All members of the Department Promotion and Tenure Committee shall be given the opportunity to thoroughly review the candidate’s documentation prior to the committee meeting. Members are responsible for fairly and completely reviewing all sections of the candidate’s documentation and considering the evidence of accomplishments in relation to the candidate’s appointment. The Office Supervisor is responsible for the custody of the candidate’s documentation, which may not leave the building and must be kept confidential. Arrangements will be made for Promotion and Tenure committee members on other campuses to review candidate files in a way that maintains confidentiality. Committee members shall make a request to the Department Office Supervisor to review the documentation.
Members of the College Promotion and Tenure Committee should participate in discussion and deliberation during the Department Promotion and Tenure Committee meeting, but should recuse themselves from voting on the candidate at the Department level. These individuals should be prepared to vote on the candidate(s) at the College Promotion and Tenure Committee meetings. Individuals who are themselves applying for promotion should not be on the Departmental or College Promotion and Tenure Committees in the year that they are being considered for promotion.
The Department Chair will not be a member or participate in the deliberations of the Department Promotion and Tenure Committee. The Committee may request that the Department Chair clarify questions that arise. The Department Chair later will make an independent recommendation regarding tenure or promotion. Under all circumstances, the Department Chair shall have the opportunity to meet with the committee to discuss its recommendations.
The discussion at all meetings shall be free and candid, and shall be based only on material in the file. All discussions will be confidential. New material of such a substantive nature as to adversely affect the decision shall not be introduced at any meeting unless the candidate is given an opportunity to respond (see Chair of Department Promotion and Tenure Committee Responsibilities, above). At the conclusion of deliberation, the Chair of the Department Promotion and Tenure Committee will call for separate votes on promotion and/or tenure, as applicable. A paper ballot vote shall be cast for each application decision to be made, and the results of each vote shall be verified by two members of the committee. Any faculty member who is out of town can be connected via telephone or video conference. Faculty members participating in deliberations via telephone or videoconference shall vote by indicating which of two envelopes with paper ballots on the table (noted as A and B, but without reference to the contents) should be counted. These envelopes will be prepared before the meeting by the Office Supervisor in consult with the faculty members participating by telephone or videoconference. The department will make every reasonable effort to ensure that all eligible faculty members can vote.
A quorum will be comprised of two thirds of faculty members eligible to vote. Eligible faculty members are tenured and are of the specified rank. Faculty on developmental leave may be excluded from the quorum requirement. An absent faculty member may designate a proxy. Before a proxy is designated, the faculty member is obligated to thoroughly review the Candidate file(s) and convey his or her votes to the designated proxy. Under no circumstance may a vote be taken in a meeting in which fewer than 50% of the eligible faculty are present to discuss the candidates materials. A quorum is needed (including proxy votes) for any action to be made.
The recommendation, including a synopsis of the discussion and the vote of the committee, are transmitted in writing to the Department Chair and to the candidate. All candidates must be informed of the outcome of the Department Promotion and Tenure Committee’s evaluation at the same time. Likewise, all candidates submitting their materials for promotion to a higher rank must be informed of the outcome of the Department Promotion and Tenure Committee’s evaluation at the same time, although the time could be different for those applying for Associate Professor than for those applying for Professor.