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This section is designed to set forth specific promotion criteria for University Libraries (UL) and as such, works in conjunction with current Kent State University Policy Regarding Faculty Promotion as adopted by the Faculty Senate and as approved by the Board of Trustees. In any case where there is conflict between the language of the University Policy or the Tenure Track Unit Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and the UL Handbook, the conflicting UL Handbook language will be superseded by the University Policy or CBA language. According to University policy, University Libraries is an "independent college" and as such operates on the University timeline as an academic unit.

"Promotion" is the elevation of a faculty member to the next highest faculty rank within the University. Promotion shall be viewed as recognition of a faculty member having contributed sustained and distinguished service to the University, the academic unit, and campus to which the faculty member belongs.

 

3.1 University policy for promotion requires that a candidate possess the terminal degree in his/her discipline in order to be promoted to Associate Professor or Professor. All UL faculty members possess the Master of Library Science (MLS) degree or equivalent, the terminal degree in librarianship.

3.2 In accordance with University policy, promotion to the rank of Associate Professor should not be ordinarily expected until a candidate has completed four years as an Assistant Professor.

3.3 In accordance with University policy, promotion to the rank of Professor should not ordinarily be expected until a candidate has completed five years as an Associate Professor.

 

The mission and goals of University Libraries support the mission and strategic plan of Kent State University. In alignment with these, the UL criteria for promotion are based on the need to recognize a faculty member who has: provided quality service to his/her user community; contributed to the body of scholarly knowledge; and positively impacted UL, the University, and the profession. As the responsibilities of UL faculty positions do not conform to a single pattern, faculty are expected to contribute to the unit and the University in accordance with both specific position responsibilities and the expectations of the University and UL policies for promotion.

It is expected that faculty standing for promotion in rank in University Libraries will demonstrate an appropriate level of accomplishment in job performance/teaching, scholarship, and service as defined by the subsequent rubrics. Given that the nature of faculty work varies widely within UL, and that teaching is not the primary job responsibility of most UL faculty members, UL defines the teaching aspect of promotion to include both job performance and teaching, with emphasis on the candidate's job performance. "Scholarship" is broadly defined to include research, scholarly and creative work. "Service" is broadly defined to include service to the university, professional service to the faculty member's discipline, and the provision of professional expertise to public and private entities beyond the university.  University Libraries' faculty is comprised of experts active in numerous areas of librarianship and related fields. In addition to their specific specializations, it is expected that individuals will demonstrate a broad knowledge of the field of librarianship. Likewise, in their scholarship UL faculty shall demonstrate clarity of goals and sound methods.

The decision to promote a faculty member results from the assessment of the evidence available to determine the candidate's contributions to University Libraries, the University, and the profession. A candidate's submitted record will be evaluated on the basis of the quality of the work, significance of contribution, and impact. The promotion decision is made separately from the decision to grant tenure.

A faculty member's appointment may include operational or administrative responsibilities that may impact scholarly productivity. This will be taken into consideration in evaluating candidates.

5.1 Criteria for Promotion

The following categories shall form the basis for evaluation of faculty for promotion in UL:

1. University Libraries places particular value on the quality of its faculty as professional practitioners of librarianship. Accordingly, a candidate for promotion in UL must achieve a rating of "very good" or "excellent" in job performance/teaching according to the measures set forth in Section 6 of this policy.
2. University Libraries also values the engagement of its faculty in research on the diverse areas of knowledge applicable to the goals and mission of UL, the University, and the profession. Accordingly, a candidate for promotion in UL must achieve a rating of "very good" or "excellent" in scholarship according to the measures set forth in Section 7 of this policy.
3. Service which makes significant positive contributions to the advancement of the educational, scholarly, and governance goals and mission of UL, the University, the profession, or the community is expected of all faculty members. Kent State University also values service activities not necessarily tied to one's special field of knowledge. Accordingly, a candidate for promotion in UL must achieve a rating of "good" or "excellent" in citizenship according to the measures set forth in Section 8 of this policy.

Promotion to the rank of Associate Professor requires an assessment of "excellent" in either the category of job performance/teaching or scholarship, with the assessment in the other category being at least "very good." The candidate must also achieve a rating of "good" or "excellent" in the category of service.

Promotion to the rank of Professor requires an assessment of "excellent" in job performance/teaching, scholarship, and service.

5.3 Assessment of Scholarly Products

Only materials compiled, finished (including work "in press"), or presented since initial appointment at current rank or since the last successful application for reappointment are to be considered in the evaluation of a candidate's qualifications for promotion. A candidate must supply official documentation for materials that are "in press."
A regular pattern of scholarly activity is more important than achieving a specific number of scholarly products. A candidate's works will be evaluated on the basis of the quality of the work, significance of contribution, and impact on University Libraries, the University, and the profession.

Works are more highly valued when they are:

Invited - Such invitations reflect recognition of the candidate within the scholarly community. High profile invitations (for example, keynote speaker) are more valued than roles such as featured speaker or panel member.

Peer reviewed - Peer reviewed or refereed works reflect a positive assessment by external experts of the value and quality of the work.

Associated with publishers, publications, or organizations of high repute or high impact. (NOTE: UL does not maintain a list of core journals.) National and international venues are valued more highly than state and regional venues.

Scholarly products can take many forms. There is no preference regarding the physical or electronic format of the work. When a work is repackaged (for example, reprinted), this should be clearly indicated by the candidate on all relevant materials in the file. Content posted on institutional repositories and blogs is not viewed as scholarly, unless it is also published or presented in a manner itemized below.

The following list is a partial survey of types of valued scholarly output. The types are in alphabetical order. The categories under each type are in order with most highly valued listed first.
1.     Articles in scholarly or professional journals

a.     invited

b.     peer reviewed
c.     non-peer-reviewed

2.     Bibliographies in scholarly or professional publications

a.     critically annotated

b.     descriptively annotated

c.     unannotated

3.     Book chapters in scholarly or professional books

4.     Book reviews

a.     review essay
b.     evaluative

5.     Book series - editor

6.     Books from scholarly or professional presses
a.     author

b.     editor

7.    Columns in scholarly or professional journals

a.     author
             
i.     invited
             
ii.     proposed / submitted

b.     column editor

8.     Editorial role for scholarly or professional journal or book series

a.     journal editor

b.     guest editor
c.     editorial board / reviewer of manuscripts

9.     Exhibits

a.     curated

b.     catalog published

10.   Grants for scholarly or professional research
a.     funded grants
b.     proposals

11.   Indexing and abstracting

12.   Presentations at scholarly or professional conferences

a.     keynote

b.     invited
c.     selected
d.     poster session

13.   Proceedings from scholarly or professional conferences

14.   Products of advanced degree work

a.     dissertation

b.     thesis

c.     research studies

15.   Reference book entries

a.     author
b.     editor

16.  Review panel for funding agencies

17.  Subject, name or series authority work contributed through nationally recognized professional organizations

18.  Other scholarly activity - candidate must describe / summarize

A candidate for promotion in UL shall compile a strong record in job performance/teaching. For UL, teaching is the sharing of professional expertise and specialized knowledge, primarily with students, in individual or group settings.  Consideration shall be given to the varying emphases on teaching responsibilities among UL faculty positions when assessing this area.

In addition to opportunities to engage in teaching that come with one's position within UL, job performance, pedagogical practice, and professional awareness may be enriched by adjunct teaching for other departments. For the purposes of this document, adjunct teaching is defined as that done under a separate contract for additional compensation. In such cases, a candidate may choose to describe the connection between the adjunct teaching and the teaching that is part of job responsibilities, but student evaluations of instruction for an adjunct appointment will not be considered.

To be successful for promotion to Associate Professor, a candidate should have achieved an "excellent" assessment rating in either the category of job performance/teaching or the category of scholarship. The rating in the other category should be at least "very good." Promotion to the rank of Professor requires an assessment of "excellent."
The rubric for job performance/teaching follows. The rubric for scholarship will be found in Section 7 below. 

A candidate for promotion in UL shall compile a strong record of scholarship. For UL, scholarship may include, but is not limited to, structured scholarly investigation that utilizes appropriate and sound research methods in the search for new knowledge. It may be typified by descriptive, relational, or causal research questions. The candidate must demonstrate a cohesive line of inquiry as part of the scholarly record presented.

Scholarship should be conducted either (a) within the discipline of library science or (b) in relation to the responsibilities of one's position or (c) based on one's grounding as a librarian. A candidate who undertakes scholarly activity outside these areas must persuasively explain the appropriateness of the research in their reappointment file. In addition to the more traditional means of pursuing research, significant advanced degree work is also valued when it relates to one or more of the three areas listed above. See Appendix 2.C. of the UL Faculty Handbook for a statement on graduate study by faculty members in University Libraries.

To be successful for promotion to Associate Professor, a candidate should have achieved an "excellent" assessment rating in either the category of job performance/teaching or the category of scholarship. The rating in the other category should be at least "very good."

Promotion to the rank of Professor requires an assessment of "excellent."

The rubric for scholarship follows.

A candidate is expected to participate in service which may include contributions to University Libraries, as a University citizen, to the profession, and of library expertise to the community. The merits of the candidate's service should be evaluated as to the role of the candidate, the importance of the service to the entity served, and on the extent of effort associated with the activity.

Consideration will be given to candidates with administrative appointments, who have fewer opportunities to participate on UL governance bodies as described.

To be successful for promotion to Associate Professor a candidate should have achieved a level of "good" or "excellent" according to the following rubric. To be successful for promotion to Professor a candidate should have achieved a level of "excellent" according to the following rubric.

9.1 (Step One) Each Spring Semester, the Dean of University Libraries shall advise UL faculty members who meet the time in rank requirements that they are eligible for promotion. All UL faculty shall be notified in writing of the promotion deadline so that faculty members may, if they wish, notify the Dean in writing that they plan to stand for early promotion.

9.2 (Step Two) Eligible faculty members shall notify the Dean's office by a specified date whether or not they choose to stand for promotion.

9.3 (Step Three) A candidate standing for promotion to Associate Professor or to Professor shall identify external reviewers in compliance with the requirements and timeline specified in Section V.D. of this Handbook.

9.4 (Step Four) The candidate shall compile a file covering the period since initial appointment at current rank or since the last successful application for promotion, as applicable. The candidate shall complete and submit the file for review in compliance with the deadline set by the University.

9.5  (Step Five) The Dean shall review the file the candidate prepared with the candidate in order to insure that the file is complete and shall prepare a statement indicating that the file is complete. Both the candidate and the Dean shall sign the completed file statement. Thereafter, the candidate must be informed of anything that is added to or removed from the file and provided the opportunity to insert written comments concerning that new or removed material.

9.6 (Step Six) Before convening the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee, the Dean shall inform all tenured faculty that the files are available for inspection and shall formally invite signed, written comments from all tenured faculty members who are not members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee. The Dean shall provide those comments to the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee, copy the candidate, and place the comments in the file.

9.7 (Step Seven) The Dean shall appoint an ad hoc Promotion Review Committee. The Committee shall be comprised of at least five (5) voting members.

a. Promotion to Associate Professor:

1. All senior Faculty members of the College Advisory Committee shall serve as full, voting members of the ad hoc Promotion Committee hearing promotions to Associate Professor. All faculty who are tenured and hold the rank of either Associate Professor or full Professor are senior faculty. 
2. Any tenured full Professor who is a member of the Tenure-Track Collective Bargaining Unit and who is not a member of the College Advisory Committee shall serve as a full, voting member.
3. Additional senior Faculty may be nominated by the College Advisory Committee so that the committee has at least five (5) voting members. These Faculty shall serve as full, voting members.
4. CAC may nominate additional senior faculty, such as a Regional Campus Library Director, to the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee if it feels it is necessary for the full and fair evaluation of the candidate standing for promotion. These faculty shall be full voting members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee.
5. If there are insufficient UL senior Faculty members to meet the requirement of at least five (5) voting members, the College Advisory Committee may nominate tenured Faculty who hold the rank of Associate Professor or Professor from outside of UL. These Faculty shall be full voting members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee.

b. Promotion to Professor:

1. Only College Advisory Committee members who hold the rank of Professor may serve on the ad hoc Promotion Committee hearing promotions to full Professor.
2. Any tenured full Professor who is a member of the Tenure-Track Collective Bargaining Unit and who is not a member of the College Advisory Committee shall serve as a full, voting member.
3. If additional full Professors are needed to get the Committee to at least five (5) voting members, the College Advisory Committee should select from the following options, in order of preference:

a.    Regional Campus Library Directors who holds the rank of Professor, who shall serve as full voting members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee.
b.    Assistant or Associate Deans of University Libraries who are tenured, hold the rank of Professor and who do not serve as the liaison in faculty personnel matters of UL, shall serve as full voting members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee.
c.    Tenured Faculty who hold the rank of Professor from outside of UL, shall serve as full voting members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee.

c.      The Dean shall be the nonvoting chair of the Committee.

d.     The administrator who serves as the liaison in faculty personnel matters of UL shall be a nonvoting member of the Committee.

e.     If the vote concerns the spouse, domestic partner, or relative of a member of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee, that member of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee shall not vote nor shall he/she be present during deliberations or voting. In such a situation, the College Advisory Committee may, if necessary, nominate an additional tenured Faculty member to the committee for the review of that particular file to guarantee that the committee has at least five (5) voting members.

9.8 (Step Eight)

a. The Dean shall convene a meeting of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee.

b. The members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee shall discuss each individual candidate for promotion. The Dean shall initiate discussion by sharing his/her estimate of the strengths and weaknesses of each individual candidate with the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee.

c. At the conclusion of the deliberations of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee, there shall be a preliminary voice vote of all members, who shall vote yes or no on each candidate under consideration.

d. Abstentions are permitted only if a member of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee is on an approved leave of absence and has received the right to abstain from the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee. Members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee on approved leave of absence may vote by absentee ballot rather than requesting permission to abstain.

9.9 (Step Nine)

a. After the adjournment of the meeting of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee, each voting member of the Committee shall promptly record his/her vote and the reasons for the vote on the appropriate University form. This written vote shall be the final vote. Each voting member shall return the completed form(s) to the Dean or his/her designee.

b. When completing the ballot form, the Committee member should give careful consideration to fully supporting his/her vote on a particular candidate. The ballot should be written in such a way that reviewers at other levels of the promotion process can clearly understand the requirements of the UL promotion policy in particular and the candidate's success or failure at meeting those requirements. The Committee member must be sure to provide, using the language of other sections of this policy and examples from the submitted file itself, a clear indication of the Committee member's assessment of that particular promotion candidacy.

c. In order to be recommended for promotion by the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee, a candidate must receive approval from at least three fourths of the written ballots of committee members who vote.

d. Abstentions are permitted only if a member of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee is on an approved leave of absence and has received the right to abstain from the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee. Members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee on approved leave of absence may vote by absentee ballot rather than requesting permission to abstain.

9.10 (Step Ten) After carefully reviewing the recorded votes and comments submitted by all voting members of the Committee, the Dean shall weigh and assess each candidate's record as represented in the candidate's promotion file and in other relevant information that the Committee has reviewed. The Dean shall conclude his/her deliberations on each candidate by preparing a memo to the Provost or his/her designee for the Regional Campuses. In this memo, the Dean shall reference the numerical Committee vote on each candidate, indicate whether or not he/she concurs with the Committee's recommendation on each candidate, and outline his/her reasons for recommending or not recommending the candidate. The Dean should focus on the requirements of the UL promotion policy in particular and the candidate's success or failure at meeting those requirements. As with the committee members, the Dean is encouraged to use the language of the UL promotion policy when drafting this memo.

9.11 (Step Eleven) The Dean shall place a copy of this memo in the candidate's promotion and personnel file and shall send a copy of this memo to the candidate and to all members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee. The Dean shall assemble his/her written recommendation on each candidate and the written recommendation on each candidate submitted by the voting members of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee. These documents shall be placed in each candidate's promotion file.

9.12 (Step Twelve) The Dean shall notify the candidate by sending the candidate a copy of his/her letter of recommendation and copies of the written ballots of the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee at the same time the recommendation is submitted to the Provost or his/her designee for the Regional Campuses. This notification letter shall also include a statement informing the candidate that she/he has the right to include, within five working days, a letter in the file responding to any errors of fact that the candidate believes are in any of the recommendations and supporting documents from the Dean or the ad hoc Promotion Review Committee or other advisory committees. The letter shall also indicate that if the candidate wishes to appeal a negative decision, notification of such intent shall be sent in writing within ten working days of receipt of the Dean's letter.

9.13 (Step Thirteen) The Dean shall forward, in a timely fashion, the promotion file of each candidate to the Provost or his/her designee for the Regional Campuses, as appropriate.
 

The revised guidelines for promotion will be implemented as follows:

a.     These guidelines will be effective for all new tenure-track faculty hired after the date of final approval of the revised criteria.

b.     For any promotion sought prior to January 2012, tenured or tenure-track faculty who were employed by UL prior to the final approval of the revised guidelines will have the choice of using either the previous criteria (6.04b) or revised criteria. These faculty must provide notification in the promotion file of the guidelines being followed.

c.     For any promotion sought after January 2012, all faculty must use these revised guidelines.

Approved by the UL Faculty, 12/18/08
Approved by the Provost, 03/21/09
Revision approved by UL Faculty, 9/14/10
Receipt acknowledged by the Provost's Office, 9/1710

Final approval, 8/31/11