Philosophy

Departmental Tenure and Promotion Guidelines

The philosophy department strives to hire only those candidates for tenure track positions it deems fully capable of meeting or exceeding all expectations for tenure and promotion. In order to facilitate these achievements, the department conducts annual conversations between tenure track faculty and the department chair to review the candidate’s progress towards meeting the guidelines below in conjunction with the annual review

In the case of associate professors, annual conversations concerning progress toward promotion will also be with the department chair provided the chair is a full professor. If the chair is not a full professor, these conversations will be with another member of the department who is a full professor. The annual review will document senior members’ perspectives on progress with respect to promotion.

Teaching

Because the department deems an understanding of the history of philosophy integral to an undergraduate education in philosophy, many of the department's courses demonstrate how the thought of a given philosopher or the thoughts of multiple philosophers fit into the broader trajectory of the history of the discipline. In other courses, the emphasis is on specific areas of philosophy, specific philosophical issues, or specific ways in which philosophy relates to other domains and informs attempts to understand and address broader theoretical and practical concerns. In all courses, however, the expectation is that students will develop finely tuned capacities for careful, critical, and imaginative thinking. Accordingly, the department expects that all of its faculty will contribute courses at all levels of instruction consonant with its pedagogical mission and that each candidate for tenure or promotion will demonstrate teaching excellence in several ways.  The department takes a holistic approach to evaluating teaching and considers the following:

1. Self-evaluation and personal narrative;
2. Course materials, including syllabi, sample assignments, and activities;
3. Faculty observations, based on classroom visits, which document the candidate’s ability to create and conduct a productive and positive learning environment; and
4. Student voices, including solicited letters that candidly describe the candidate, and student teaching evaluations, both numerical and narrative.  These will assess the candidate’s ability to communicate effectively in the classroom and to motivate students to think deeply about course material.

Scholarship

The department expects its faculty to evince ongoing and productive engagement within some area of the discipline. Evidence can come in a variety of different forms and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. However, the most significant forms of evidence generally include peer-reviewed publications (books, journal articles, book chapters, conference papers), publicly engaged projects, research grants, and any other pertinent forms of scholarship.

In addition, but generally to a lesser extent, the department also considers the following as evidence of ongoing and productive scholarly engagement: invited talks, conference participation, paper submissions under review, non-peer reviewed publications, papers circulating among colleagues for review, book reviews, encyclopedia entries, and any other pertinent forms of scholarship.

At the time of review for tenure, a candidate should have at least one clearly articulated program of research, including several peer-reviewed publications and any other project presentations and forms of dissemination that demonstrate its scholarly significance. At the time of review for promotion to Professor, a candidate’s scholarship should be ongoing, and should be recognized by others of their cohort as a significant contribution to philosophical discourse pertinent to the candidate’s area or areas of research.

Service

In addition to the guidelines set forth regarding teaching and scholarship, the department also expects its faculty to demonstrate a record of service. Such service can take various forms. Service to the profession can include editing professional journals or newsletters, serving as external reviewers for philosophy departments, serving on boards of national or international philosophical associations, organizing conferences, or refereeing papers for journals or conferences. Intellectual service to the department and the College can include organizing panels, speakers, or conference programs. Service to the College can also include serving on committees, participating in campus organizations, or advising student organizations.  The department also recognizes service that extends beyond the campus in regional and national activities that draw on or improve the instructor’s professional competence and that benefit the College.

Candidates for tenure typically perform expected advising duties, attend department meetings and contribute to department initiatives, and may serve on a committee or contribute otherwise to the College community.  Candidates for promotion typically have an increased role in faculty governance or engagement with the College community, for example serving as department chair or on one major or two minor committees, or in other leadership roles.

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Revised Fall 2021