POLICY AND PROCEDURE MEMORANDUM FACULTY –  1, APPENDIX 1

APPOINTMENTS AND PROMOTIONS PROCEDURES

GUIDELINES FOR CRITERIA TO BE APPLIED IN EVALUATING CANDIDATES FOR APPOINTMENT OR PROMOTION PRIMARILY UPON THE BASIS OF THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE.

As noted in the PPM on Appointments and Promotions, an individual being appointed to a professorial position (tenured, tenure-track and non-tenure track) is expected to demonstrate an "appropriate balance" between traditional research and professional practice.  It is also recognized that such individuals will be judged, to a significant and important degree, by their scholarly contributions.  Scholarship is recognized as the identification and dissemination of new knowledge, or by a different metric, "contributions to and influence on the directions" of their field of endeavor.

Since professional practice faculty candidates may come from agency or industry settings, their scholarly work may represent the efforts of multiple authors.  The committee must identify the specific role of the candidate as the originator of the ideas, principal author, or leader of a team effort.

Candidates may have contributed to program development without contributing to the writing about a particular effort.  Again, the committee must identify such original thinking and development.  Managing the activities of a successful agency program should not, in and of itself, constitute a case for faculty appointment.

Candidates should be asked to document their role in contributing to group or agency programs and team projects.  The committee must then seek explicit confirmatory evidence from the external reviewers to document the contributions of the candidate.

Professor

Someone appointed at the full professorial level will generally be recognized by major contributions to the thought and practice of their field of endeavor.  This will be evidenced by seminal publications in the field (at least some of which will have been in peer reviewed literature, though a significant proportion may be major reports, monographs or books in which they have taken a leadership role and that are recognized as thoughtful additions to the field and have contributed to the direction of that field), and by the assessment of their national and international standing by others in their field.

Holding a high level position in a governmental or private health agency may be an important component for appointment to a professorial position, but should not be considered sufficient, in and of itself, to merit such an appointment.  However, having had a major influence on policies and practice provides significant evidence of accomplishments in professional practice.

Associate and Assistant Professor

Individuals appointed at a more junior position than full professor will necessarily be more difficult to assess.  Those being considered for appointment at the level of associate professor will demonstrate an appropriate balance of scholarly publications in the peer reviewed literature and in seminal reports considered major contributions to that field.  For the latter, which are often products of "group participation," the individual must be in the position to identify the level of their contribution.

Perhaps the greatest difficulty will be experienced in evaluating individuals being appointed for the first time at the level of assistant professor.  Where they do not yet have a track record of significant publications, and inasmuch as it is unlikely they will have already had a meaningful impact on the direction of their field, the skills they possess and past training and experience can provide useful evidence of their future potential.

Promotion from assistant to associate professor, and associate to full professor will be assessed on demonstrated accomplishments.