Updated 2013

In accordance with University and School policies, a candidate for tenure, or the candidate’s Department may request reconsideration of denial of tenure promotion. Reconsideration will not normally be undertaken by the Arts & Sciences Advisory Committee on Tenure Promotion and Personnel and the Dean unless new and substantial evidence is available.

New and substantial evidence may consist of items such as a major publication (e.g., an accepted book manuscript) or a major scholarly award, which the decision-making body was not aware of at the time of the decision but which occurred by June 30 of the tenure review year. The candidate or Department must submit the reconsideration request and new evidence to the Dean’s office by the end of the tenure review year, no later than June 30. The submission may consist only of the new evidence; it may not include new dossiers or referee letters. A cover letter from the chair should accompany the new evidence, explaining why it was not included in the original tenure dossier and assessing the substance and significance of the material.

The A&S Advisory Committee on Tenure Promotion and Personnel and the Dean will review the reconsideration request beginning by the fall semester following receipt of the request. The Committee and Dean will first determine whether the submission constitutes substantial new evidence, and may solicit input from within or outside of the University in making that determination.

If the Committee and Dean decide that the new evidence is substantial, a reconsideration of the merits of the tenure decision will be undertaken. At the Committee’s request, the Department will submit a new tenure dossier consisting of the original dossier supplemented with the substantial new evidence. New external referee letters will be sought only if requested by the Committee or Dean. If the Committee or Dean requests such new letters, the Department will obtain letters generally following the procedures applicable to the initial tenure consideration. The Department should solicit the letters from new referees who were not previously solicited during the initial tenure consideration. Requests to new referees should not indicate the current status of the tenure case or the prior negative outcome. The reviewers should be asked to comment on the body of evidence contained in the new, supplemented dossier consisting of the old and new evidence assembled for the referees’ review.

At the conclusion of each decisive step in the reconsideration process, the Dean’s office will communicate the outcome to the candidate and Department in writing for future planning purposes.