Promotion to Professor Task Force

The Promotion to Professor Task Force (PPTF) was created as part of ADVANCE FORWARD institutional transformation project to address mid-career mentoring and the PROMOTE program, which was funded by an NSF ADVANCE PAID grant and has been institutionalized in the Vice Provosot for Faculty Affairs and Equity office.

The goal of the task force is to help more associate professors successfully apply for promotion to professor. To this end, the task force serves as a campus liaison to the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Equity. Membership of the PPTF consists of a faculty representative from each of the academic colleges and one academic dean or associate dean. The dean/associate dean serves as the facilitator. The Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Equity will serve as an ex-officio member. Members are appointed by the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Equity in consultation with the academic deans and the current task force members. Members typically serve two-year terms, and may be reappointed. Membership terms begin with the first meeting in the fall semester.

Activities of the Task Force include the following.

• Offering workshops/panels on promotion.
• Providing tips on when and how to prepare for promotion.
• Discussing policy related to promotion, and recommending changes.
• Serving as a liaison to the academic colleges on matters of promotion and criteria for promotion and tenure.
• Reviewing relevant data on promotions (e.g., use of NSF 12 indicators).

Other resources prepared for sessions, including tips for promotion, work-life balance, and mentoring for the promotion process are available on the ADVANCE FORWARD institutional transformation project's mid-career peer mentoring site.

Promotion to Professor Panels

Since November 2009, the Promotion to Professor Task Force has been offering speakers and panels for faculty and academic administrators to assist in the process of helping faculty prepare for promotion. Panelists include newly promoted full professors, distinguished faculty, PTE committee members, chairs, heads, deans, Provost, and outside experts. Topics have covered discussions on different scholarship by discipline, the role of mentoring, how to determine when ready, and the professional importance of promotion to full professor.

Specific topics have included:

• Tips from newly promoted full professors
• Measures of quality
• Promoting a culture of support for promotion to professor
• Trends related to promotion to professor
• Chairs' perceptive on determining when ready to apply for promotion
• Chairs, heads, and deans disucssing the promotion process
• Non-traditional paths to promotion
• Surviving the process
• Preparation of an effective context statement
• Effective mentoring networks: The role of chairs
• Mutual mentoring: Moving beyond one-size-fits-all mentoring
• Rethinking mentoring: The role of administrators
• PTE committee members discussing the process and tips for preparing the application
• Work-life balance
• Distinguised professors' views on work-life balance
• Tips from experienced college PTE members
• Engendering the university through policy and practice: Barriers to promotion to full professor for faculty in STEM disciplines

You can find more information from past Promotion to Professor Panels on the bottom of the Mid-career Peer Mentoring Program page.

Upcoming Panels

Information on upcoming Promotion to Professor panels will be communicated via the offiial faculty listserv.