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College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Math

Factors for promotion and tenure

Department of Mathematics

July, 2011

This document is a statement of factors applied to tenure and promotion evaluations by the Department of Mathematics. The chairman of the department shall make known to each faculty member the existence and the content of this document. The Personnel Committee shall endeavor to reflect the spirit of this document in all of its deliberations on tenure and promotion.

General considerations

The Department of Mathematics uses the instrument of tenure and the process of promotion as a means of achieving overall departmental excellence.

Overall departmental excellence is a broad concept. In this document, we attempt to enumerate and define some of the ways in which a faculty member can help achieve that excellence. But the breadth, complexity, and even the time-dependence of those concepts, make it impossible to achieve a complete enumeration. The decision to recommend tenure or promotion for a member of this Department is made by the elected Personnel Committee and separately by the department chair according to the criteria set forth in the agreement between WSU and the WSU chapter of the AAUP and the factors enumerated in this document. When it becomes apparent that a valid factor is missing, the committee will recommend that it be added to this document and, after authorization, duly publicize the change. In the end all individuals involved will weigh the relevant information in their possession using their best professional judgment to arrive at a decision.

Remembering that it is not possible to categorize in advance all the possible areas in which an individual can contribute to the excellence of the department, for most purposes one can distinguish three broad areas of contribution: scholarship, teaching, and service. This document attempts to list the primary factors which go into making positive contributions toward excellence in these three areas.

Distinction between tenure and promotion factors

The factors considered for promotion and factors for tenure are very similar. In the question of tenure, the department is interested in past and recent performance largely from the point of view of attempting to predict whether the future contributions of the person will justify a lifelong commitment to the individual. Decisions regarding promotion are based more strongly on whether and individual's past and recent performance has brought the individual to the appropriate professional level.

Consequently, tenure and promotion may or may not be simultaneously recommended by the Personnel Committee and/or the chairman.

Scholarship

The following items shall be taken into account in assessing a candidate's excellence in scholarship.

  1. The publication of original research results in refereed journals of acknowledged excellence shall be considered. Such publications should be clearly distinguished by the candidate in his/her total publication list. In evaluating such publications attention shall be given to the quality of the research results, the rates of production with particular attention to the recent rate, and to the total volume. Every reasonable effort shall be made to come to an accurate judgment of the quality of a candidate's papers. These efforts will normally include direct study of the candidate's papers and will include consultation with other specialists both within and without this University.

  2. Other publications shall be taken into account. These include, in alphabetical order, abstracts and notes in professional publications, advanced treatises, reports to conferences, reviews of books and articles, technical reports, textbooks and other articles and publications having some bearing on the scholarly fields encompassed by the department.

  3. Recognition of professional achievement by the national or international scientific community is an aspect of scholarship. Evidence for such recognition may include: any honor or prize awarded by a professional association, an invitation to speak and/or participate in an appropriately sponsored professional meeting or conference, an invitation to present a colloquium talk, election to the board of editors of a professional journal, refereeing of manuscripts for professional journals, fellowships or other support for the purpose of professional pursuits. Obviously, some of the above items also count in the area of service.

  4. Another aspect is participation in the research life of the Department of Mathematics. This includes the active participation in and the organization of research seminars. It is also evidenced by the interested participation in colloquia and special talks on research which take place in the department. The ability to share and stimulate research projects with colleagues in another aspect. The ability and willingness to serve as a resource person for the research problems of others is also to be taken into account.

  5. Funding for support of research and development work reflects the recognition of one's research by other respected scientists. The funds most often enhance the departmental assets. Thus the ability to obtain financial support from funding agencies for one's research and development work will be regarded as a measure of scholarly achievement. Because it is recognized that considerable effort must be expended to develop good proposals, diligent efforts to achieve funding will reflect a dedication to the department.

  6. Successful guidance of graduate students in their research can be considered a measure of scholarship. While it is not always feasible for an individual to direct graduate research, when guidance of graduate students does occur, it will be a component in evaluating a faculty member's scholarship contributions.

Teaching

Precise and reliable measures of teaching effectiveness are difficult to establish. Among the means of documenting teaching excellence are the following.

  1. A measure of effectiveness is evaluation by colleagues who have known the candidate for a period of years and are in a position to make some judgments based on direct observation or contact with a considerable number of the candidate's students.

  2. Another measure is analysis of evaluation forms filled out by students on a regular basis together with the written comments turned in by students at evaluation time.

  3. Also relevant is special information which may have been communicated to the chairman and other officers of the department.

  4. The direction of doctoral theses, master's theses, and master's essays, as well as the conduct of directed study courses and seminars involving students, contribute to the overall teaching mission of the department and shall be considered when evaluating a candidate's teaching contribution.

  5. The Department offers a variety of courses at a wide variety of times. Cooperation on the part of a faculty member in helping to meet the department's obligations will be considered.

Service

Service to the department and to the academic community as a whole affords an individual the opportunity to contribute to the department. The occasion to serve usually increases with seniority, so that less service is expected of the non-tenured faculty that of the tenured members of the department.

Among the means of establishing a good record in service are the following.

  1. Willing acceptance of committee assignments and special assignments within the department are to be considered. Every effort shall be made not only to take into account the various assignments but also to evaluate the performance of the individual on each of the assignments.

  2. Assignments and elections to College-wide committees and special bodies will be taken into account, as will similar endeavors at the university-wide level. Every attempt will be made to determine the effectiveness of the individual's efforts. The Department will also take into consideration service outside the University which reflects on the individual's professional status. Included in this are some of the items previously mentioned under scholarly accomplishments such as service on a committee or as an elected officer of a professional scientific organization.

  3. Developing new courses, helping students in extra-curricular mathematics activities such as lecturing to Wayne and high school mathematics clubs, coaching students for regional or national mathematics contests, and in general any initiative in helping students learn more mathematics redounds to the credit of the department and will be considered.

Weighing of factors

For promotion in rank and for the granting of tenure, the first necessity is for substantial accomplishments in scholarly endeavors. Although scholarship is extremely important, an excellent record in teaching and a good record in service are necessary for all promotions and for the granting of tenure. As an individual's career progresses, it is to be expected that the emphasis in evaluation his/her records will shift from future capabilities to actual accomplishments. The Departmental Personnel Committee and the department chairman will review the records of the individual, and within the guidelines of this document make their recommendations with respect to promotion and tenure. The Department recognizes that no single document can make explicit all the factors to be considered, and yet take into account the variations that occur both individually and within the department. Ultimately, the final decision is based on the judgment of the Personnel committee, and separately by the department chairman.