Appointments Without Tenure
A. Tenure Track
Search Committee Responsibility: The search committee:
• discusses the specific affirmative action goals for the department with the Dean and the
Office of Institutional Equity;
• drafts an advertisement inviting applications and nominations (containing a description of
rank, beginning date, tenure-track status, teaching expectations, application deadline,
name and address of search committee chair, and Affirmative Action/Equal Employment
Opportunity statements). The advertisement must be approved by the Divisional Dean
and the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and placed in appropriate publications
(see the sample "Position Advertisement" in the Chairs Handbook or in Appendix I
below);
• contacts colleagues in other universities to identify possible candidates;
• contacts promising candidates for expressions of interest;
• when appropriate, interviews potential candidates at professional meetings;
• acknowledges all applications and requests that candidates complete the Equal
Employment Opportunity Form – Self Declaration for Candidates, available in the Chairs
Handbook, Chapter 5, and on the web;
• develops dossiers for candidates under serious consideration. These dossiers include a
current curriculum vitae, the candidate's intellectual development statement, and any
materials such as course outlines or sample course evaluations that are likely to
illuminate the effectiveness of a candidate's teaching. In the case of candidates who have
just completed graduate school, the department will request, at least, the candidate's
placement dossier containing a minimum of three letters of recommendation. In the case
of candidates with several years of teaching experience, the committee will request other
evidence of professional development and activity, such as significant articles and books
published, papers read before learned societies, and research in progress;
• solicits, whenever desirable, additional evaluations of specific strengths and weaknesses
of the candidates with respect to research, teaching, rank among peers, and potential,
supplementing the letters with written notes of any telephone conversations;
• narrows the list of candidates and, following the procedures prescribed in department
bylaws, prepares a written report to the department. This report should
1. recapitulate the search process and attach a copy of the published advertisement,
2. give a candidate-by-candidate assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the
candidates on the short list, and
3. justify to the faculty its recommendation for the top candidates.
• The Chair seeks the Dean's approval to invite the candidates for a campus visit. In
addition to all supporting academic documentation, the request to the Dean should
include the EEO Reporting Form for Faculty Positions (see Chairs Handbook, chapter 5);
• once the Dean’s approval received, the committee makes invited candidates' dossiers
available to the appropriate departmental faculty and to all administrative officers who
are to interview the candidates;
• provides an opportunity for candidates to give an oral presentation and to meet colleagues
in the department and in related disciplines; • schedules interviews with the appropriate Divisional Dean, the Dean of Academic Affairs
in Trinity College, and with other university administrators as appropriate.
Department Action: When the interviews have been completed, the faculty discusses the
candidates and selects the top candidate to be offered an appointment.
Response to Department Action: The Chair forwards the department's recommendation to the
Dean, with a letter attending to all the items required for non-tenured appointments by the
Provost's procedures. The Chair transmits to the Dean one copy of the dossier, which should
include the search committee report, the Chair's transmittal letter with recommendation, the
candidate's C.V. and research statement, and letters of evaluation. (Because these initial junior-
level files are likely to be less weighty, they may be stapled or submitted in file folders.)
Department members who so wish may write directly to the Dean; if there are different
viewpoints, the Chair may invite specific individuals to represent them.
After receiving the departmental recommendation, the Dean decides to make the initial term
appointment without tenure or explains the reasons for not making it to the department. If the
decision is affirmative, the Dean prepares a letter of appointment, conferring with the Chair to
settle on the terms of the offer.
B. Non-tenure Track
In many respects, the procedures for conducting reviews for non-tenure track appointments
parallel the procedures for appointments to the tenure track. General University procedures
governing these reviews are contained in an ad hoc committee report to the Provost (Faculty
Handbook, Appendix C) and in the Provost's procedures. National searches are required for all
positions above the rank of Lecturer.
Search Committee Responsibility: The search committee:
• discusses the specific affirmative action goals for the department with the Dean and the
Office of Institutional Equity;
• drafts an advertisement inviting applications and nominations (containing a description of
rank, beginning date, tenure-track status, teaching expectations, application deadline,
name and address of search committee chair, and Affirmative Action/Equal Employment
Opportunity statements). The advertisement must be approved by the Divisional Dean
and the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and placed in appropriate publications
(see the sample "Position Advertisement" in the Chairs Handbook or in Appendix I
below);
• contacts colleagues in other universities to identify possible candidates;
• contacts promising candidates for expressions of interest;
• when appropriate, interviews potential candidates at professional meetings;
• acknowledges all applications and requests that candidates complete the Equal
Employment Opportunity Form – Self Declaration for Candidates, available in the Chairs
Handbook, Chapter 5, and on the web; • develops dossiers for candidates under serious consideration. These dossiers include a
current curriculum vitae, the candidate's intellectual development statement, and any
materials such as course outlines or sample course evaluations that are likely to
illuminate the effectiveness of a candidate's teaching. In the case of candidates who have
just completed graduate school, the department will request, at least, the candidate's
placement dossier containing a minimum of three letters of recommendation. In the case
of candidates with several years of teaching experience, the committee will request other
evidence of professional development and activity, such as significant articles and books
published, papers read before learned societies, and research in progress. Because these
appointments may require alternate ways to demonstrate expertise in the field, the
committee should identify any additional appropriate credentials necessary for the review
and assure their inclusion in the file. Further, for appointments at the full (professor of
the practice of, research) professor level, a minimum of three independent external
evaluations are required (see Provost's procedures, Templates for Letters ... );
• solicits, whenever desirable, additional evaluations of specific strengths and weaknesses
of the candidates with respect to research, teaching, rank among peers, and potential,
supplementing the letters with written notes of any telephone conversations;
• narrows the list of candidates and, following the procedures prescribed in department
bylaws, prepares a written report to the department. This report should
1. recapitulate the search process and attach a copy of the published advertisement,
2. give a candidate-by-candidate assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the
candidates on the short list, and
4. justify to the faculty its recommendation for the top candidates.
• The Chair seeks the Dean's approval to invite the candidates for a campus visit. In
addition to all supporting academic documentation, the request to the Dean should
include the EEO Reporting Form for Faculty Positions (see Chairs Handbook, chapter 5);
• once the Dean’s approval has been received, the committee makes invited candidates'
dossiers available to the department, as specified in the department's bylaws, and to all
administrative officers who are to interview the candidates;
• provides an opportunity for candidates to give an oral presentation and to meet colleagues
in the department and in related disciplines;
• schedules interviews with the appropriate Divisional Dean, the Dean of Academic Affairs
in Trinity College, and with other university administrators as appropriate.
Department Action: When the interviews have been completed, the faculty discusses the
candidates and selects the candidate to be offered an appointment.
Response to Department Action: The Chair forwards the department's recommendation to the
Dean, with a letter attending to all the items required for non-tenured appointments by the
Provost's procedures. The Chair transmits to the Dean one copy of the dossier. For Lecturers and
Assistant Professor candidates, this should include the search committee reports, the Chair's
letter and recommendation, the candidate's C.V. and research statement, and letters of evaluation.
(Because these initial junior-level files are likely to be less weighty, they may be stapled or
submitted in file folders.) For appointments at the associate and full levels, the Dean receives the
Chair's report, which shall also include nominations for a review committee. If the Dean approves a formal review, the department then compiles a dossier for non-tenure track
appointments as described by the Provost's procedures. Dossiers for the senior ranks should be
submitted in a ring binder clearly labeled on the spine with the candidate's name. (Note:
Beginning with the 2009/10 academic year, paper dossiers will no longer be accepted; one copy
of a CD will be required.)
In the case of initial appointment at the ranks of Lecturer or Assistant Professor, the Dean
decides to make the appointment without consulting the Provost. For all other appointments the
Dean reviews the entire dossier, checks it for completeness, and transmits the dossier to the
Provost with a letter addressing the items required by the Provost's procedures. When that officer
has reached a final decision, the Dean transmits it to the Chair. If the decision is favorable, the
Dean prepares an appointment letter. If the decision is unfavorable, the Dean explains the reason
to the department.