Promotion and Tenure Coversheet PDF

College of Liberal Arts, Marshall University

These rules and guidelines shall apply to all faculty members in the College of Liberal Arts hired on or after August 17, 2009. The procedures and guidelines of 2005 may be used for purposes of evaluation for Promotion and Tenure only by faculty hired before August 17, 2009 until June 30, 2012. The procedures and guidelines of 1994 are superseded by this document.

Preamble

Tenure and Promotion are significant events in the academic career of faculty. Tenure is an affirmation of one’s capacity to provide sustained high quality teaching and advising; scholarship and creative work; and professional service to the department, college and university. Promotion through successive academic ranks is another opportunity to acknowledge and reward one’s contributions and continued development as a teacher, scholar, and colleague.

The College of Liberal Arts sets high expectations of its faculty for Tenure and Promotion. Tenure and Promotion are accomplishments that faculty must earn by demonstrating their resolve to make meaningful contributions to the college and their capacity to realize the goals established by their academic department, college, and university.

The College of Liberal Arts also recognizes its obligation to help faculty understand and realize the expectations of Tenure and Promotion. In the spirit of collaborative support, the College presents to its faculty the following policies and procedures regarding Tenure and Promotion.

Please consult the Greenbook (Faculty Handbook) for University policies and procedures regarding Promotion and Tenure.

Pre-tenure review

The Greenbook requires that the College provide a pre-tenure review for all tenure-track faculty members half-way towards the tenure date, typically in the third year. On or before the first Monday of October, the Dean will notify all eligible faculty members of the need to submit a pre-tenure portfolio for review. The Dean will invite these faculty members to attend a meeting with the applicants for Tenure and Promotion held no later than the third Friday of October. The agenda of the meeting shall be a review of the Promotion and Tenure policies and procedures, and the opportunity for pre-tenure faculty members to ask questions.
Pre-tenure faculty members must submit a Portfolio to the department chair by the date set by the department for submission of Tenure and Promotion Portfolios. The Department Chair will store the Portfolios in a secure location accessible by the departmental review committee. The department chair and departmental review committee will each write an independent review of the faculty member’s performance based on the Portfolio by the date set each year by Academic Affairs. The department chair will forward the Portfolio to the Dean. The Dean will store all Portfolios in a secure location accessible to the College’s Promotion and Tenure Committee. The Dean and the College of Liberal Arts Promotion and Tenure Committee will each write an independent review of the faculty member’s Portfolio by the date in each year by Academic Affairs.

Promotion and Tenure Process

  • The Dean will provide all faculty eligible for Tenure and Promotion and pre-tenure review the following items for the creation of the Promotion and Tenure Portfolio:
    • a three-ring notebook(s) with plastic sleeves and dividers,
    • an expandable file folder(s),
    • a check list for the Portfolio,
    • a copy of the Application for Promotion and/or Tenure form, and
    • a copy of the Promotion & Tenure Summary form.
  • By the first Monday of September the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts will request eligible full-time faculty to submit a letter of intention to apply for Tenure, Promotion, or both.
  • Eligible faculty will submit the letter of intention to apply for Tenure, Promotion, or both by the date in September set each year by Academic Affairs.
  • The Dean will verify the eligibility of each candidate as specified in the Greenbook, and will notify the appropriate Chair of the applicant’s eligibility and intention to apply for Tenure, Promotion, or both.
  • Candidates for Tenure and/or Promotion in the College of Liberal Arts (COLA) must meet all current Greenbook, College of Liberal Arts, and departmental evaluative criteria and requirements for Tenure and Promotion.
  • The Dean and the Chair of the College of Liberal Arts Promotion and Tenure Committee will hold a meeting for the applicants for Tenure and Promotion no later than the third Friday of October. The agenda of the meeting shall be a review of the Promotion and Tenure policies and procedures, and the opportunity for applicants to ask questions.

All recommendations regarding Promotion and Tenure reflect the careful review of the Portfolio. Therefore, the Portfolio must reflect a degree of thoroughness, detail, and substantiation to justify Promotion and/or Tenure. Lack of thorough documentation and of clarity in presenting the information and supporting evidence for the application are liabilities for the candidate. Once the applicant submits the Portfolio to the Department Chair, no material may be added to or deleted from the Portfolio.

Applicants must submit the Portfolio to the Department Chair by the date set by the department. The Department Chair will store the Portfolio in a secure location accessible by the departmental review committee.

The Department Chair will forward the Portfolio, the recommendation of the department Promotion and Tenure Committee, and the recommendation of the Department Chair to the Dean by the date in February set each year by Academic Affairs. The Dean will store all Portfolios in a secure location accessible to the College’s Promotion and Tenure Committee. The College of Liberal Arts Promotion and Tenure Committee will evaluate the Portfolios and will submit its recommendations to the Dean by the date in March set each year by Academic Affairs.

The Dean will submit his or her recommendations to the Provost by March 25.

The Provost will submit his or her recommendations to the President by April 22.

The President will submit his or her recommendations by April 30.

All candidates for Promotion and Tenure will receive a letter indicating the recommendation provided at each level of review within the college. The levels for notification within the College of Liberal Arts are:

  • the Department Promotion and Tenure Committee (the Committee Chair will notify);
  • the Department Chair (the Chair will notify);
  • the College of Liberal Arts Promotion and Tenure Committee (the Committee Chair will notify);
  • the College of Liberal Arts Dean (the Dean will notify).

Candidates who are not recommended for Promotion and/or Tenure may request further review at subsequent levels. Candidates for Promotion may withdraw their applications at any time during the Promotion process prior to the final recommendation by the President. To do so, a candidate must notify the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts in writing that the candidate is officially withdrawing the application.

A member of the College of Liberal Arts Promotion and Tenure Committee may serve on a departmental Promotion and Tenure Committee, but may not participate in the evaluation of department members at the College of Liberal Arts Promotion and Tenure Committee meetings.

General Instructions

  • The candidate is solely responsible for securing all items and keeping complete and accurate records of the evidence required to support the candidate’s application.
  • Candidates whose terms of employment included years of credit for previous institutions may include in the Portfolio items (e.g., evidence of teaching, scholarship, and service) completed during the time for which the credit was awarded. When the candidate’s previous employer did not provide information required by the College of Liberal Arts, (e.g., computer-generated summaries of student evaluations or peer evaluation letters) the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts may identify suitable alternatives and will document this arrangement for inclusion with the Portfolio.
  • The candidate must present a complete, well-organized, well-documented, and clear Portfolio.
  • All materials presented in the Portfolio must accurately reflect the candidate’s record.
  • The candidate’s Portfolio must be arranged according to a Table of Contents, and each section of the application should be clearly separated and marked.
  • For a candidate seeking Tenure, the Portfolio must include all materials developed since the candidate’s employment.
  • For a candidate seeking Promotion, the Portfolio must include only those materials that represent the candidate’s achievements in the current rank.

I. Tenure and/or Promotion to Associate Professor

Candidates for Tenure and/or Promotion to Associate Professor must demonstrate Professional1 performance in all of the candidate’s major areas of responsibility and Exemplary2 performance in Teaching and/or Research (defined as Scholarly and/or Creative Achievements). Thus, candidates for Tenure and/or Promotion to Associate Professor must demonstrate and provide evidence to support one of the following profiles:

  • Exemplary performance in Teaching and Research and Professional performance in Service.
  • Exemplary performance in Teaching and Professional performance in both Research and Service.
  • Exemplary performance in Research and Professional performance in both Teaching and Service.

1 The Greenbook definition of Professional is: ―This rating is given to those individuals who, during
the rating period, consistently met the institution’s standards of professional performance. The individuals receiving this rating constitute those good and valued professionals on whom the continued successful achievement of the institution’s mission, goals and objectives depends.

2 The Greenbook definition of Exemplary is: ―This rating is given to those individuals who, during the rating period, consistently exceeded the institution’s standards of professional performance. Individuals receiving this rating stand as exemplars of the highest levels of professional academic performance within the institution making significant contributions to their department, college, academic field and society.

II. Promotion to Professor

Candidates for Promotion to Professor must demonstrate Professional performance in all of the candidate’s major areas of responsibility and Exemplary performance in at least two areas from among Teaching, Research (defined as Scholarly and/or Creative Achievements), and Service. Thus, candidates for Promotion to full Professor must demonstrate and provide evidence to support one of the following profiles.

  • Exemplary performance in Teaching, Research, and Service.
  • Exemplary performance in Teaching and Research and Professional performance in Service.
  • Exemplary performance in Teaching and Service and Professional performance in Research.
  • Exemplary performance in Research and Service and Professional performance in Teaching.

Required Materials:

The following items are required of all candidates and must be supplied as part of the application process:

  1. A Table of Contents.
  2. A completed copy of the ―Application for Promotion and/or Tenure‖ form.
  3. A completed copy of the ―Promotion and Tenure Summary‖ form.
  4. A copy of departmental Tenure and/or Promotion guidelines (where appropriate).
  5. A current and complete academic vita. The vita should provide information on publications in a full citation format. Each print publication must be described in the form of a complete, standard bibliographic citation (e.g. MLA or APA style) – including authors in order, title (exactly as it appears in print), year, volume, publisher, and page numbers. Each scholarly or creative presentation must indicate the name and location of the conference or venue and the date. The candidate must not use abbreviations for the names of conferences, journals, presses, professional organizations, or granting and funding agencies. For example, AAG should be written out as Association of American Geographers; JCJE should be written out as Journal of Criminal Justice Education; and NCTE should be written out as the National Council of Teachers of English.
  6. A letter of application for Tenure and/or Promotion in which the candidate describes how his or her achievements meet the departmental (where appropriate), College of Liberal Arts, and Greenbook evaluative criteria. In the letter, the candidate must discuss his or her achievements in each of the major categories of Teaching and Advising, Scholarly and/or Creative Activities, and Service and demonstrate how his or her achievements meet the requirements for Exemplary or Professional performance. This letter is to be addressed to the departmental Promotion and Tenure Committee and should also clearly indicate the areas of Exemplary performance and the Profile for which the candidate is applying.
  7. A letter from the Department Promotion and Tenure Committee that reviews the candidate’s fulfillment of each requirement at the departmental (where applicable), College of Liberal Arts, and Greenbook levels for the areas of Exemplary performance and for the Profile the candidate has indicated in the candidate’s letter of application. The letter should state how the candidate’s scholarly activities (e.g., publications) meet the department’s standards for scholarly activities. The letter must also include the Committee’s recommendation with regard to the candidate’s application for Tenure and/or Promotion.
  8. A letter from the Department Chair clearly stating the candidate’s fulfillment of each requirement at the departmental (where applicable), College of Liberal Arts, and Greenbook levels for the areas of exemplary performance and for the Profile the candidate has indicated in the candidate’s letter of application. The letter should state how the candidate’s scholarly activities (e.g., publications) meet the department’s standards for scholarly activities. The letter must also include the Chair’s recommendation with regard to the candidate’s application for Tenure and/or Promotion.

Additional required items are specified in the following sections.

TEACHING AND ADVISING

For purposes of Tenure and/or Promotion, the College of Liberal Arts recognizes achievement in Teaching and Advising in the following ways. The following list of examples is representative and is not intended to be a complete or exhaustive list of possibilities:

  • command of disciplinary knowledge and methodology;
  • classroom performance as demonstrated by student evaluations and peer observations;
  • advising load and quality of academic advising;
  • contributions to curricular development through the creation of new courses, minors, majors, certificate programs, or graduate programs;
  • development and delivery of off-campus programs and of distance education courses (e-courses);
  • redevelopment of existing courses;
  • development of teaching materials for use by other instructors and/or in settings beyond the classroom;
  • thesis and/or dissertation direction; service on thesis and/or dissertation committees;
  • teaching Independent Study courses;
  • serving as a guest lecturer or invited speaker in classes taught by other faculty members;
  • writing-across-the-curriculum (WAC) certification;
  • notable professional recognition as a teacher and/or advisor, including college, university, state, or national teaching or advising awards.

The College of Liberal Arts accepts the Greenbook guideline that ―teaching is subject to evaluations by students and peers‖ and that peers ―may visit a class or classes, or examine and evaluate course materials such as syllabi, textbooks, and examinations.‖ Consequently, it is incumbent upon candidates for Tenure and/or Promotion to provide comprehensive and representative evidence of the candidate’s responsibilities and achievements. Specifically, the College of Liberal Arts candidates for Tenure and/or Promotion must provide:

  • Copies of the computer-generated overall summaries of student evaluations for each semester of the appropriate period.
  • The candidate’s summaries of the student evaluations for each semester. In the summaries, the candidate should note any trends, changes, issues, and strengths and weaknesses with regard to the student evaluations.
  • Peer evaluation letters from professional colleagues that may describe visits to the candidate’s classes and/or the colleagues’ evaluations of the candidate’s teaching via assessment of teaching materials, accomplishments, student evaluations (if agreed to by the candidate), or other means. The professional colleagues may be from the candidate’s department or a related discipline or field. An application for Tenure must include a minimum of two visit letters per year by at least two different colleagues. An application for Promotion must include a minimum of three visit letters within the relevant period.
  • Sample syllabi for undergraduate and/or graduate courses as appropriate.
  • Documentation of related activities such as teaching and/or advising awards or honors, professional recognition for teaching; the design and development of new courses or degree programs; thesis or dissertation direction; thesis or dissertation committee membership; advising of undergraduate and or/graduate students; or teaching development workshops.

The following items are Optional for this area: (a) The candidate’s Statement of Teaching and/or Advising Philosophy and (b) visual recording(s) of the candidate’s classroom teaching.

SCHOLARLY AND CREATIVE ACTIVITIES

This category represents original intellectual work that is presented in a public forum for peer review and scrutiny. Scholarship may take many forms including, but not limited to: (a) research contributing to a body of knowledge; (b) creative expression and/or interpretation in the arts; (c) integration of knowledge that leads to new interpretations or applications; or (d) development of new instructional technology, materials or methods. Thus, the College of Liberal Arts recognizes an expansive vision of scholarship based upon Ernest Boyer’s Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate, which defines the following types of scholarship:

  • the scholarship of discovery—―traditional‖ research that generates knowledge;
  • the scholarship of integration—connecting knowledge and discovery into larger patterns often transcending disciplinary boundaries;
  • the scholarship of application—the rigorous application of academic expertise to problems that affect individuals, institutions, and society;
  • the scholarship of teaching—the rigorous application of academic expertise to problems of teaching and to the application of solutions beyond one’s own classroom.

For all forms of scholarship, presentation of one’s scholarship in a peer-reviewed venue that is open for public scrutiny is the sine qua non for demonstrating one’s scholarly and creative work. Unless there are compelling considerations, publication in a peer-reviewed venue is generally the highest academic achievement. Candidates for Tenure and/or Promotion must provide evidence of:

  • publications;
  • scholarly presentations;
  • creative presentations/performances;
  • grants and contracts;
  • applied disciplinary research;
  • notable professional recognition in one’s major area(s) for scholarship and/or creative activities;
  • serving as the editor of a discipline-respected journal in which the editor’s primary role is editorial review and manuscript selection;
  • college, university, state, or national awards for scholarly and/or creative activities.

The following items must be included for the area of Scholarly and/or Creative Achievements:

  • Copies of all published works and/or letters of acceptance for the relevant period, together with external information about the books, journals, or other venues in which the candidate’s work appears and/or about the companies publishing the candidate’s work. Published work must meet the criteria below in order to be considered. Other evidence that speaks to the quality or significance of the candidate’s work, such as external reviews and citations of or reference to the candidate’s work by professionals in the field may be included. Only items published or accepted for publication should be included in this category; items submitted for publication, under review at journals or presses, or in the process of being completed are ―Works in Progress‖ and must be designated as such.
  • Copies of acceptance letters and/or conference programs for the relevant period for presentations at conferences, together with information on the importance and professional standing of the conference within the candidate’s field(s) of expertise.
  • For unpublished research, non peer-reviewed publications and presentations and electronic publications, the candidate must provide letters of evaluation from appropriate professional colleagues. Candidates should consult with departmental chairs and/or committees to determine a process for this outside evaluation.
  • For Grants and Contracts, funded and unfunded proposals should be listed separately and be so indicated. The following information should be included for each grant or contract: (a) name of principal investigator and all co-investigators; (b) title page of grant proposal; (c) name of the funding agency; (d) the amount of funding proposed or awarded; and (e) the time period of the grant or contract.

Candidates for Promotion and/or Tenure must provide evidence of Scholarly and/or Creative Activities. That record must include evidence of publication. For a candidate seeking Tenure, the Portfolio must include all materials developed since the candidate’s employment. For a candidate seeking Promotion, the Portfolio must include only those materials that represent the candidate’s achievements in the current rank.

Candidates who claim Exemplary performance in Scholarly and/or Creative Activities must provide evidence of achievements from Publications Category One. Candidates who claim Exemplary performance in Scholarly and/or Creative Activities must provide evidence of achievements from Presentations Category One.

Candidates who claim Professional performance in Scholarly and/or Creative Activities may provide evidence of achievements from Publications Category Two. Candidates who claim Professional performance in Scholarly and/or Creative Activities may provide evidence of achievements from Presentations Category Two and/or Category Three.

For publications, scholarly presentations, and creative presentations/performances, the Greenbook evaluative criteria of ―number, quality, and importance‖ will apply. It is the candidate’s responsibility to provide information or evidence to demonstrate that these evaluative criteria have been met.

For relevant disciplines within the humanities and social sciences, applied research is also considered within the categories of Publications and Presentations. The candidate and/or the candidate’s department must provide information on what constitutes applied research in the discipline and how the candidate’s applied research meets those criteria. The candidate and/or department should clearly indicate how the applied research differs from similar activities defined within the category of Service to the Community and thus why/how these activities should be considered as research and not service.

Reassigned time for research and/or research grants may affect a candidate’s achievements in scholarship. Information on reassigned time and/or research grants must be provided.

PUBLICATIONS

Publications in Category One or Category Two (see below) must be published or accepted for publication in peer-reviewed and/or discipline-respected venues. Publications may include electronic journals and multimedia items such as CD-ROMS or videos in addition to print formats; the requirements of significant contributions in peer reviewed and/or discipline-respected venues will still apply. Only items published or accepted for publication may be included in this category; items submitted for publication, under review at journals or presses, or in the process of being completed are ―Works in Progress‖ and must be designated as such.

The concepts of ―peer-reviewed‖ and ―discipline-respected‖ may be demonstrated in a number of ways beyond the traditional method of editorial review, including but not limited to pre- and post-publication commentaries/reviews by experts in the candidate’s discipline; information on the significance of the publication venue to the candidate’s discipline; and citations of or references to the item(s) by other scholars or practitioners in the discipline.

It is the candidate’s responsibility to provide information on the journals, presses, or other publication venues to indicate that they conform to these requirements in terms of peer-reviewed and/or discipline-respected venues. Departmental evaluation of the stature of journals, presses, or other publication venues may be included as part of the candidate’s statement.

Publications and applied research in both Category One and Category Two must be related to the candidate’s major field(s) of expertise; interdisciplinary work will be considered as well. It is the candidate’s responsibility to provide evidence to support the relevance of a publication to the candidate’s major field(s) of expertise or to interdisciplinary work, should a question arise.

Category One: This category may include such examples of achievement as:

  • books or monographs of original scholarship or creative expression published by peer-reviewed and/or discipline-respected presses;
  • books of secondary scholarship in support of original scholarship or creative expression (such as edited collections, anthologies, bibliographies, translations) published by peer-reviewed and/or discipline-respected presses;
  • textbooks or multimedia items published with peer-reviewed and/or discipline respected academic or commercial presses/venues;
  • articles, essays, chapters, or creative works in journals or edited collections published in peer-reviewed and/or discipline-respected venues;
  • serving as the editor of a discipline-respected journal in which the editor’s primary role is editorial review and manuscript selection;
  • securing major grants or contracts from state, regional, or national government agencies, businesses, or foundations;
  • publications in peer-reviewed or refereed conference proceedings;
  • book review essays in peer-reviewed and/or discipline respected venues.

Category Two: This category may include such examples of achievement as:

  • workbooks, instructor’s manuals, or test banks published with discipline respected academic or commercial presses;
  • articles, essays, or creative works published in non-refereed journals;
  • articles, essays, or creative works published in non-refereed conference proceedings;
  • book reviews in refereed or non-refereed venues;
  • book manuscript reviews for publishing companies;
  • securing minor grants from state and local agencies, community groups, or foundations;

Presentations and Other Scholarly/Creative Activities: Presentations in Category One and Category Two and scholarly/creative activities in Category Three must be related to the candidate’s major field(s) of expertise; interdisciplinary works will be considered as well. It is the candidate’s responsibility to provide evidence to support the relevance of presentations in Category One or Two and of other scholarly/creative activities in Category Three to the candidate’s major field(s) of expertise or to interdisciplinary work, should a question arise.

Category One: This category may include such examples of achievement as:

  • serving as an invited keynote or highlight speaker at a major conference in the candidate’s field(s) of expertise;
  • juried presentations at international, national or major regional conferences;
  • creative presentations/performances at major venues in the candidate’s field(s) of expertise;
  • poster presentations at juried conferences.

Category Two: This category may include such examples of achievement as:

  • non-juried presentations at regional, state, or local conferences or meetings;
  • poster presentations at non-juried or conferences;
  • serving as a session or workshop chair or as a commentator at a juried or nonjuried conference;
  • creative presentations/performances at local venues in the candidate’s field(s) of expertise.

Category Three (Other Scholarly/Creative Activities): This category may include such examples of achievements as:

  • serving as a referee/reviewer for academic journals, granting agencies, and/or conferences;
  • serving as a consultant for state or regional research projects;
  • contract research for businesses or organizations;
  • reports developed from field and/or laboratory work;
  • reports submitted to contracting authorities or as a consultant to a community group or local business.

SERVICE

For purposes of Tenure and/or Promotion, the College of Liberal Arts recognizes three areas of Service: University Service, Community Service, and Professional Service. The College of Liberal Arts recognizes that different service roles may carry with them greater responsibilities and more extensive time requirements. Thus, it will be the responsibility of the candidate to provide information on the candidate’s service roles and responsibilities—essentially the candidate’s achievements—within any or all of these three areas. Therefore, the Portfolio may include information for three classes of service.

  • Evidence of Service to the University
  • Evidence of Professional Service
  • Evidence of Community Service

Reassigned time for service roles and responsibilities may affect the candidate’s achievements in service. Information on reassigned time must be provided.

For all three areas of Service, the scope, extent, and significance of the service, as well as its impact upon the University, the candidate’s profession, or the community, will be important factors in the assessment of the quality and importance of the service, and thus as to whether the service meets the evaluative criteria for Exemplary or for Professional performance. Thus, candidates should provide supporting evidence for their service roles and responsibilities within each of the following categories.

University Service represents administrative duties, committee service, or individual activities within a department, the College of Liberal Arts, or the University as a whole. University Service may include such achievements as: (1) contributions to official student organizations or other university-related organizations; (2) other work on behalf of the student body, faculty, staff, or administration of the University; and (3) College of Liberal Arts or University awards for service. This area includes such examples of achievement as:

  • contributions within a department, the College of Liberal Arts, or the University, including service as Department Chair or COLA Associate Dean;
  • contributions to official student organizations or other university-related organizations;
  • other work on behalf of the student body, faculty, staff, or administration of the University;
  • College of Liberal Arts or University awards for service.

For University Service, candidates must provide such evidentiary items as (1) minutes from committee meetings, or (2) summary statements from committee chairs that describe the candidate’s service, or (3) summary statements from the candidate’s Chair that describe the candidate’s service role within the department, or (4) summary statements from the appropriate supervisor—e.g. the Dean, the Vice Provost, the Chair of the Faculty Senate—for the candidate’s service, or (5) information on the candidate’s service role in relation to official student organizations or other university-related organizations or activities.

Service to the Community represents service on a compensated or pro bono basis to government, educational, business, or civic organizations, or to the public. The College of Liberal Arts follows the Greenbook policy that defines Service to the Community as ―professionally related work done for community groups and agencies that is based upon faculty members’ professional areas of expertise.‖ Further, the College of Liberal Arts follows the Greenbook distinction that Service to the Community ―does not include activities more typically tied to citizenship‖ such as serving as a poll watcher, volunteering to help at a food bank, church committee work, or serving as an officer in a church group. Also, church, social club, or hobby club activities will not be considered as relevant service for this category. Consequently, service to organizations other than those reasonably associated with professional activities shall not be considered as Service to the Community. In terms of evaluation, the scope, significance, and impact of the Service the candidate undertakes will be of paramount importance in the assessment of the quality and importance of the Service to the Community. This area includes such examples of achievement as:

  • talks, lectures, workshops, presentations, or performances for community groups or organizations;
  • providing professionally related training sessions to community groups;
  • serving on professionally related community committees;
  • service on a compensated or pro bono basis to government, educational, business or civic organizations, or to the public;
  • involvement as an official representative of the University or units thereof in activities of government or of educational, business, or civic organizations;
  • local, state, regional, or national awards for professionally related community service.

For professionally related Service to the Community, the candidate must provide evidence of the service activity and its relation to the candidate’s major area(s) of expertise. If the service can be documented by printed or multimedia materials (such as brochures, flyers, newspaper or magazine articles, agency reports, instructional or informational booklets, videotapes, or CD-ROMS, etc.), this information should be included with the candidate’s application. Also, evaluation of professionally related service that is community based can be provided by the individuals participating in or benefiting from the service and who thus can comment upon and assess the quality of the candidate’s service. Such items as letters from these individuals or summaries of evaluative surveys completed by a community group or organization may be included. In a formal statement, the candidate should describe the types of service activities involved, the achievements accomplished, the impact of the contributions and achievements to individuals or groups, the approximate number of hours contributed to this service by the candidate, and any other relevant information.

Professional Service represents service to the candidate’s discipline through appropriate regionally or nationally recognized professional associations or societies. In terms of evaluation, the scope, significance, and impact of the Service the candidate undertakes will be of paramount importance in the assessment of the quality and importance of the Professional Service and its impact upon and value to the candidate’s discipline. The candidate should provide (a) information on the roles and responsibilities associated with the candidate’s professional service, including the dates for the periods of service; (b) a summary of professional service activities and service load information; and (c) peer evaluations of the quality as well as of the quantity of professional service. This area includes such examples of achievement as:

  • serving as the editor of a discipline-respected journal in which the editor’s primary role does not involve significant editorial review;
  • serving on the editorial board of a discipline-respected journal;
  • serving as an officer in a discipline-respected regional or national professional organization;
  • serving on accreditation visitations and other external evaluation teams;
  • serving as the Program Chair or Conference Coordinator for major regional or national professional organizations;
  • notable professional recognition in one’s discipline for service to an organization or group;
  • state, regional, or national awards for professional service.

For Professional Service, the candidate must provide documentary evidence to support claims of (1) serving as the editor of a journal in a discipline-respected professional organization in which the editor’s primary role did not involve editorial review, or (2) serving on the editorial board of a discipline-respected journal, or (3) serving as an officer in a discipline-respected professional organization, or (4) notable professional recognition in one’s discipline for service to an organization or group, or (5) state, regional, or national awards for professional service. The candidate should designate the selection process for any offices or positions held. If serving as a journal editor or as a member of an editorial board, the candidate must provide a copy of the journal as well information on the candidate’s periods of service. Information on the candidate’s roles, responsibilities, and periods of service must also be provided for service as an officer in a professional organization.

Administrative Service

Administrative duties typically count as University Service. Candidates for tenure or promotion to Associate must demonstrate professional performance in Service, which may include administrative duties, but may not use exemplary performance in Service as a basis for tenure or promotion. Administrative duties may preclude achievements in teaching and advising or scholarship and creative activities, exemplary performance in one of which is a Greenbook requirement for tenure or promotion to Associate. Thus, Chairs and the Dean should limit administrative duties for pre-tenure and Assistant professors. Candidates may provide evidence that some administrative duties contribute to teaching and advising and/or scholarly and creative activities.

Candidates for promotion to Professor must demonstrate professional performance in Service, which may include administrative duties, and may use exemplary performance in Service as one element in promotion. Administrative duties, while valued, are not a substitute for achievements in teaching and advising or scholarship and creative activities required by the Greenbook for promotion to Professor.