Report of the Faculty Personnel Committee Spring, 1999
1. Members of the Faculty Personnel Committee during 1998-99 were Pat Bartlein,
Geography; Doug Blandy, Arts Administration; Steve Durrant, East Asian
Languages and Literature; Ray Frey, Physics; Leslie Harris, Law (vice-chair);
Ed Kameenui, Special Education; Leslie Steeves, Journalism; Kent Stevens,
Computer Science; Jean Stockard, Sociology (chair); Richard Trombley, Music;
Heath Hutto, English (student); Ethan Knight, Law (student)
2. The purpose of the FPC is to advise the Provost on all tenure and promotion
cases.
3. This mission statement has been satisfactory and reflects the work that
the FPC does. Although not specifically mentioned, the FPC is occasionally
asked to provide advice to the Provost on policy matters related to promotion
and tenure.
4. During the 1998-99 academic year the FPC reviewed 45 cases related to
promotion and tenure. Seven of these cases involved new hires to the university.
Three of the new hires were considered in the fall and 4 in the spring.
The FPC has a dual role in the promotion and tenure process: 1) promoting
the development of a high quality faculty, thus enhancing the reputation
and academic well-being of the university; and 2) ensuring that faculty
are treated as fairly as possible in the review process. Because the committee
sees cases after they have gone through departmental, school and/or college
reviews, the FPC is in a position to monitor the integrity of the promotion
and tenure process throughout the University. It has, where appropriate,
provided praise to departments, schools, and colleges that have done exceptionally
well in preparing promotion and tenure files and has also, when needed,
raised concerns about this process. In addition, the committee has sometimes
suggested modifications to existing policies.
5. NA
6. The work load varies somewhat from one academic term to another. It
tends to be lightest in the fall when there are usually few cases to consider,
but much heavier in winter and spring -- ranging from 3 to 7 hours a week
of reading and meetings plus an additional 5 hours in the weeks in which
a member writes a report. Each committee member is typically responsible
for writing 4 or 5 reports during the year. It should be noted that some
reports take considerably more than the estimated 5 hours to prepare.
7. We believe that the current mission and structure of the FPC serve the
University well. Some institutions of higher education have a promotion
and tenure system that is more streamlined and has fewer steps in the review
process. Our experience leads us to believe that the numerous steps in
our promotion and tenure process provide extra assurance that candidates
will be treated fairly and that the quality of the University can be maintained
and enhanced through promotion and tenure decisions. Thus we do not advocate
(and in fact would oppose) any changes to the current structure.
Report received from Jean Stockard (Chair) 19 July 1999