Tenure & Promotion Procedures- Consultation with Faculty
[5] Consultation with Faculty
The University's Governing Regulations (Part VII.B.5, page VII-ll) require consultation with certain members of the unit’s faculty on faculty appointments, reappointments, terminal reappointments, promotions, and the awarding of tenure. At a minimum, consultation shall be with [1] all tenured members of the department, school or graduate center; [2] directors of any multidisciplinary research centers or institutes with whom the faculty under consideration is associated; and [3] all full-time, non-tenured faculty members with the actual or equivalent rank of assistant professor or higher who have been members of the department for at least two years (except for cases of tenure or promotion to a rank that would be higher than that of the consulted faculty member). Faculty members who are appointed in the Research Title Series, Clinical Title Series, or Visiting Title Series or who are appointed as Lecturers or Senior Lecturers are excluded from the third category. Faculty members who are on phased retirement and/or on sabbatical assignment may submit a letter but are not required, as their assigned responsibilities are reduced. Each consulted faculty member, with exceptions only as listed in the Governing Regulations, is expected to provide a written judgment on each such case. This is a complex matter, and it is essential that you consult the Governing Regulation referenced above and the exceptions contained therein.
The provision of these written evaluations is both a right and a responsibility of the faculty. Faculty are entitled to have and to state judgments, and inserting in the letters phrases such as "based on the evidence it is my judgment " will help to differentiate these from statements of fact that may require proof. The letters should be as informative as possible. In order to achieve both fairness to the candidate and protection of program standards, the letters should be objective and analytical, written for the purpose of providing guidance to those who will make subsequent evaluations.
Letters should not be personal. They should be professional judgments about the professional performance of the candidate, offered not as statements of fact but as expressions of opinion of the evaluator.
Finally, these letters must contain an unambiguous statement for or against the granting of tenure and/or promotion.