Division of Arts & Humanities Executive Committee

• March 13, 2026
• February 19, 2026
• December 9, 2025
• December 4, 2025
• November 20, 2025
• October 28, 2025

Agendas are available upon request.

It is important that dossiers be presented clearly, particularly the section of the Curriculum Vitae pertaining to publications and creative activities. Please note the primary criterion on research (see Ranking the Criteria, I(B) and II(B)).

The materials in this section should be subcategorized and labeled as to whether, for example, articles were published in professional journals or anthologies and whether they were refereed; whether books were edited, authored, or co-authored; and (for the Arts) whether exhibitions or performances were single-artist, performance ensembles or group shows, and whether they were invited or juried. In the case of collaborative work, the % of effort and a description of the candidate’s role should be made clear.

If a promotion case from Assistant to Associate is scheduled prior to the end of the faculty member’s probationary period, the Department Chair and Executive Committee should be prepared to address the rationale for their decision. For promotion from Associate Professor to Professor, the Committee requests that the candidate’s accomplishments since the last promotion be clearly indicated.

The dossier should include the departmental criteria for promotion and tenure. They should specify discipline-appropriate standards for identifying research/creative activities and mechanisms for peer review. Although not required, the candidate’s department is highly encouraged to include Annual Personnel Reviews as part of their promotion dossier. 

It is recommended that all departments review departmental criteria and address any incongruities in relation to the divisional criteria.  For example, as indicated in divisional criteria, the committee places the greatest emphasis on evidence of excellence in research followed by teaching and service.

Department Chairs are encouraged to recommend that candidates work with internal and external mentors to achieve the above stated goals.  The annual Personnel Review, although not required, can be very helpful in this regard, and may be included in the candidate’s dossier.

A clear statement of how the external evaluations were obtained must accompany the documentation. See sample statement and letter attached to the criteria document. Chairs should seek evaluative letters addressing the question of whether the candidate’s work meets the standards in the relevant discipline for academic promotion. While the candidate may suggest to the department, names of external evaluators, the candidate must not solicit any letters.

A list of everyone from whom letters were solicited, including those who did not provide an evaluation, must be provided. Dossiers submitted without this information will be returned to the department for revision. All letters received from evaluators must be submitted.

External reviewers must identify their prior knowledge of the candidate.  Moreover, letters submitted from dissertation advisors or mentors will not be counted towards the minimum external letter requirement. Departments should not solicit letters from the candidates’ former advisors and graduate teachers, or any other persons with possible conflicts of interest.  Any potential conflict of interest must be explained.  Divisional criteria requests brief descriptions of letter writers’ qualifications.  To this end, a CV or one-paragraph biosketch to include job title and institution, educational and/or career background and research accomplishments in the field is requested of all external reviewers.

Department Chairs presenting promotion cases to the Divisional Committee should address any negative comments that may occur in External Evaluator letters in relation to Department or Divisional criteria. 

All materials, including external letters of evaluation, must be submitted digitally, organized into folders that are named and numbered according to the format provided in the Committee’s criteria document. Please refer to the Checklist for an overview of format and content. The digital file(s) must be submitted to the Dean who will forward the full file to the Divisional Committee Office.

Any steps that can be taken to make it easier to read and interpret a dossier for scholars in other disciplines will enhance the dossier’s chance of being fairly and accurately evaluated by the committee.