Promotion Guidelines

Memorandum from the Provost

The attached instructions set forth detailed procedures and requested format for submitting promotion casebooks. All casebooks should be submitted no later than February 17, 2010. I ask that you make every effort to meet this deadline. Instructional faculty promotion recommendations will be acted upon by the Regents at their May 2010 meeting. Promotion casebooks for Research Professors will be reported at the Regents’ May meeting, along with Clinical faculty promotions.

For your reference, I have attached a copy of the Regental guidelines on "Qualifications for Appointment and Promotion in the Several Faculties of the University of Michigan" (Attachment A), which is particularly relevant to the preparation of promotion casebooks for Instructional faculty. I would remind you, and ask you to remind your chairs and promotion committees, that no recommendation for Instructional faculty promotion or tenure is final until approved by the Regents. Any announcement prior to that date is premature and should be avoided. I would also like to remind you that it is the Dean's/Director's responsibility to contact individual faculty regarding a negative decision for promotion at the Provost's level of review.

Producing these materials requires a substantial amount of work, and I am grateful for your careful attention to the attached instructions. I would like to re-emphasize that the Provost and the President must have a consistent basis for review of recommendations from many different units and disciplines. I am, therefore, requesting that each individual casebook be accompanied by a signed cover letter from the Dean or Director. This letter should provide an accurate and balanced summary of the casebook and the promotion review in the unit. Please highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of the individual and explain the rationale for the decision to recommend promotion.

For those faculty with relevant activities, we ask that you comment on his/her contributions to interdisciplinary teaching.

Please note that only one casebook is required for faculty being promoted in two or more units. In these instances, it is important that the units coordinate their casebook preparations, which will include a cover letter signed by the respective Dean(s)/Director(s). In the event the faculty candidate is not recommended for promotion in a unit(s) in which he/she holds a title, the cover letter should clearly indicate the reason(s) for this decision. Additional details are given in the attached instructions (Item #3b in the Checklist).

For each faculty member being promoted on the Instructional or Research Professor track, at least five “arm’s length” external letters are required, and more are highly desirable. We allow letters from persons who have been co-authors or major research collaborators with the candidate in excess of 10 years prior to promotion. Please note that for the Clinical track only, up to two of the review letters may be from persons who have seen the clinical work and actual teaching but who are outside of the candidate's department (i.e., within the University of Michigan but outside the candidate's department). (Item #3i in the Checklist.)

Academic units must forward materials on each negative mandatory tenure decision to the Provost. The cases forwarded should be those in which the faculty member will receive a terminal year contract without expectation of further review. Those being deferred to another year for review should not be sent to us. The materials forwarded on a negative mandatory tenure case should include the same materials that are submitted for a positive promotion and tenure case. Please note that all negative mandatory tenure cases require an updated curriculum vitae (i.e., a CV that has been updated to reflect the candidate's academic productivity at the time of the Provost's level of review). It is essential that the cover letter present a concise but complete and unbiased accounting of all aspects of the case and make clear the reasons for the negative decision. All materials that were used by the school or college in reaching any negative mandatory tenure decisions should be included in the casebook and downloaded to the CTools website.

Wise and objective decisions about appointment, promotion, and tenure are essential for enhancement of the overall quality of the institution. The conferring of tenure represents long-term intellectual and financial commitments by the University. In fact, it may be the single most important responsibility that we have. I appreciate your efforts and success in attracting and retaining the very best faculty. Your attention to these guidelines will greatly assist the President and me in this critical joint decision-making process. Please forward this memorandum and the attached instructions to Department Chairs, Program Heads, or others in your unit who are directly responsible for the promotional review of Instructional, Research Professor, and Clinical faculty. These documents will also be available electronically at <http://www.provost.umich.edu/faculty/promotion_guidelines/index.html>.

Your attention to this important process is greatly appreciated.

FACULTY PROMOTION GUIDELINES