Faculty Resources

Promotion and Tenure - Procedures for Selection of Promotion and Tenure Review Committee

Adopted: October 31, 1975
Revised: October 9, 1980
Revised October 28, 1988
Revised: March 2, 1999
Revised: September 9, 2013

Section 1 - College of Engineering Promotion and Tenure Committee

The College of Engineering Promotion and Tenure Review Committee will consist of seven regular members, each with a two-year term and will not have more than one member of any single department or program. Five of the committee members will be elected directly by all the University Park faculty members having tenure or tenure track appointments in the college. These five will serve staggered terms, with three members elected one year and two members elected in the following year. Two of the committee members will be appointed by the Dean. The appointed members will also serve staggered terms, with the Dean making one new appointment each year. In any year in which faculty from the School of Engineering Design and Innovation will be reviewed, the committee will include one additional member. The additional member of the committee will service a one year term. The Dean, in consultation with the School Head, will select the additional member. In any year in which non-University Park faculty will be reviewed, the committee will be expanded to nine members. The two additional members of the committee will serve a one year term. The Dean, in consultation with the School Head, will select two additional members from a pool consisting of all tenured College of Engineering faculty who are at non-University Park locations.

The seven regular members will come from a pool of eligible candidates. This pool of candidates will be made up of one tenured full professor from each eligible department and independent degree-granting program. (not residing with an academic department), who has been elected by the tenured/tenure track faculty of the department/program. The eligible departments/programs include all the departments and the independent degree granting programs represented on the Engineering Faculty Council, excluding the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department and the departments/programs with which the continuing committee members are affiliated. Although the process of creating a pool of candidates recognizes the organization of the college in the departments/programs, the committee members will not serve as representatives of any individual department/programs but of the entire college faculty.

The College of Engineering Promotion and Tenure Review Committee members will be elected from the pool of candidates by all the faculty members having tenure or tenure track appointments (excluding those from Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department) in the college. These elections will be held in the spring and each faculty member can vote for three candidates in one year and two in the other year. The elections to create the pool of candidates will be held in each department/program and the elections for the College of Engineering Promotion and Tenure Review Committee will both be conducted electronically to ensure maximal participation of faculty.

The Dean's appointments will be made following the college-wide elections. The College of Engineering faculty members recognize the importance of regular participation by all departments/programs in the promotion and tenure review process at the College level. The Dean will take this into consideration in making the Dean's appointments.

If an elected committee member is unable to serve the full term of two years, the candidate who received the largest number of votes in the most recent college-wide election among those not elected or appointed will be asked to complete that term.

Emeriti Professors, Heads of Departments, and Campus Administrators are not eligible to serve on the committee.

Section 2 - Term of Office

The term of office for each regular member of the review committee shall have be two years. The term of office of an alternate member shall be one year. No regular member shall serve more than two successive terms on the committee. If a regular member is unable to complete his/her term on the committee, his/her unexpired term shall be served by the appropriate alternate member.

Section 3 - Miscellaneous

The chair of each committee shall be elected by the regular members of that committee.

It is preferred that no faculty member serve on more than one level (department, college, university) of the Promotion and Tenure Review Committee. Each committee member shall have the right to participate fully in the discussion and voting for every faculty members whose case comes before the Promotion and Tenure Review Committee on which he/she is serving, with the exception that the committee members will completely abstain from participating in discussions and voting for a particular candidate at more than one level of the review process.

Research ranks shall be treated as the equivalent academic ranks.

To deal with questions that concern dissemination of factual information, the College of Engineering Promotion and Tenure Review Committee is strong encouraged to consult with both the Chair of the Department Promotion and Tenure Review Committee and the Department Head, for specific cases.

In order to vote, committee member should participate in and hear the discussion of all other committee members, i.e., they should not vote in absentia. If for example, a member is out of town or otherwise not physically present, he/she should participate in the discussion by a conference call if he/she is to vote. (R. Secor to College Executive Committee and Committee Chairs on September 22, 1997.)

A statement of evaluation from a second administrator when a candidate is on a joint appointment is available to the department committee as part of its review and should appear in the dossier just before the department committee statement.

(R. Secor to College Executive Committee and Committee Chairs on September 22, 1997)