For Faculty
Introduction to Promotion and Tenure
712 Statements
Veterinary Clinical Sciences
Guidelines for Departmental Statements Required by Section 7.12 of Regulations Concerning Faculty Tenure
June 20, 1989: Approved
I. Introductory Statement
This document describes with more specificity the indices and standards which will be used to evaluate whether candidates meet the general criteria in Section 7.11 of the Regulations. For a complete perspective, the reader is advised to review Section 7 in its entirety.
II. Departmental Mission Statement
The major missions of the Veterinary Clinical Sciences Department are to uphold the traditional objectives of a land grant university: teaching, research, and service. These objectives are accomplished by: 1) teaching professional students the science and art of clinical veterinary medicine in the classroom, laboratory, and teaching hospital; 2) offering graduate training in a variety of clinical specialties; 3) active participation by all faculty in research programs which identify and solve disease problems of animals and people; 4) serving the community as a specialty referral and information center for diagnostic problems; and, 5) by participating in continuing education programs for veterinarians and the public in areas appropriate to faculty expertise. To be awarded indefinite tenure, and to be considered for promotion, a faculty member will be expected to have demonstrated effectiveness in accomplishing these objectives. In most instances, discipline-related professional service will be considered as part of the basis for awarding indefinite tenure as described in Section III.C.
III. Criteria for Tenure
A. Teaching
Clinical, laboratory, and didactic teaching activities and abilities will be reviewed on a yearly basis. Faculty will be expected to develop and present lectures and laboratory classes in their particular area(s) of expertise. They will be expected to demonstrate their teaching competence by the organization, quality, content, and timeliness of the material presented to students. Faculty will be expected to be effective communicators in the classroom. In addition, they will be expected to make themselves available to students on a regular basis for consultation regarding the material being taught. Those faculty with clinical teaching responsibilities will be expected to teach the diagnostic and therapeutic skills of their particular discipline to students, and to teach and demonstrate the techniques of interpersonal communication necessary to be an effective, competent, caring clinician.Graduate teaching and active participation in the clinical training of graduate students, residents, and interns will be expected of each faculty member. To be considered for tenure, a faculty member will be expected to achieve at least an Associate appointment to the Graduate School Faculty. They will be expected to act as advisors to students for graduate degrees, and to nurture and guide the research of these students. In addition, when invited, faculty will be expected to serve on some Graduate Examining Committees of other graduate students. Faculty will be expected to participate in the teaching of graduate lecture, laboratory, and clinical courses.
Teaching quality and effectiveness will be assessed by the careful review of teaching materials prepared for student use, student evaluations of clinical, didactic, and laboratory teaching, and peer review based on actual observation of the candidate in a classroom or clinical situation. Evaluation by colleagues from other institutions may be provided. Evaluations by students will include results of surveys completed by a major portion of the students enrolled in undergraduate, professional, or graduate courses taught, directed, or developed by the candidate. When possible, numerical or percentage ratings should be provided to allow comparison with the teaching abilities of others in the discipline or department. Evaluation of graduate teaching will include the overall success of the program of each advisee, the quality of the research being done, and when invited, by the extent of active participation on other graduate examination committees.
Tenure will be reserved for candidates whose teaching abilities are at least equal to those of the tenured faculty, and equal to that of faculty who have been awarded tenure within the past 5 years.
B. Research
Each faculty member will be expected to develop and demonstrate their abilities as investigators in ongoing projects that may include applied research or basic laboratory investigations. Evidence of quality in research will be assessed relative to the achievements of other recently tenured faculty in the discipline and department. The research and scholarly accomplishments of each candidate will be reviewed annually. A continuum of productivity should be apparent. A candidate's research and scholarly activities and accomplishments will be reviewed by peers from the department, college, and University, and by peers from other institutions.The research efforts of a candidate will be assessed by evaluation of the publications resulting from the research work. Publication of research results in recognized refereed journals provides clear evidence of scholarly activity. Clinical or applied investigations resulting in papers published in refereed journals will be considered equal to funded basic laboratory research in considerations for tenure. While each faculty member will be expected to contribute to the literature in an ongoing manner, quality rather than the quantity of publications will take precedence in promotion and tenure decisions. Well- written textbook chapters and invited review articles are evidence of national and international recognition of the authors expertise in a field and will be given appropriate consideration when they are part, but not the total, of an individual's scholarly productivity. Similarly, single case reports are complimentary to an individual's scholarly activities but may not comprise the major extent of their scholarly endeavors.
Further evidence of research and scholarly accomplishments may be demonstrated by the candidate's ability to obtain research funding from sources external to the department. Submission of grant applications demonstrates a willingness and determination to succeed in research. This will be expected of all candidates for tenure.
Evidence of national and international recognition as a clinical scientist will also provide support for the granting of tenure. This recognition may come through invitations to present papers at major meetings, invitations to advise organizations on scientific issues, election or appointment to positions of responsibility in scientific and professional organizations, and other requests which demonstrate that the candidate is well-regarded by peers as well as an expert in some field.
Tenure will be reserved for candidates whose scholarly activities and productivity are at least equal to those of tenured faculty at the time they were awarded tenure, within the past 5 years.
C. Service
1. Discipline-Related Service
Many faculty in a clinical department are called upon to provide professional service as part of their role in fulfilling the mission of the University. This service may be totally separate from their clinical teaching responsibilities but paramount to maintaining a sound teaching program. These service obligations may include non-teaching clinical work, providing emergency professional care, consultation with practicing veterinarians, consultation with professional groups and organizations, and consultation with public and private organizations. It is imperative that this service obligation be recognized as a significant contribution by faculty and be considered during promotion and tenure deliberations.Newer methods in meeting the service obligations of the University, and the extraction and documentation of useful scientific information gleaned from their service experience will be used in evaluating a candidate's service contributions. Faculty with service obligations will be expected to provide timely, accurate service. The individuals or organizations to whom the service has been directed may be asked to comment on the service provided by the candidate. The providing of service alone is not sufficient for promotion or the granting of tenure. Each faculty member must have a balance among his or her teaching, research, and scholarly activities.
2. Other Service
Candidates will be expected to serve the Department, College, and University by their active participation on committees. These activities are essential, but do not represent qualifications for promotion and tenure. In addition, candidates may be asked to assume certain administrative duties which would constitute part of their position-related responsibilities. The time devoted to these duties will be considered in weighing quantity of teaching and research productivity during evaluation for the granting of tenure.The teaching, research, service, and other obligations expected of a faculty member frequently require the cooperation of others to produce successful results. While each faculty member is expected to demonstrate their individual talents, these talents cannot be expressed to their fullest without the interaction and cooperation of colleagues. A spirit of collegiality must prevail. Candidates will be expected to demonstrate their willingness to cooperate with others by respecting the wishes, desires, and attitudes of their peers and students, and the collegiate staff. This ability to interact and collaborate will be assessed by colleagues and co-workers regarding the candidate's willingness to cooperate, the timeliness of their interactions, and the quality and accuracy of their work.
IV. Promotion
A. To Associate Professor
Promotion to this rank is usually associated with a decision concerning tenure; therefore, such a promotion must meet the standards for the granting of tenure. It will be generally assumed that a minimum of 4 years of active, productive participation in the teaching, research, and service missions of the department will be required before sufficient credentials are established by a candidate to be considered for the awarding of indefinite tenure. In exceptional circumstances, the department may recommend an individual for indefinite tenure who has less than 4 years of participation in departmental activities.B. To Professor
For promotion to Professor, in addition to criteria used for Assistant and Associate Professor appointment, evidence is sought for:1. A national/international reputation, as shown for instance by invitations to national/international symposia, election to prestigious scientific organizations, holding office in national/international professional societies.
2. Letters from authorities in the candidate's field assessing the candidate's teaching and research contributions, particularly to determine whether or not the candidate is among the leaders in her/his field.
3. Success in advising post-DVM trainees. Full membership in the graduate faculty of the appropriate discipline is desirable.It will be generally assumed that a minimum of 5 years of active, productive participation in the teaching, research, and service missions of the department at the rank of Associate Professor will be required before sufficient credentials are established by a candidate to be considered for promotion to Professor. In exceptional circumstances the department may recommend an individual for promotion to Professor who has less than 5 years of participation in departmental activities at the rank of Associate Professor.
V. Procedures
The Department complies with the Procedures for Reviewing the Performance of Probationary Faculty as provided by Sections 16.3, 7.4, and 7.61 of the Regulations Concerning Faculty Tenure and distributed annually by the Vice President for Academic Affairs.