chairs, deans, and members of the Academic Council to share general observations about the P&T process and to recommend future improvements. 
  • None of the above duties of the committee will apply to the promotions and tenure of the faculty of the School of Law.