Division Division of of Academic Academic Affairs Affairs ABOUT TENURE AND PROMOTION AT RIT Christine Licata Spring 2017
Division Division of of Academic Academic Affairs ROADMAP Affairs { Why tenure? { Basic characteristics / TT faculty / Lecturers { Processes / TT faculty / Lecturers { Criteria { FAQs { Questions? 2
Division Division of of Academic Academic Affairs WHY TENURE? Affairs { Academic freedom – { Tenure preserves ability of faculty to academic freedom teach, research/create by protecting faculty or communicate ideas member from retaliation / Limitations: controversial topics; / Exceptions: unrelated to topics gross professional misconduct; financial exigencies; program Most important: discontinuance Tenure is predicated on a healthy peer-review process shared by faculty and administration Why tenure? 3
Division Division of HISTORICAL ARTIFACTS OF of Academic Academic Affairs Affairs INTEREST Ward Churchill { 1800s – de facto tenure; donors and boards had power { Prof of ethnic studies @ to remove faculty U Colorado Boulder { 1900 – Harvard, Columbia, { Scholarship: historical treatment U of Chicago began formal of political dissension tenure policies { January 2005 “On the Justice of { AAUP “declaration of principles” Roosting Chickens” 1915 { Calls for his termination on basis { Watershed: AAUP’s 1940 Statement of Principles on of content; academic freedom Academic Freedom and Tenure; tested; research integrity and see aaup.org/report/1940- misconduct; fired July 2007 statement-principles-academic- freedom-and-tenure Why tenure? 4
Division Division of of Academic Academic Affairs Affairs BASIC CHARACTERISTICS Basic Characteristics 5
Division Division of of Academic Academic Affairs FACULTY CLASSIFICATIONS Affairs Classification Ranks Notes Tenure-track faculty Assistant professor, associate professor, (full) Primary responsibilities are professor teaching, scholarship, and service Non-tenure track: Lecturer, senior lecturer, principal lecturer Primary responsibilities are Lecturers teaching and service; annual or multiple year contracts Non-tenure track: Assistant research professor, associate Primary responsibility is research Research faculty research professor, research professor and must be funded by external funding Non-tenure track: Visiting lecturer, visiting assistant professor, Limited to 3 years; primary Visiting faculty visiting associate professor, visiting professor responsibility teaching, scholarship, and service Non-tenure track: Clinical instructor, assistant clinical professor, Practitioners with clinical Clinical faculty associate clinical professor, clinical professor responsibilities in organizations with a formal affiliation with RIT Non-tenure track: Adjunct professor Primary responsibility is teaching; Adjunct part-time Non-tenure track: Emeritus/emerita associate professor or Reserved for full or associate Emeritus/emerita faculty Emeritus/emerita professor professors when they retire or leave Basic characteristics Spring 2016 6
Division Division of NUMBERS OF TT, T, of Academic Academic Affairs Affairs LECTURERS Non-Tenure-Track 241 24% Faculty (Principal/Senior/Lecturers) Tenure-Track Faculty 185 19% Tenured Faculty 572 57% Total 998 100% Basic characteristics Spring 2016 7
Division Division of BASIC CHARACTERISTICS: of Academic Academic Affairs Affairs TT FACULTY { Tenure is housed in { All faculty have a the colleges or GIS letter of offer, contract, plan of { Faculty are hired with work, and annual a ‘tenure evaluation appointment’ typically as an assistant { Assistant professors professor have statement of expectations { Faculty are assigned { While pre-tenure, to an academic unit; e.g., department faculty have 1-year contracts Basic characteristics Spring 2016 8
Division Division of of Academic Academic Affairs TT FACULTY WORK Affairs { { Work is defined in 3 main Research : includes dimensions: teaching, scholarship, creative work, research, and service* innovation / Top priority is to enhance the education of our students and RIT’s { Teaching : “The view that reputation teaching is the foremost activity / Must be documented, disseminated, of our faculty is deeply rooted and peer-reviewed in the traditions of the / RIT accepts Boyer’s taxonomy of university, and the primacy of scholarship: teaching and the high quality § Discovery, Integration, Application, and Pedagogy, interactions between faculty § Engagement and students continues to be a hallmark of RIT.” { Service : Values all kinds of service in support of the It is important to note that only TT mission of the university – faculty have the expectation to do committee, advising, all 3 dimensions; lecturers are engagement with the expected to teach and do service; * As guided by the AAUP community on behalf of RIT research faculty are expected to only do research. Basic characteristics Spring 2016 9
Division Division of of Academic Academic Affairs TENURE PROCESS SUMMARY Affairs During Tenure Time of hire probation Outcome review period • Letter of offer • 6 years • Documentation • Approved: including year takes months to Tenure • Statement of of review prepare; review awarded in fall expectations takes about 7 of review year • Annual Review: • University months tenure progress • Denied: Faculty criteria given 1 year • Mid-tenure • College terminal review occurs requirements contract in year 3 • College tenure • Provides home; preliminary department feedback re: assignment progress toward tenure Processes Spring 2016 10
Division Division of of TENURE AND PROMOTION TO Academic Academic Affairs Affairs ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR PROCESS { Tenure review { Tenure review is a shared This Occurs in 6 th year / process between faculty and requirement / 4 external letters*: scholarship was administration eliminated / Process { Mid-tenure review* beginning § Faculty documenetation fall 2015 Occurs in 3 rd year § Department chair, / faculty letters / 2 external letters*: scholarship § College tenure committee / Full process § Dean review § Provost review § Faculty documentation University committee o § Department chair, review* faculty letters § President decision { Positive: § College tenure committee / Promotion to associate automatic* § Dean review / Tenure + base § Provost review { Negative: § President decision Terminal contract in 7 th year / * New since 2008 Processes Spring 2016 11
Division Division of of Academic Academic Affairs Affairs TENURE CRITERIA Processes Spring 2016 12
Division Division of HOW PEER-REVIEW PLAYS of Academic Academic Affairs Affairs INTO TENURE DECISION Processes Spring 2016 13
Division Division of CRITERIA FOR TENURE AND of Academic Academic Affairs Affairs PROMOTION { University Criteria, College Expectations, { University Criteria follows AAUP guidelines Statement of Expectations – and is consistent across most major uniform across RIT (Policy E5.0) universities: { Criteria or expectations are set by policy – / Service: either university policy such as E5.0 or § Expected but minimal at first college policy. / Teaching : / President approves university policy, which § Ability to convey key expertise and is approved by Academic Senate knowledge recognizing needs of / Provost approves college policy but college learners policy is voted by the tenured faculty / Research : § Documented, disseminated, { The university standard: peer-reviewed § Disciplinary and interdisciplinary “The RIT tenure policy is designed to encourage § Boyer: 4 types and reward excellence in teaching, scholarship, { RIT has regularly updated its tenure and service and to promote the atmosphere of policies critical inquiry and creative expression that is vital to the academic and cultural life of the A comment about collegiality: RIT follows university. Tenure is earned by demonstrated achievements and ongoing pursuit of AAUP guidance in that collegiality should advancements in teaching, scholarship, and NOT be considered as a 4 th criteria but service, guided by concern for students' and rather how it undergirds all three colleagues' personal worth and advancement.” Spring 2016 14
Division Division of of Academic Academic Affairs POLICY E04.0 Affairs { “The university recognizes the importance of a constructive and cooperative environment (more generally referred to as "collegiality") in order for faculty to fully achieve success in teaching, scholarship, and service. The university expects all faculty to exhibit the qualities of collegiality and to uphold the principles outlined in the university's Honor Code (P3.0), Core Values (P4.0), Diversity Statement (P5.0), and Commitment to Environmental Sustainability (P6.0). This is not intended to be used to violate the principle of academic freedom but to encourage civil discourse.” Spring 2015 15
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