The mission of the Department of English is to foster learning in the fields of language and literature. The Department fulfills its mission by providing instruction in the University's General Education Program and by offering both an undergraduate and graduate major in English and undergraduate minors in English and American literature and in creative writing. In these various curricula, the Department accomplishes its goals by (1) encouraging students to improve their writing skills and teaching them methods to achieve this improvement; and (2) representing literature and language as essential to educated people's understanding of their cultural traditions and the cultural traditions of other peoples. In fulfilling its mission, the Department serves the missions of the University and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, respectively.
To accomplish its mission, the Department of English needs to recruit, retain, and reward faculty members who, by their teaching, their research and creative activities, and their professional service, demonstrate an enthusiastic lifelong commitment to first-rate teaching and scholarship. The Department of English upholds the model of the teacher-scholar who successfully combines the teaching of writing and literature with scholarly and creative productivity.
In writing these Tenure, Promotion, and Renewal Guidelines, the Department of English has followed the criteria established by the University and by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Accordingly, the Department gives the highest priority to teaching performance; second priority to research and creative activity that results in professional development; and third priority to professional service. While each faculty member should seek to excel in the above three areas, for tenure, promotion and renewal all faculty must demonstrate at least satisfactory performance in these areas of responsibility. No faculty member may be excluded from any of the required areas of evaluation. On a year-to-year basis a faculty member's commitment to each of the above areas may vary considerably, depending on his or her own interests and the University's needs. (LAS Guidelines 1)
Also, in accordance with the MLA Guidelines for Evaluating Computer-Related Work in Modern Languages (See Appendix), the Department believes that computer-related work, like other forms of scholarship, teaching, and service, should be evaluated as an integral part of a faculty member's accomplishments. Therefore language related to teaching, scholarly/creative activities, and professional service throughout this document also refers to computer-related work. As stated in the MLA Guidelines, "faculty members who pursue computer-related work as part of their formal assignments should be prepared to make explicit the results, theoretical basis, and intellectual rigor of their work, as well as its relevance to the discipline.
Policies and procedures governing tenure, promotion and renewal are described in the Bradley University Faculty Handbook. In all matters relating to tenure, promotion, and renewal recommendations, the policies and procedures contained in the Handbook take precedence over policies and procedures contained elsewhere (LAS Guidelines 3).
This document pertains to tenure, promotion, and renewal procedures in the Department of English. It is written in compliance with the policies and procedures described in the Tenure, Promotion, and Renewal Guidelines of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and becomes effective upon the date approved by the English faculty.
Each member of the faculty will be given a copy of these procedures upon initial employment.
A. NOMINATION FOR TENURE AND PROMOTION
The Dean will initiate the tenure and promotion process each year by calling for nominations. Nominations may be made to the Department Chairperson by any faculty member in the department including a faculty member seeking promotion. It is understood that nomination does not necessarily imply a positive decision. Nominations for promotion may be withdrawn by the nominee at any stage of the review process without prejudice (LAS Guidelines 3).
B. DEPARTMENT TENURE, PROMOTION AND RENEWAL COMMITTEE
The English Department will have a Tenure, Promotion, and Renewal Committee (TPR). Where practical and reasonable, the following procedure will be used: 1) For tenure and renewal recommendations the Committee will consist of all tenured faculty in the Department. 2) For promotion recommendations the Committee will consist of all tenured and tenure track faculty in the Department who possess the rank equivalent to or higher than the rank being sought by the nominee. The Chairperson of the Committee will be elected by the Committee (LAS Guidelines 3).
C. TENURE AND PROMOTION ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
1. The Chairperson of the Department Committee will call a meeting of the Committee to discuss the qualifications of the candidate. The nominee will provide to the Committee, prior to the annual evaluation, a written report which documents teaching, research and creative activities, and service contributions.
2. The Committee may ask the nominee to provide additional information and to respond to questions.
3. The Committee shall vote by secret ballot. The numerical results of the ballot, along with any written comments, shall be forwarded by the Chairperson of the Committee to the Department Chairperson. The Department Chairperson shall notify the nominee of the Committee vote and his/her own recommendation. Reasons for all recommendations by the Department Committee and/or the Chairperson shall be provided in writing. He/she will forward the results of the vote along with his/her recommendation to the Dean. If the Department Chairperson is the nominee, the Chairperson of the Committee will forward the results of the vote directly to the Dean (LAS Guidelines 4)
1. The Chairperson of the Department Committee shall call a meeting of the Committee to discuss the qualifications of the candidate. The meeting should be held prior to February first for first-year faculty members, prior to November fifteenth for second-year faculty members, and at least fourteen months before the expiration of an appointment for faculty members with two or more years of service in the institution.
2. The remaining actions are the same as those contained in Steps B and C of Section III. (LAS Guidelines 4)
Return to
Go to
Go on to the next section of the Bradley University
TP&R Guidelines.
E-mail: seth@bradley.bradley.edu
Last revised February 6, 1997