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Bylaws (2009-2010): A Committee on
Tenure and Promotion, consisting of six tenured members of this Faculty
elected by the entire voting Faculty, and the Provost, without vote. At all
times, the Committee membership shall include at least two members from the
faculty of the School of Arts and Sciences and one member of the faculty
from the School of Engineering. No more than one member of a single
department may be a member of this Committee at any one time.
The Committee shall elect its own chairman, vice-chairman, and secretary. In
the event that an individual being considered is a member of the same
department as the chairman of the Committee, the vice-chairman shall serve
as chairman.
This Committee shall review the qualifications of all individuals who are
proposed for consideration for a tenured position or who are proposed for
promotion above the rank of assistant professor, or who request such
consideration. It shall requisition and consider all evidence that has a
bearing on the individual under consideration. This shall include a
departmental statement, and a privately submitted evaluation and
recommendation to the chairman of the Committee on Tenure and Promotion from
each tenured member of the candidate's department(s); non-tenured members
are invited to submit evaluations and recommendations but are not required
to do so. After review of the confidential letters by the Committee on
Tenure and Promotion, the Committee will forward these letters along with
the rest of the candidate's dossier to the Administration, unless the case
is tabled. Confidential letters will be kept secure by the Secretary of the
Faculty for three years from the date of official action by the Board of
Trustees on the candidate's application, at which time the letters will be
destroyed, unless the Administration has been legally enjoined from doing
so.
The departmental statement shall reflect the full range of opinion of
department members who vote on the application, record the numerical vote,
and be signed by all voting members. When department members cannot agree on
a single statement, a signed minority statement shall be submitted. The
statement(s), including a list of members who voted, shall be made available
to the candidate who has the option to submit a timely written response to
the department statement. When pertinent, the views of colleagues, both
tenured and non-tenured, in other departments, and of individuals from
outside the University shall be obtained. The Committee may ask any of the
above persons, or the candidate himself/herself, to appear in person. Each
department will maintain records of student opinion of faculty members, from
which information about a candidate will be made available to the Committee
when appropriate.
For each candidate under consideration for Tenure, the Committee on Tenure
and Promotion shall create an external subcommittee. Each External
Subcommittee shall consist of: (a) two members of the Committee on Tenure
and Promotion, one of whom shall serve as chair; (b) two members of the
department(s) concerned, elected by the tenured member(s) of the department;
and (c) one member, hereafter referred to as the outside expert, selected by
the tenured members of the department(s) concerned. This outside expert
should be from the same discipline as the candidate, or a related field.
Members of the External Subcommittee shall review and meet to discuss all
the evidence presented in a candidate's case. At the request of any single
member of the External Subcommittee, the External Subcommittee shall meet
with all of the voting members of the Committee on Tenure and Promotion for
further deliberations. Such request may be expressed prior to the External
Subcommittee meeting, in which case the larger meeting may take place
immediately following the External Subcommittee meeting (for the convenience
of the outside expert). Such request may also be expressed at the conclusion
of the External Subcommittee meeting, in which case the larger meeting may
have to take place on a later date. Following the External Subcommittee
meeting, and, if requested, the larger meeting with all voting members of
the Committee on Tenure and Promotion also present, the Subcommittee Chair
will prepare a written report that reflects the discussions and findings of
these meetings; this report shall be signed by all members of the External
Subcommittee and shall become a permanent part of the case that goes forward
to the Committee on Tenure and Promotion and to the Administration, unless
the case is tabled. In no case shall the External Subcommittee vote on the
qualifications of the candidate.
For candidates who already hold tenured positions at comparable
institutions, and whose appointment at Tufts does not involve a promotion in
rank, the Tenure and Promotion Committee may, upon request from the
department and the appropriate Dean, review the case without the formation
of an external subcommittee. In all other tenure cases or if after initial
review of the case the Tenure and Promotion Committee feels that it is
necessary, an external subcommittee shall be constituted and meet as
described above.
For candidates under consideration for promotion to Full Professor or in any
case where an external subcommittee is not convened, the Committee on Tenure
and Promotion shall create an internal two-person Tenure and Promotion
subcommittee responsible for overseeing and presenting the details of the
case to the Committee. If after initial review of the case the Tenure and
Promotion Committee feels that it is necessary, the Tenure and Promotion
Committee retains the right to gather more information in accordance with
the procedures outlined in Statement 11.
The Committee on Tenure and Promotion shall review and deliberate on all the
available evidence in the case. The Committee on Tenure and Promotion shall
(a) vote on the merits of each case, and it shall submit a written report of
its findings for each case, including a record of the vote, to the
appropriate Dean; or (b) vote to table the case and report the vote to table
to the appropriate Dean.
The deliberations of the Committee shall be considered confidential;
however, the Committee's final division on the vote shall be conveyed to the
candidate and his/her chair by the chair of the Committee at the time such
information is transmitted to the appropriate Dean. The Committee's
procedures shall ensure that the candidate is made aware of the names of all
proposed referees, subcommittee members, and consultants, and of authors of
all unsolicited communications regarding the candidate, in sufficient time
to permit written objections and/or alternative suggestions to be considered
prior to relevant actions. Confidentiality of communications received by or
on behalf of the Tenure and Promotion Committee shall be honored to the
fullest extent permitted by law.
The Committee shall also, in consultation with the Provost and the Deans of
the Associated Schools, prepare and review periodically the general criteria
for tenure and promotion. These shall be made available in writing to this
Faculty.
Nomination and election of members of this Committee shall take place in
accordance with the provisions of these Bylaws. With the exception of the
Grievance Panel, membership on this Committee shall not preclude membership
on any other committee of this Faculty. A member shall serve for three
years; with the exception of the first election, one- third of the members
shall be elected each year. |