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Chapter 4: Tenure and Promotion
In June 1973, the Board of Trustees stated that:
A major purpose of evaluating personnel for tenure is, over the long term, to secure and maintain the best possible faculty for each of the departments in the University. The administration and faculties shall continue to develop and maintain procedures and criteria for appointments with tenure that will insure a comprehensive and critical assessment of each candidate.
In making a tenure decision, the most important factor is the quality of the candidate including the following aspects, among others: quality of mind, intellectual force, teaching effectiveness, scholarship, and contributions to department objectives and those of the whole University. Evaluation of such quality shall include a comparison of the candidate with others in his or her field, whether or not at Tufts. In order to insure the flexibility required to meet changing conditions and needs of the University, consideration should also be given to the ratio of tenured to non-tenured faculty in his or her department, provided however that such ratio shall not preclude the granting of tenure to exceptionally qualified persons.
BOARD OF TRUSTEE POLICY ON TENURE & PROMOTION
The full text of the Board of Trustee Policy on Academic Freedom, Tenure, and Retirement, is included in the appendix. A summary is given below.
Eligibility for Tenure
In order to be eligible for tenure, an individual must:
Be serving the University full-time as a faculty member
Be given the unmodified rank of Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, or Instructor
Probationary Period and Prior Credit
A faculty member may apply to be reviewed for recommendation for tenure and promotion at any time. Normally, during the sixth year of the probationary period, a full-time faculty member either makes application or formally withdraws from consideration in writing. If the recommendation is against tenure and promotion, the faculty member will be notified in writing and a one-year terminal contract will be issued.
The probationary period is defined as seven years of full-time service. However, it may be extended for a period not exceeding three years for a
Faculty member who at the time of employment did not have his or her PhD or its equivalent, if the University and the faculty member agree in writing at the time of employment to such an extension. In certain cases involving leave of absence, the probationary period may also be extended (see Chapter 7 and Chapter 9).
Arts, Sciences and Engineering do not usually grant credit, as part of the probationary period, for full-time service as a faculty member in other institutions of higher education. Individuals with prior service, however, may request consideration for tenure before completing six years of full-time service at Tufts in a tenure-track position.
FACULTY COMMITTEE ON TENURE AND PROMOTION
The Tenure and Promotion Committee is composed of six tenured members of the faculty of Arts, Sciences and Engineering elected by the faculty; in addition to the Provost .
Statement #11, Guidelines for the Application and Review Procedure for Tenure and Promotion (known as the
"checklist"), is sent to faculty who are candidates for tenure and promotion and to the chair
of their departments and/or to the preparator.
When the Committee has completed its deliberations, the chair communicates its recommendations to the
School Dean and to the candidate and his/her chair. Then the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, the Dean of the School of Engineering, the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Provost confer and consider the matter, and send a recommendation to the Academic Affairs Committee of the Trustees. The Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees then reports or recommends to the full Board of Trustees. Ordinarily the full Board of Trustees considers tenure and promotion matters at the spring meeting, just prior to Commencement. The Board of Trustees acts and
only then is the action official. This action is reported by the School Dean and to the chair of the candidate's department, who communicates it to the candidate.
The Committee on Tenure and Promotion periodically issues statements and reports that clarify the standards and procedures involved in evaluating faculty members for tenure and promotion.
Statement 1 is listed below and links are available to the current Statement 11 and Statement 12. Copies of previous statement are available in the Provost Office from the Secretary of the Faculty.
STATEMENT #1
Statements are issued periodically by the Faculty Committee on Tenure and Promotion.
Statement #1 was revisited in May of 1989.
The criteria for awards of tenure or promotion are in general terms familiar to all:
quality of mind, creativity, scholarship, teaching effectiveness, and contributions to
the University and the profession. The Committee looks for evidence of excellence in
all of these areas in every candidate, but does not apply a rigid formula.
We expect evidence of excellence in scholarship in all tenure and in all promotion
cases. In tenure cases, clear promise of continued productive scholarship is particularly
important. Cases involving promotion of previously tenured faculty should confirm that
initial promise is being realized and that the candidate has achieved substantial
professional recognition. The quality of scholarship is traditionally judged by one's
peers through published works. Papers read at meetings of learned societies, lectures
to knowledgeable public groups, and participation in colloquia or panel discussions at
one's own or other universities may also be given consideration. Creative work literary,
artistic, engineering, and other professional are further kinds of evidence for all
judgment of quality of mind.
We look for excellent teaching and advising. Innovative teaching in all areas is
valued. We hold that research is directly and indirectly related to quality and substance
of teaching and believe that creative engagement in new developments within the field
is essential. Among the criteria used are student evaluations, peer assessments, and
other appropriate measures. Unless a teacher is renewed intellectually, a high quality
of teaching cannot be maintained.
Participation in the academic community is also part of the normal expected
responsibilities of a Tufts professor. The quality of this kind of activity constitutes
part of an individual's credentials, as does the role an individual plays in the wider
community. In the area of service, the Committee does distinguish between tenure and
promotion only cases. In promotion only cases, we expect a solid record and
commitment to university and professional life. Our expectations are less in tenure
cases, but we always look for demonstrated capacity to serve and quality of service.
STATEMENT #11
STATEMENT #12
CANDIDATES AND PREPARATORS: TENURE AND PROMOTION PACKETS
Candidate and Preparator: TENURE
Candidates packet for tenure cases
Preparator's packet for tenure cases
Candidate and Preparator: PROMOTION
Candidates packet for promotion cases
Preparator's packet for promotion cases
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