Department Chairs and Deans Advice About Tenure

Department Chairs’ and Deans’ Advice about Tenure

Create Your Own Development Plan

·  Have an individual development plan started in your first semester for teaching, scholarship and service agendas.

·  Be proactive in your own process – don’t rely on a mentor or committee to direct you.

·  Focus your activities and balance between your interests and department/university interests (if not aligned).

·  Be proactive – set goals and receive feedback on what is “productive.”

·  Strive to align your passions with activities that are also aligned with metrics of tenure assessment (w/ Venn diagram).

Manage Service

·  Define service obligations/opportunities as those that only contribute to teaching and research agendas.

·  Don’t say “yes” to so many committees (service) that you are unable to meet the scholarship requirement.

·  Manage your service commitments

·  Be selective about service

·  Learn how to say “no” if you find yourself being asked to do too much service – it won’t get you tenure even if you do all the service in the world.

·  Choose service that aligns with your talents/skills and/or that will help you learn new skills – be strategic.

·  Rotate committee membership.

·  Just Say No – avoid service which does not advance your research agenda.

Develop Your Portfolio (Binders)

·  Look at good binders for your school.

·  Talk to Chair of P&T committee to identify who would have a good example portfolio (a successful promotion).

·  Start collecting materials now, keep CV up to date.

·  Look at other faculty’s binders/ask for advice.

·  Begin putting binders together early.

·  Ask to look at recent tenured faculty binders for templates, etc.

·  Ask for examples of tenure binders and annual P&T review folders.

Understand Expectations

·  Ask questions about BSU expectations.

·  Make sure your activities and accomplishments count not only within your department, but also with your colleagues across the college.

·  Work with your department head and/or dean to ensure your workload meets their expectations for output.

·  Read all applicable policies.

·  Abide by any rubric your department created in order to “meet expectations” annually/bi-annually.

·  Become very familiar with your college P&T document.

·  Have clear conversation with your chair and P&T committee about what the expectations are, both in a written document and the “unwritten” expectations.

·  Read policies carefully.

Partner with Mentors

·  Participate in university-level mentoring programs as available. Ask who BSU mentors are (outside of your department/college) and confer with them by the start of year.

·  Use your mentors.

·  Request that your department pay for an external mentor in a sub-field.

·  Have a mentor and seek guidance in preparing your portfolio.

·  Find a mentor(s), perhaps outside your college – it was a safe place to talk.

·  Find a good mentor within/outside department. Chair will help w/the process. Mentor can help with research & teaching questions.

·  Seek mentors.

·  Find or be assigned a mentor.

·  Find a mentor, change mentor if match is not good.

Ask for Help

·  Be sure to ask for help.

·  Talk to your department chair. When you feel the need to, when you are having trouble, when you need help with writing, etc.

·  Ask for help and guidance as soon as you feel (or realize) that you may be falling behind in meeting expectations.

·  Ask for help.

Ask for Feedback

·  Get feedback early and often; and listen to it.

·  Learn your unit’s expectations! Do this with regular feedback from your chair and colleagues.

·  Seek feedback within and out of department.

·  Demand annual feedback on a departmental level and document the feedback.

·  Make sure that feedback on annual reviews is aligned with biennial pre-tenure reviews.

·  Ask for feedback from your worst critic, not just your best.

Engage with Faculty outside Your Department

·  Stay engaged with community and other faculty.

·  Join a writing group.

·  Network! Both within and without your unit.

·  Collaborate across disciplines.

Make Room for Scholarship

·  Make sure your publications are submitted/accepted by journals on the acceptable list.

·  Prioritize scholarship.

·  Unfortunately, prioritize research and publication.

·  Use grant buy-outs.

·  Learn to say no, protect research time.

·  Get manuscripts out ASAP.

·  Schedule your weeks so you have a consistent day or two devoted just to research, writing and scholarship.

·  Find a productive collaborator to partner with in research efforts.

·  Commit your research agenda to writing – include in TPR materials – discuss with TPR and chair. This enables you to build your specific case for what your research agenda is and how you are meeting it ASAP.

·  Establish your research agenda immediately.

·  Communicate with your chair and P&T committee about the research projects that you would like to work on so that your colleagues understand how they will be valued when applying.

·  Write/attempt proposals (a lot).

·  Utilize summers to work on scholarship.

Improve Your Teaching

·  Be humble: It is hard to teach the first couple of years, and it will get better if you actively work to engage students.

·  Learn the P&T policies early on; get to know everyone who will be in your T& P committee.

·  Observe other faculty in teaching.

·  Ensure you teach at least three courses at both grad and undergrad levels.

·  Teach the same classes each year.

·  Attend CTL Workshops.

·  Participate in peer assessment in classroom.

·  Figure out how you are going to demonstrate your excellence in teaching. It is easy to do for research, but teaching – very tough.

·  Define your continuous improvement strategy in teaching.

·  Participate in CTL’s “Ten before Tenure.”

Build Department Relationships

·  Be on good terms with all people.

·  Cultivate relationships and positive perceptions among your colleagues.

·  Get to know the key faculty players in your college.

·  Listen to your department colleagues. Talk to them about your work and aspirations.

·  Remember that the significant majority of your senior colleagues are here to help and mentor you. They are not out to “get” you.

·  Don’t be afraid to speak up.

·  Don’t be afraid to contribute at department meetings.

·  Be visible in the department; talk about your work.

·  Try to stay above departmental politics.

·  Be a good department citizen – do disagree with colleagues, but with a civil tone.

·  Be social with faculty from across your department.

Pay Attention to Wellbeing

·  Do what you love, do it well, breathe.

·  Find something you are passionate about.

·  Don’t fret the details of the P&T process – instead focus on the whole person you need to become – excellent researcher, excellent teacher, valuable contributor of service --- and then do it.

Connect outside Boise State University

·  Join a committee at your professional society and attend the annual meeting; try to organize/co-organize a symposium.

·  Cultivate external references through conference attendance and service to field (session chair).

·  Make some solid connection outside university.

·  Prioritize professional relationships within the field.

Other

·  Ensure you have thoroughly completed Faculty 180 (performance evaluation tool).

·  Just say “no.” Practice saying “thank you for that opportunity; I would like to take some time to think about it.” Then weigh how it fits with goals/responsibilities.

·  Identify campus/department resources (e.g. Library faculty and staff)