Advisory Committee on Tenure, Promotion, and Personnel

The Committee shall advise the Dean of Arts & Sciences on all recommendations from Departments for the award of tenure, and for promotion to the ranks of associate professor and full professor, for promotion to the ranks of research associate professor and research professor, and for new appointments that carry tenure. The supplemental subcommittee of three teaching professors will join the Committee to advise on promotions to the rank of teaching professor.

Promotions to the rank of senior lecturer shall be discussed by the Vice Deans and the supplemental subcommittee of three teaching professors.

 

Composition:

  • The primary committee shall consist of nine tenured full professors, three from each of the three divisions with six voting members constituting a quorum. The Dean of Arts & Sciences shall be a non-voting member of the Committee and shall preside except where noted below. 

  • The Vice Dean of Faculty Affairs and the Vice Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences shall be non-voting members of the Committee.

  • A supplemental subcommittee of three teaching professors, one from each of the three divisions shall be included in deliberations for recommendations for promotion of faculty on the teaching track to the rank of senior lecturer and teaching professor.

Eligibility: 

  • Primary committee: tenured full professors

  • Subcommittee: teaching professors

Term:

  • Three years (staggered elections when possible)

Appointment process:

  • Faculty election process

Functions/Duties:

  • Each year, the Committee shall select one of its members to serve as Chair to preside in the absence of the Dean of Arts & Sciences.

  • In fulfilling its advisory function with regard to tenure and promotions, the Committee shall observe the following procedures:

    • Copies of Departmental recommendations for tenure and promotion and all supporting documentation, including Departmental tenure policies and procedures, shall be available to all members of the Committee prior to and during its deliberations.  This documentation shall be held confidential and returned to the office of the Dean at the end of the deliberations on each case.

    • A Departmental representative must be available to appear before the committee to answer any questions the committee may have prior to its deliberation and vote.  The Departmental representative is not expected to present the case formally but simply to answer questions that the Committee believes will clarify the case. The Chair or Director of the academic unit, who normally serves as representative, may bring along an additional faculty member who has specific expertise in the candidate’s subject or field. The Departmental representative will leave prior to the deliberation and vote of the Committee.

    • A member of the Committee who is also a member of the candidate's Department may not participate in sessions which deal with that candidate and may not vote on the question.

    • The Committee may solicit additional advice in any manner that it deems appropriate.

    • At the conclusion of its deliberations, the recommendations of the Committee shall be determined by secret ballot of its elected members, with the exception noted in c. above.

    • After reviewing the candidacy, the Dean shall transmit his or her decision in writing to the candidate and the Chair of the candidate's Department or Program, and the Dean shall inform the Committee. The delivery of the written notification to the candidate and the candidate’s academic unit normally occurs after the Board of Trustees meeting on the first Friday in March.

    • In the event of a negative decision and at the candidate's request:

      • The candidate shall be advised in writing by the Dean of the reasons that contributed to that decision, and

      • The Committee's recommendation and the division of its vote shall be communicated in confidence to the candidate and the Department chair.

    • Should the Dean not accept the Committee's recommendation, he or she shall convene the Committee to discuss the reasons.

    • The candidate or the candidate's Department may request reconsideration of denial of tenure promotion; reconsideration will not normally be undertaken unless new and substantial evidence is available.

    • All deliberations of the Committee shall be confidential.

    • Copies of all correspondence as well as records of verbal evaluations solicited outside committee meetings and used by the Committee in reaching decisions shall be made part of the permanent record of the procedure and shall be available if necessary to review committees of the Faculty and the University.

    • Nothing in the above paragraphs shall be construed to prejudice the rights of faculty members to appeal to the appropriate Arts & Sciences and University committees charged with reviewing tenure and promotion decisions.

    • The Chair of the Committee shall, without disclosing confidential matters concerning specific individuals, report annually to the Faculty on the Committee's actions and findings.