Factors for promotion and tenure

Department of Anthropology

Approved by Faculty Assembly October 4, 1985
Amended March 9, 1989
Amended February 6, 2009
Amended April 1, 2011
Amended September 6, 2019

In promotion and tenure considerations, the Department of Anthropology evaluates faculty members with reference to scholarship, teaching and service. The very diverse nature of the discipline, however, makes individualization of evaluations mandatory. For all faculty, we consider scholarshipunder which we include research, publication, and grantsmanshipand teaching to be the most significant factors while viewing service as important and highly desirable.

Items enumerated in the categories given below form a partial list of factors for tenure consideration. This list is not meant to be all-encompassing but does cover the general range of professional activities upon which tenure decisions are based.

Scholarship

1) Peer-reviewed scholarship is required of all faculty seeking tenure and promotion and is the principal factor on which applications for tenure and promotion will be evaluated. Peer-reviewed publications that appear online are of equal value to work appearing only in print. The impact factor of these peer-reviewed publications will be taken into account. These include but are not limited to:

Articles in peer-reviewed, professional journals, including review essays
Peer-reviewed books, including textbooks and monographs
Chapters in peer-reviewed, edited volumes
Peer-reviewed visual works presented in curated media festivals and exhibitions
Editorship of peer-reviewed volumes
Editorship of a peer-reviewed journal

2) Research support, e.g., grants and contracts.

3) Scholarly honors.

4) Public scholarship.

The American Anthropological Association defines public scholarship as that which is in dialogue with non-academic as well as academic audiences, and that is informed by anthropological scholarship and knowledge. Public scholarship communicates the insights and value of anthropology beyond the academy. A possible list of activities that qualify is always growing in response to community need, new digital technologies, and faculty energies and commitments. A non-exhaustive list of possible forms includes:

Museum exhibits
Written contributions to online publications and public communication of research
Digital scholarly communication such as blogs, electronic essays or exhibits, web portals or gateways, online bibliographies
Books for broader audiences, including creative nonfiction, fiction, graphic novels. Also included here are non-peer-reviewed books written in another language for communities in countries where research is conducted.
Public talks to community groups
Articles published in the popular press (with national and international circulation)
Media interviews (with national and international circulation)
Books translated into another language

5) Other professional activity, such as:

Papers and posters presented at professional meetings
Consultations involving substantive written communications
Technical reports
Evaluation of grant proposals for granting agencies
Evaluating and editing manuscripts for journals
Editorship of online archives, databases, and indices
Entries in professional encyclopedias, handbooks, and dictionaries
Book reviews

Teaching

1) Quality of undergraduate teaching as determined by:

Student evaluations
Supervision of undergraduate majors
Mentorship of undergraduate research
Directorship of senior theses and essays
Development of new courses, materials, etc.
Development of intra- or inter-disciplinary programs
Placement and direction of student interns (especially important for applied anthropologists)
Direction of independent study

2) Quality of graduate instruction is assessed in light of the factors noted above, as well as the following:

Quality and quantity of dissertations and theses and M.A. essays directed
Success in obtaining support for graduate student research
Service on dissertation and thesis/essay committees
Placement of graduate students post-graduation
Mentoring of student publications and presentations

Service

Some service to the university, profession and/or community is expected of all faculty. Without diminishing the importance of scholarship and research, we do value service of an extraordinary nature, especially as noted in item three.

1) Service to the university is assayed through:

Service on university, college and departmental committees
Service to the museum of anthropology, and other centers and institutes directly tied to the department
Involvement in service aspects of the university, college and department

2) Service to the profession through:

Editorship of, or membership on the editorial boards of, professional journals
Service in elected and/or appointed positions in regional, national or international scholarly societies and associations
Organization of symposia

3) Service to the community is particularly important for anthropologists, especially those with an applied emphasis. This would include:

Service as a member of community-based or governmentally-based committees
Talks to or workshops with agencies and organizations on applications of anthropological knowledge to their needs
Membership on policy-making bodies, etc.

In applying these factors, the overall professional record of a faculty member is reviewed. Generally the granting of tenure is considered a more central issue than that of promotion. It would be an exceptional case in which an individual were recommended for tenure but not for promotion to associate professor. The recommendation for promotion to full professor would require the continued excellence in the above areas, though the weight given to different elements may vary. For instance, more attention may be given to scholarship and national recognition within the discipline and profession for promotion to full professor than to promotion to the associate level.