Appointments and Promotions
The faculty appointment and promotion process lies at the heart of the University. More than any other factor, the quality of the faculty determines the quality of the institution, and influences both the education provided to students and the research conducted to expand human knowledge and understanding. Generating the strongest pool of candidates possible and rigorously evaluating their qualifications for appointment or promotion will ensure that the intellectual vitality, curiosity and creativity of H&S faculty remain the equal of any university in the world.
Over the years, the University and the School of Humanities and Sciences have generated policies, procedures, and criteria that govern the appointment and promotion process. The University Faculty Handbook outlines University policies and procedures; the School's official policy document is the H&S Faculty Handbook, last revised in 2003, with minor updates since then.
Beginning in 2007-08, each cognizant dean appoints a cluster Appointments and Promotions Committee, comprised of six faculty members from the academic cluster. Each cluster-based A&P Committee considers every case for tenure (internal promotions, new appointments to tenure), as well as continuing term appointments (in the Teaching and Research lines and for Senior Lecturers). The task for the A&P Committee and the cognizant dean is to apply the established criteria for tenure that are outlined in the School's faculty handbook along with their best judgments to reach decisions about the cases before them.
Appointment or promotion papers submitted to the Dean's Office undergo different review processes depending upon the type of action involved. The following charts show the paths that papers follow after they leave the department:
Tenured Appointments, Tenure Promotions, Continuing Term Appointments and Promotions
Department
Faculty Affairs (review for completeness and accuracy)
Appointments and Promotions Committee (for review and recommendation to Cognizant Dean)
Cognizant Dean (for review and recommendation to Dean)
Dean (final approval at School level)
Provost (for approval)
University Advisory Board (for review and voting)
President (for final approval and reporting to the Board of Trustees)
Promotions to Full Professor, Appointments or Promotions to Untenured Associate Professor
Department
Faculty Affairs (review for completeness and accuracy)
Cognizant Dean(for review and recommendation to Dean)
Dean (final approval at School level)
Provost (for approval)
University Advisory Board (for review and voting)
President (for final approval and reporting to the Board of
Trustees)
Assistant Professor Appointments, Assistant Professor Reappointments
Department
Faculty Affairs (review for completeness and accuracy)
Cognizant Dean (for review and recommendation to Dean)
Dean (final approval at School level)
Provost (for approval)
University Advisory Board (for review and voting)
President (for final approval and reporting to the Board of
Trustees)
