Tenure Process – Planning Ahead
Kyle H. Ramsey, PhD
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Assoc Dean for Basic Sciences
Midwestern University
The tangibles
Q: When does the tenure
process begin?
A: What are you waiting for?
When does the tenure process begin?
• Before you are employed
• Know the type and availability of tenure at the college/university to
which you are applying
• Will their be negotiations based on seniority at previous employer?
• At the time of appointment
• A “tenure clock” should be stipulated in the initial employment
contract
• Usually refers to Faculty Handbook
• Is the Handbook amendable post-employment or are parties bound
by the version of the Handbook at the time of employment?
• Your first day of employment – start thinking of your
rank/tenure dossier
• Be organized
• Re-familiarize yourself with your initial appointment contract and
know your Faculty Handbook (and keep track of any changes therein)
• Keep and document everything!
Is advancement in academic rank and
tenure considered simultaneously?
• For many, the answer is “Yes”
• It may be situational – but should be
stipulated in your initial appointment
contract.
• Rank = $ (usually) / Tenure = security (usually)
• This is a consideration in the preparation of
the dossier since qualifications for rank vs.
tenure may be different – depending on the
college/institute
How and what to document?
• Know your Faculty Handbook section on
promotion and tenure. It will be your tenure
Bible.
• Document everything related to the Academic
Triad of Teaching, Research/Scholarly Activity,
and Service.
• Rule of thumb: It is better to have it and not need
it than to need it and not have it.
• This should be something you do continuously –
not just before your application is submitted.
How and what to document – a short
and incomplete list:
• Teaching:
– Syllabi, evaluations, awards, lectures designed, course directorship, new and
innovative teaching methods, accolades from students and other faculty, other
“attaboys”, etc.
• Research/Scholarly Activity:
– Current and past grant support and grant-writing activity (even if unsuccessful)
– Scholarly publications, articles, peer and non-peer reviewed, books, book chapters,
reviews, published abstracts and presentations at meetings
– Inventions, patents, software, etc.,
– Presentations on your research to the lay community, lay press, etc.
– Honor and awards
• Service:
– Professional society memberships, activities, leadership positions, honors and
awards, peer reviewer for journals, grants, editorships, etc.
– Organization/presentation of non-research seminars and professional conferences
– Committee membership and participation at your college/institute and leadership
roles and accomplishments should be highlighted.
– Consulting services
– Public service activities
Your dossier
The Dossier for Tenure:
• All documentation required by the
Faculty Handbook
• Letters of support may be sent
directly to the Academic Supervisor
or Dean – check Faculty Handbook.
• Organized, tabbed, TOC,
information easily accessible? Make
it easy for all reviewers and
committee to access all documents.
• Suggestion: Ask a recently
successful faculty colleague if they
would mind letting you see their
dossier.
Are you ready?
• Pay attention to your evaluations (formal and informal)
from your academic supervisor/department chair.
–
–
–
–
Take them seriously, don’t dismiss them
Keep an open mind and display openness to critique.
Don’t get offended
Improve your performance! A track record of steady
improvement is important.
• Speak to your academic supervisor, well ahead of the
deadline – ask for their input.
– Does your academic supervisor think you are ready?
– Will they support you? If not, what can you do to improve?
Know the process – each
school/college/institute is unique
• Adhere to timelines, procedures, formalities. A
dossier must be assembled according to the
Faculty Handbook stipulations
• Know the process – don’t be turned down
because of formalities and don’t ask for
exceptions.
• If you aren’t ready or need more time, wait for
the next cycle. If your tenure clock is up, find out
if you can extend your contract another year.
The intangibles
“Being a good colleague”
Want to get married?
• Tenure process can be likened to marriage:
– Dating and courtship – recruiting/application
– Marriage proposal – initial contract in tenure-track
position
– Betrothal/engagement period – the tenure clock
begins and its not too late for either party to back
out
– The marriage ceremony – your tenure application
– Marital bliss to follow all the days of your academic
life?
Is a coach or
mentor needed?
• This may be particularly important on a large,
campus with a large department, where an
academic supervisor may not have time to
mentor effectively.
• Find some one who has been through the process
successfully, been “around the block”, and is wellliked and well-respected among colleagues and
administration.
• Make it formal or informal. What you call it does
not matter as much as the outcome.
Be a good colleague
• Go to social functions, be seen, interact, don’t be a recluse! Joining a
faculty has been likened to joining a fraternity/sorority, etc. (Phinney,
What I Wished I’d Known About Tenure www.insidehighered.com )
• Be a team player. The “other Academic Triad”: your faculty colleagues,
students, administration/support staff. The latter can be unexpectedly
important.
• Remember, you will need letters from colleagues who support your
application!
• Don’t be antagonistic or complain bitterly. Be tactful when and if you
object. Offer suggestions instead of complaints?
• Be a positive emissary of your school/college into the community.
• Administrators don’t always “rubber stamp” committee decisions.
Be a good colleague
• Don’t be contentious with students! Be seen as a student
advocate. Use a “firm hand and sunny disposition”
• If you must contend with others, choose your battles
wisely - One can never be certain of who will be on the
Rank and Tenure Committee.
• Enjoy your academic freedom but do so with tact - and
whine sparingly.
• Provide input - particularly positive input – to others.
• Remember, things look different in the administration
building.
• Bottom line: be a good citizen of the academic
community
A last pointer before the wedding:
• Most dossiers require a narrative or
personal/summary statement.
• Referring to specific sections in the dossier highlight accomplishments and show how you
have improved upon weaknesses
• Don’t be afraid to “toot” your own horn.
– There is an art to doing this without being
braggadocios (see “How to Toot Your Own Horn,
Without Blowing It” Peggy Klaus).
– Self promotion is troubling for some and was for me
as well. You’ll get used to it.
Did you get married?
• Keep your new spouse happy. Divorce in
academic marriages is uncommon but still
occurs.
• Remember, tenure makes it harder to be fired
- but not impossible.
• Is there a post-tenure review process? If so,
how often? There may be a similar process as
that described above periodically.
Did they break off the engagement or
delay the wedding?
• Don’t panic. You aren’t in the unemployment line yet.
• Is there an appeals process? Again, see the Faculty
Handbook.
• Can you apply again next cycle? Or, is it a one-shot
deal?
– Consider appealing but if you decide to appeal, do so
carefully and tactfully. You don’t want to ruin your
chances for the next cycle.
– Consider the decision of the committee objectively. Was
there feedback? If so, address the weaknesses.
• Flight option – but consider this early. You don’t want
to portray yourself as a “desperate fifth or sixth year”
Assistant Professor.
The 10
Commandments of
Tenure Applications
(a summary)
1.
Thou shalt plan for your tenure application
beginning before your first day of
appointment.
2.
Read and know thy contract.
3.
Read thy Faculty Handbook: know and
honor its stipulations.
4.
Thou shalt know who makes and endorses
tenure decisions and thou shalt strive to
please them.
5.
Thou shalt remember Dept, College and
University social functions and keep them
sacrosanct. Thou shalt not be a recluse.
6.
Thou shalt be a good colleague and team
player. Thou shalt not be a trouble-maker.
7.
Choose thy battles wisely and whine
sparingly.
8.
Thou shalt remember the good name of
thy institution and keep it in good standing
– avoiding all actions that bring ill-repute.
9.
Thou shalt exercise thy Academic
Freedom with tact.
10.
Thou shalt assemble a neat and organized
dossier in a timely fashion – missing no
deadlines and adhering to all stated
procedures.
In academia, you must be your
own career manager.
Your success is largely up to you.