University Standing Committees

Rank and Tenure Committee

Purpose & Function

The Rank and Tenure Committee is charged with evaluation and affirmation of faculty achievement in teaching, scholarship, and service in order to develop and maintain a level of excellence that will enable the University most effectively to fulfill its mission.

The Committee

• reviews applications for promotion and/or tenure in accord with established criteria;
• submits recommendations to the Provost to be presented to the President of the University;
• reviews the criteria for promotion and/or tenure and makes recommendations for change;
• approves departmental standards for evaluating members’ scholarship/creative activity.  These standards are also approved by the appropriate dean and the Provost.

The Committee acts on applications for tenure and/or promotion and reviews pre-tenure files in both the fall and spring semesters.

A committee member from the same department as an applicant must recuse himself/herself from the committee’s work of discussing, reviewing, and evaluating the applicant’s pre-tenure, tenure, and/or promotion materials. The committee member will participate, however, in the review of the application at the department level in the same ways that any other member of the department would do, including voting on the application.

Positive recommendation for promotion to Assistant Clinical Professor requires a simple majority, five out of nine. For Clinical faculty, positive recommendation for Associate Professor of Clinical and Full Clinical faculty require seven out of nine.  Positive recommendation for Tenure, Associate Professor, and Full Professor require six out of eight, as the Clinical faculty member may not vote on tenure. 

If a candidate applies for tenure and Associate Professor at the same time, the vote on tenure will be taken first.  The outcome of the vote will be announced to the committee members prior to any consideration for promotion. An unsuccessful candidate for tenure may be awarded Associate Professor.

In the general business of the committee, five members constitute a quorum and a simple majority is required for committee action.

Confidentiality regarding all matters discussed in meetings of the Rank and Tenure Committee is an important responsibility of each member.  Any member who violates this confidentiality is subject to removal from the committee by the Provost.

Membership

Position/Titles of Members on this USC

Two full-time tenured faculty members from each college of the University
Two full-time tenured faculty members at large
One Clinical Faculty (non-tenured-track) member

A single department may not be represented on the committee by more than one committee member.

Method of Selection of Members

The election of the members of this University Standing Committee is coordinated by the Faculty Senate as follows:

At-large representatives:

are elected from the full-time faculty of the entire University;
are full-time, tenured associate and/or full professors;
are present and vote on all business of the committee, including all applications for promotion and/or tenure.

College representatives:

are elected by and from the full-time faculty of their respective colleges;
are full-time, tenured associate and/or full professors;
are present and vote on all business of the committee, including all applications for promotion and/or tenure.

The Clinical Faculty (non-tenured-track) representative:

is elected from the full-time Clinical Faculty of the entire University;
is a full-time associate Clinical Faculty and/or full Clinical Faculty;
is present and votes on all applications for Assistant Professor and those applications for promotion of Clinical Faculty to Associate Clinical Faculty and full Clinical Faculty. 

In the event of a vacancy on the committee, the most recently elected alternate to that position will complete that term.

Selection of Chair and Vice or Co-Chair

The committee elects the Chair annually during the Spring Semester.

Term

Three years, with possibility of re-election for one consecutive three-year term. Members are eligible for re-election after a one-year hiatus after completing two consecutive full terms. 

Meetings

Meetings are held at the call of the Chair.

Documentation Requirements for this University Standing Committee:

As provided in the University Standing Committee Policy, the Chair(s) of this University Standing Committee, in collaboration with the Office of the Secretary of the University and General Counsel, must provide the following documentation at the end of each Academic Year: 

Annual Report:            ☒Yes   ☐ No

Minutes of Meetings:   ☐Yes   ☒No

Reports To

Provost