Faculty Handbook(page9a)

IX.C               PROCEDURES FOR PETITION FOR PROMOTION AND TENURE
                            AT UTHSC-HOUSTON HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER, DENTAL BRANCH
                                                                                                          (Revised July 8, 1997)

AUGUST 15, 2000 - SUBMISSION OF PROMOTION AND TENURE PACKAGE

Faculty members or their department chairs must submit in writing their intentions to petition for promotion and/or tenure to the Dean's office, to the department chair, and to the chair of the Dental Branch Faculty Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee (DBFAPTC) no later than August 16 of the year preceding the academic year the promotion and/or tenure is to take effect. The letter of intent must include the precise title and pathway (tenure, clinical or research track) requested and the candidate's qualifications for promotion and/or tenure.

At that time, the candidates must also submit the following materials to the Dean's office:

1. Eighteen copies of complete, accurate and up-to-date curriculum vitae (format attached).

2. Eighteen sets of three to five of the candidate's most representative publications.

3. A list of potential peer referees including their titles, addresses, and telephone and FAX numbers.

Internal referees should be chosen for their ability to evaluate the candidate's teaching and service to the institution. They should be tenured and their rank should be equivalent to or higher than the rank to which the candidate aspires. Internal referees cannot be members of the DBFAPTC.

External referees should be able to evaluate the candidate's research, scholarly and other contributions to the professional discipline and to testify to the candidate's national and international status. They should also be able to provide information about the candidate's qualifications in relation to the qualifications of others at the proposed rank at first class dental or other professional schools in the United States. External referees do not have to be personally known to the candidate.

4. One copy each of the candidate's publications, honors, awards, significant citations, and other pertinent materials for consideration in the promotion or tenure decision.

5. The candidate's clinic schedule or course syllabi/schedules of all subjects and courses taught by the candidate during the last three years.

6. All teaching evaluations by students and peers during the last three years.

7. All annual merit raise forms for the last three years.

8. Candidate’s checklist with signature.

Although the complete promotion and tenure package should be submitted by August 16, some latitude can be allowed for items 4 through 7. If, however, Items 1 through 3 are not submitted by August 16, the candidate will not be considered for promotion and tenure that year. The candidate is responsible for assuring the accuracy of the materials submitted. The candidate may review his/her promotion and tenure package before it is submitted to the DBFAPTC upon written request to the Dean. If the promotion and tenure package contains serious inaccuracies, the candidate will not be considered for promotion or tenure.

SEPTEMBER 1, 2000

The Dean and the DBFAPTC in consultation with the department chair will determine which referees will be contacted. In addition to referees suggested by the candidate, they may choose additional internal or external reviewers as deemed appropriate. The Dean, rather than the candidate or the department, will solicit all letters of recommendation. The candidate's curriculum vitae and the three to five publications selected by the candidate will be mailed to the referees.

By the beginning of September, the Dean will also circulate the names of all candidates for promotion and/or tenure to the faculty and place one copy each of the candidate's Curriculum Vitae and his/her selected publications on reserve status in the library, where they will be available for review by Dental Branch Faculty.

SEPTEMBER 1 - NOVEMBER 1, 2000

Faculty opinions

Any Dental Branch faculty member who wishes to do so may submit signed, written comments about the candidates' qualifications for tenure to the DBFAPTC by November 1. Faculty who submit negative letters must recognize that all promotion and tenure documents can be subpoenaed by a court of law. Anonymous letters or verbal reports will not be considered by the committee.

Departmental evaluation, recommendation and vote

By the beginning of September, the department chair must initiate departmental evaluations of all faculty within the department who have petitioned for promotion and tenure. All tenured faculty in the department should participate in the evaluation process, which must focus on the candidate's teaching, scholarship, service, and collegiality. The departmental evaluation is of utmost importance in the promotion and tenure process and must be taken very seriously by the departmental faculty.

Following the departmental review, the tenured faculty members should vote on the suitability of the candidate for promotion or tenure. The department chair should submit a written summary of the departmental evaluation, recommendation, and vote to the Dean, to the chair of the DBFAPTC and to the candidate by November 1. In cases of a split vote, both majority and minority opinions must be summarized. Similarly, if the department chair's opinion differs from that of the majority of his/her tenured faculty, the chair must explain the reasons for the differences.

The vote and the recommendations from the candidate's department are non-binding. They will be considered by the DBFAPTC along with all other documents received by the committee.

If the candidate considers the department's recommendation to be unfair, he/she may submit a written statement justifying his/her position to the Dean and to the Chair of the DBFAPTC by November 15.

NOVEMBER 1, 2000 TO JANUARY 15, 2001

Subsequent to the receipt of a candidate's letters of recommendation and before November 1, the dean will forward the candidate's full promotion and tenure dossier to the DBFAPTC. The committee members will evaluate the entire dossier and submit their own written evaluations and votes to the Dean by January 15.

Those DBFAPTC members holding appointments in the candidate's departmental division or section and committee members currently involved in joint research endeavors with the candidate will be allowed to state their own opinions to committee, but they must absent themselves from the committee room during the committee discussions and vote.

JANUARY 15 TO FEBRUARY 15, 2001

The Dean will consider the entire promotion and tenure package for each candidate including the vote and recommendations of the DBFAPTC. If the Dean concludes that promotion and/or tenure are warranted, he will submit the candidate's dossier to the University Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee before March 1, and he will notify the candidate of his action.

In the event the petition for tenure and/or promotion is not endorsed by the Dean, the materials are forwarded to the President only if the candidate is in the eighth year of service. When, however, the Dean concludes that promotion or tenure are not warranted, he will notify the candidate of his decision prior to February 15 and explain to the candidate the reasons for denial of the petition. If the candidate believes that the decision of the DBFAPTC or of the Dean was based on incomplete or inaccurate information (other than inaccurate information which may have been submitted by the candidate himself/herself) and/or was unfair, he/she may submit a written statement to the dean explaining the inaccuracies or his/her opinion.

MARCH, 2001

The University Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee normally meets in March. The recommendation of this committee is forwarded to the president, who approves the candidate’s petition for promotion and/or tenure. Candidates will be notified, in a timely manner, of the University Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee’s decision as well as the President’s decision.

CANDIDATE'S CHECKLIST

AUGUST 15, 2000

1.	Submit to Dean, Department Chair, and Chair of DBFAPTC the following: A. Statement of intent to petition for promotion or tenure and names of potential referees.
2.	Submit to Dean the following: A. Curriculum vitae - eighteen copies. B. Eighteen copies each of three representative publications. C. One copy of all publications, abstracts, honors, awards, certificates, significant citations, etc. D. One copy of all teaching schedules. E. All teaching evaluations for last three years. F. All merit raise forms for last three years. G. This checklist with signature.

I request the opportunity to review my promotion and tenure package for completeness before it is submitted to the DBFAPTC.

Yes ____ No ____

I grant permission to my Department Chair to review and summarize my letters of recommendation for the faculty during the departmental review process.

Yes ____ No ____

Signature: Date:

DEPARTMENT CHAIR’S CHECKLIST

NOVEMBER 1, 2000

Submit to Chair of DBFAPTC

1. Department recommendation and vote.

DEAN'S CHECKLIST

BY SEPTEMBER 1, 2000

1. Consult with DBFAPTC about appropriate referees for each candidate. Write requests for letters of recommendation. Include one copy of the candidate's vitae and of each of his/her selected publications in the letters to referees.

2. Circulate list of promotion and tenure candidates to all faculty

3. Place one copy of each candidate's curriculum vitae and his/her three to five papers on reserve status in the Dental Branch library.

NOVEMBER 1, 2000

Submit complete promotion and tenure dossiers to the Chair of the DBFAPTC. Each candidate's dossier should include the following:

1. Seven copies of
   A. All letters of recommendation
   B. Each of three publications selected by candidate
   C. Curriculum vitae
   D. Teaching evaluations
   E. Merit raise forms

2. One copy of all other publications, honors, awards, teaching schedules, and other materials submitted by the candidate.

BEFORE MARCH 1, 2001

1. Notify candidate and Department Chair of DBFAPTC recommendation and Dean’s decision.

2. Notify Chair of DBFAPTC of Dean’s decision.

MARCH 1, 2001

Submit complete promotion and tenure dossier for all approved promotion and tenure candidates to the University Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee

This dossier should include required numbers of copies of the following:

1. The Dean's recommendation

2. The recommendation of the DBFAPTC

3. The department recommendation

4. All other letters of recommendation

5. Curriculum vitae

6. Student and peer teaching evaluations

AFTER UNIVERSITY APPOINTMENT, PROMOTION AND TENURE COMMITTEE MEETING

Notify each candidate, appropriate Department Chair and Chair of DBFAPTC of the

University committee’s decision .

**Should any of the dates listed above falls on a holiday or weekend, the following business day will apply.

1.	Eighteen copies of complete, accurate and up-to-date curriculum vitae (format attached).
2.	Eighteen sets of three to five of the candidate's most representative publications.
3.	A list of potential peer referees including their titles, addresses, and telephone and FAX numbers.

4.	One copy each of the candidate's publications, honors, awards, significant citations, and other pertinent materials for consideration in the promotion or tenure decision.
5.	The candidate's clinic schedule or course syllabi/schedules of all subjects and courses taught by the candidate during the last three years.
6.	All teaching evaluations by students and peers during the last three years.
7.	All annual merit raise forms for the last three years.
8.	Candidate’s checklist with signature.

1.	Consult with DBFAPTC about appropriate referees for each candidate. Write requests for letters of recommendation. Include one copy of the candidate's vitae and of each of his/her selected publications in the letters to referees.
2.	Circulate list of promotion and tenure candidates to all faculty
3.	Place one copy of each candidate's curriculum vitae and his/her three to five papers on reserve status in the Dental Branch library.