Term Faculty Promotion

Overview

Term faculty (teaching professors, research professors, and Professors of Practice) undergo a promotion review based on a timeline specified by R&P, but faculty members may request to be considered for promotion earlier than that timeline.

For teaching/research faculty, the promotion process involves input from a special committee of faculty members, typically from the candidate’s department. For Professors of Practice, the promotion process involves input from the faculty in the candidate’s department. For all term faculty, the college Dean makes the decision about promotion.

This page provides information about how the promotion process works for term faculty. See also Faculty Review at Lehigh and Term Faculty Review for information about review portfolios and other general information.

Who Undergoes a Promotion Review, and When?

The timeline for promotion is specified in R&P:

• Teaching/Research Assistant Professors are reviewed for promotion to Teaching/Research Associate Professor after having spent 12 regular semesters at that rank (R&P §2.13.2 and 2.14.2)
• Teaching/Research Associate Professors are reviewed for promotion to Teaching/Research Full Professor after having spent 12 regular semesters at that rank (R&P §2.13.3 and 2.14.3)
• Professors of Practice are reviewed for promotion to Senior Professor of Practice after having spent 20 regular semesters at that rank (R&P §2.12.1)

The minimum number of semesters is cumulative, i.e., they need not be consecutive.

Faculty members may request to be considered for promotion earlier than the timeline specified above; see Requesting Early Promotion, below.

See Promotion Review Schedule below for details of promotion review schedules. 

How Does the Promotion Review Process Work?

The promotion review process begins in the early Fall semester. Early in the semester, the Department Chair should notify each term faculty member who will have a promotion review. The Chair and the faculty member should discuss the materials to be included as part of the promotion review file. 

Teaching and Research Faculty

The faculty member uploads their promotion review materials to Interfolio. The deadline for doing so is typically around October 1. 

Promotion reviews for teaching and research faculty are conducted primarily by a “special committee,” rather than by the full department. In particular, the Department Chair, in consultation with the Dean, forms a special committee with the following requirements:

• At least five members of the department, at least one of whom is teaching faculty
• All committee members are either tenured/tenure-track faculty or teaching faculty
• All committee members are of the appropriate rank (Associate or Full when considering promotion to Associate, Full when considering promotion to Full)
• If the committee cannot be filled solely from the department (e.g., because there are not enough faculty members of the appropriate rank), the Chair may, after consulting with the Dean, invite faculty members from a closely related discipline

The Department Chair shares (via Interfolio) the promotion review file with the special committee. The special committee writes a letter recommending whether or not the candidate should be promoted. The deadline for doing so is typically around January 1. The candidate may respond to this letter in writing; if so, the response becomes part of the dossier.

The Dean reviews the dossier and special committee letter, makes a decision regarding promotion, and indicates their decision in a letter sent to the candidate, with copies to the Department Chair and Provost. The deadline for doing so is typically around March 15. 

If the Dean disagrees with the special committee’s recommendation, the dossier and both letters are forwarded to the Provost, who makes the final decision regarding promotion. The candidate may write a response to the letters, which is then included along with the dossier when it is sent to the Provost. 

The deadline for the Dean to forward the dossier to the Provost—whether or not the Dean and special committee agree—is typically around April 1.

Professors of Practice

A Professor of Practice who has held that title for twenty cumulative regular semesters is considered for promotion to Senior Professor of Practice. Such a promotion requires the recommendation of the department or program, and the Dean’s approval.

The faculty member uploads their promotion review materials to Interfolio. The deadline for doing so is typically around October 1.

The Department Chair shares (via Interfolio) the candidate’s materials with the department or program faculty, who discuss the proposed promotion and make a recommendation. The Department Chair summarizes the recommendation in a letter addressed to the candidate.

The Dean reviews the dossier and department/program letter, makes a decision regarding promotion, and indicates their decision in a letter sent to the candidate, with copies to the Department Chair and Provost. The deadline for doing so is typically around April 1. 

Requesting Early Promotion

As noted above, a Teaching/Research Assistant or Associate Professor is automatically considered for promotion after serving for 12 cumulative regular semesters at their current rank. A Teaching/Research Assistant or Associate Professor who wishes to be considered for promotion earlier than that may submit a request to do so.

The request should be made via a letter to the Department Chair and Dean. If approved, the review process may proceed. If denied, the candidate must wait at least 12 months before making another request for early promotion. 

R&P does not provide a mechanism for Professors of Practice to request to be considered for promotion to Senior Professor of Practice early.

Materials to Be Submitted

The Office of the Provost requires certain elements to be included in the faculty dossier for promotion review. Individual colleges may require additional materials; candidates and Department Chairs should consult with their Dean’s office regarding any additional requirements.

Faculty Candidate Materials

CV and Statements

• Curriculum vitae (CV), using the Lehigh CV template.
• Statements on teaching, research, and/or service, as appropriate to the candidate’s responsibilities, including the significance and impact of the candidate’s own contributions in each of these areas. See the Dossier Materials page for further guidance. Maximum 3 pages combined.

Teaching

(Only for faculty with teaching responsibilities.)

• Student course evaluation tabular listing. This is provided upon request by the Office of Institutional Data. The listing should include summary reports for all courses the candidate has taught since the year prior to the date of their last appointment. 

• Student course evaluations. These are available for download at https://go.lehigh.edu/evalkit. Include evaluations from all courses taught since the year prior to the date of their last appointment.

• Sample course materials (syllabi, tests, assignments, etc.) and any other supporting materials (commendations, student letters, etc.). Maximum 30 pages.

COVID Impact Statement

• COVID impact statement. Optional. Maximum 2 pages.

Department Chair Materials

Special Committee Summary

• Special committee summary letter. Department Chair’s summary of department review, addressed to Dean, shared with candidate.
• Candidate’s response to department summary letter, or declination to respond.

Effort Allocation

• Percentage effort breakdown (e.g., 50% teaching/50% service) and summary of responsibilities for the upcoming appointment

Joint Appointment Information

(Only for faculty with joint appointments.)

• Program director letter.
• Candidate’s response to program or special committee summary letter, or declination to respond.

College Dean Materials

• Dean’s recommendation letter. Addressed to the Provost, shared with the candidate.
• Candidate’s response to Dean’s letter, or declination to respond.

Promotion Review Schedule 

The Provost’s office publishes the schedules below each year for each step in the promotion review process, in order to accommodate the deadline to submit the dossier to the Provost’s Office (April 1). The Department Chair and/or Dean’s office should inform the candidate and the Provost’s Office about any concerns in meeting the deadline.

The schedules listed below are for the current academic year. Schedules may change from year to year, but the dates are likely to be similar to the current year. 

Confirming Candidates for Review

 

The Review Process

The Provost expects quality checks at each level to ensure that all documents are included in Interfolio to avoid having to send the dossier back for corrections. College-Level Administrators (CLADs) are responsible for completing a full review of the online dossier to ensure that all letters and other materials are uploaded to Interfolio before submitting the dossier to the Dean.

Relevant Sections of R&P

• 2.12.1 Professor of Practice Contract Terms, Titles, and Responsibilities
• 2.13.2 Promotion to Teaching Associate Professor
• 2.13.3 Promotion to Teaching Full Professor
• 2.14.2 Promotion to Research Associate Professor
• 2.14.3 Promotion to Research Full Professor

Additional Resources

• Interfolio login page
• Interfolio at Lehigh

Notes

• This overview is intended to supplement the information contained in Lehigh’s Rules and Procedures of the Faculty (R&P). If there is a discrepancy between the guidance on this page and R&P, the provisions of R&P govern.
• Feel free to contact your Department Chair, Associate Dean for Faculty, the Deputy Provost for Faculty Affairs, or the Director of Faculty Affairs with any questions or concerns.