Faculty members with appointment at the rank of assistant professor generally have six years in which to attain promotion with tenure to associate professor. If, after six years at the rank of assistant professor, the individual has not been promoted with tenure to associate professor, the faculty member will receive a one-year notice of non-renewal of his/her tenure track appointment and their appointment at the university will end at that time.
Annual Review of Assistant Professors
An assistant professor is appointed for an initial three-year term. Informational reports about progress of assistant professors will be provided to the Executive Committee of the School of Pharmacy on a yearly basis. The first two yearly informational reports require no vote for approval. In the third through fifth years of appointment, the annual informational report for each assistant professor will include recommendation for a one-year extension if, in addition to her/his continued satisfactory performance of school duties, there is satisfactory performance in the areas of research productivity, service, and teaching. A voice vote will be required at the Executive Committee of the School of Pharmacy meeting after the faculty member’s annual informational report presentation by the governance and oversight committee (typically the chair of the governance and oversight committee makes the presentation) and subsequent discussion. A final decision to recommend either promotion with tenure or non-retention generally will be made no later than at the end of the sixth year of an assistant professor’s appointment in the School of Pharmacy, unless an assistant professor has received an extension of their probationary period. A ballot vote is required to recommend promotion with tenure to associate professor. All documents related to annual reviews should be submitted to the dean’s office and provided for review at least one week prior to the executive committee meeting.
If approved for the promotion with tenure to associate professor, the faculty member’s tenure package is then submitted to the appropriate university divisional committee (Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences, Social Sciences, or Humanities) for evaluation for promotion with tenure to associate professor.
Criteria for Promotion with Tenure from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor
The granting of tenure is a long-term commitment of university and state resources which requires the proof of evidence in past performance and a forecast that an individual faculty member’s performance will continue to be of high quality for many years to come.
Each university divisional executive committee establishes and distributes its criteria for promotion to tenure and the form in which it requires recommendations to be presented. The four divisions differ in their requirements. It is therefore advised that each assistant professor obtain a copy of his/her divisional guidelines for promotion to tenure. Each assistant professor should prepare his/her resume in the outline form requested by the university division with which she/he is associated. Annual revisions will be required, since the Executive Committee of the School of Pharmacy conducts annual reviews of all Assistant Professors. It is possible that the Executive Committee of the School of Pharmacy, in its review process, may request information in addition to that specified in the university divisional outline. When the Executive Committee of the School of Pharmacy has arrived at a decision to recommend promotion with tenure for an assistant professor, preparation of the necessary documentation for submission to the university divisional committee will be facilitated by the earlier annual reviews as specified for their university division. The candidate will prepare this documentation (to be consistent with FPP as well as with current university divisional committee requirements) and may consult with the members and chair of their governance and oversight committee for assistance in preparation.
Governance Oversight Committee
Each new assistant professor is expected to work with the division chair to establish a governance and oversight committee within six months of their arrival. The chair will forward the composition of the proposed governance and oversight committee to the dean for approval. The dean then officially will appoint the chair of the governance and oversight committee as well as its members in writing. This committee will include at least two tenured faculty members; one member must be a SAS division member and at least one must have been tenured through the same university divisional committee that will review the candidate’s dossier. The committee must have enough relevant participants for guidance. Although the membership of the governance and oversight committee is not expected to change over time, its composition can be changed at any time by the dean. It is acceptable and appropriate for the mentored faculty member to be permitted to petition the dean for modification of the committee’s membership.