tenure/promotion query

[s.t. bischoff]

Hello all,

Thanks to everyone that responded to my earlier query on list and off. Here
is a summary of what I learned. Nearly everyone responded with the
following regarding tenure/promotion:

1. schedule a meeting with your universities union  (if there is one on
your campus);

2. be sure you are familiar with all tenure/promotion requirements (be sure
you are familiar with department, college, and university requirements as
these may differ);

3. be sure you have the most recent requirements for tenure/promotion in
writing...if your department does not have a written policy, try to get
something from the department chair or relevant committee (do the same at
the college and university level);

4. be aware that prior reviews are not necessarily an indicator of how
things will go (a number of folks noted examples of folks with excellent
prior reviews who did not get tenure/promotion);

5. go to all tenure/promotion workshops;

6. pay increases may be set, may have a range, and may be negotiable, but
regardless chat with someone you are comfortable with about negotiating a
raise, also speak with your union rep about this...many public institutions
are required to make public salaries and salary records public, these can
be reviewed;

7. go on the market--primary reasons given were "just in case you don't get
the tenure/promotion" and "it could put you in a good position when
negotiating a salary";

A few also recommended that outside reviewers be chosen carefully. This is
the one thing I wish I had spent more time on as our institution requires
six external reviewers.

Regarding Fulbright, folks had the following to say:

1. stay home, write, and publish (this was the most frequent response);

2. popular locations (e.g. Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand) are very
competitive and often go to "stars", some regions maybe under applied to;

3. other countries have good programs for research/teaching exchanges e.g.
Japan has programs with the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science
and Germany has the Research in Germany website with various resources.

4. Folks that have participated in Fulbright programs report having very
good experiences and suggest "just follow all the guidelines" when applying
and be sure to have a sponsor in the host country.

Thanks again,
Shannon