Smathers Libraries Career Development Handbook

II, D. 1. Tenure and Promotion Guidelines for Library Faculty and Supervisors

Introduction

The tenure and promotion processes are governed by procedures which are derived from rules and regulations promulgated by the State of Florida, the University of Florida, and the United Faculty of Florida Union. These rules mandate the manner in which the tenure/promotion process is handled by the librarian’s department; the Libraries’ Tenure and Promotion Committee, the Dean of University Libraries, and higher administrative officials.

Tenured library faculty should evaluate carefully the material submitted for each nominee, clarify matters that are not clear in the documentation, and determine whether the nominee meets the standard that the University has set for tenure and/or promotion to the applicable rank. Confidentiality with respect to information regarding each candidate is expected.

The following documents are pertinent to the tenure and promotion process:

Florida Administrative Code (FAC) 6C1-7.003, 7.010, 7.013, and 7.019.
Constitution of the University of Florida, Article V., Section 5.
Guidelines and Information Regarding the Tenure, Permanent Status and Promotion Process for 2007-2008.

Overview of the Process

The process has a number of checks and balances to protect both the individual and the University.

Academic Affairs advises Library Human Resources of those librarians who are eligible for tenure for the current year.
The Department Chair or the individual librarian may initiate the promotion process.
Letters of recommendation and other required data are gathered into the nomination packet.
Eligible members of the nominee’s department read the packet and discuss the nomination, voting by secret ballot on the basis of their experience with the nominee and the evidence presented in the packet.
After the departmental vote, the Department Chair adds his or her recommendation to the packet.
The packet, along with the Department Chair’s recommendation and the departmental vote, is forwarded to the Tenure and Promotion Committee.
The Tenure and Promotion Committee reviews the packet and makes a recommendation in writing to the Dean of University Libraries.
The Dean of University Libraries may request that the library directors from Smathers Libraries, the Health Science Center Libraries, the Legal Information Center, and FCLA provide advice regarding their nominations.
The Dean of University Libraries writes a letter of review and recommendation.
The nomination is forwarded to the President of the University.
Positive tenure decisions
Although the President makes
Negative decisions may result in a notice of non-renewal.

Detailed Procedures. Following is a detailed description of the procedures that must be followed.

Determination of Eligibility for Tenure Nomination
1. Librarians who are classified as full-time or part-time with the rank of Assistant University Librarian and above who are employed in a tenure earning position are eligible for nomination for tenure.
  The eligibility for tenure will normally begin during the sixth year or its equivalent in part-time continuous service in a tenure earning position, including the time approved for tenure credit when initially employed by the University in a tenure accruing position. A librarian may elect to apply for tenure prior to the normal sixth year with the agreement of the chair or equivalent administrator. The decision to grant or deny tenure must be made by the end of the sixth year of continuous full-time or equivalent part-time service, including any approved credit transfer of tenure time to the University.
2. Tenure service is counted prior to, during, and after an approved leave of absence or reduction of FTE. No service credit is accrued during the leave of absence without pay, except as agreed to in writing by the Office of Academic Affairs and the faculty member at the time of approval of leave.
Nomination

In July the Library Human Resources Officer will notify eligible librarians, directors, and department chairs that it is time to initiate the tenure and/or promotion process. Any librarian desiring to submit a nomination for promotion must be considered.
Tenure and Promotion Information Meeting for Librarians

Nominees and their department chairs will be invited, along with any other interested librarians; to attend tenure and promotion workshops provided by the Human Resources Office and the Office of Academic Affairs.
The meetings provide information on all aspects of the Libraries’ and University’s tenure and promotion process: filling out the tenure and promotion forms, selecting referees, requesting letters of recommendation, selecting items to include in the tenure and promotion packet, the role of the Tenure and Promotion committee, criteria for tenure and promotion, and timelines for the tenure and promotion process.
The Department Chair or equivalent administrator and the nominee should review the appropriate sections of the Florida Administrative Code, University Constitution, Bargaining Agreement, Career Development Handbook, and the Office of Academic Affairs Memorandum for compliance with the rules and procedures.

Letters of Recommendation

By August, the nominee must submit to the Department Chair or equivalent administrator a list of possible referees. The Department Chair reviews the list with the nominee and makes additions and/or deletions as appropriate.
The Chair sends the list of selected referees with reasons for choosing these particular referees to the appropriate Director for review. The reasons should include the referee’s credentials/qualifications and his/her relation to the candidate (specifically the extent of contact, knowledge of candidate’s performance, etc.).
After review by the appropriate Director, the Chair notifies the nominee of persons from whom letters of recommendation will be sought.
The Chair asks the nominee to sign a statement indicating whether the rights to review the letters will or will not be waived. The signed statement is sent to the Library Personnel Officer.
Eight to ten letters of recommendation are suggested for nominations for promotion to Associate University Librarian and for tenure. Up to twelve are recommended for nominations for promotion to University Librarian. A larger number of letters should be solicited than are wanted since it is likely that not all referees asked to respond will do so. More important than quantity of letters is their quality, ensuring that a knowledgeable, rounded and balanced view of the performance and potential of the nominee is provided.

Evaluation by colleagues inside and outside the nominee’s department and qualified librarians within and outside the University must be sought.
At least five letters must be from outside the University. Outside means individuals not employed either currently or in the past ten years by the University of Florida. You are encouraged to solicit outside letters from those who do not have a personal relationship with the candidate. Please note that these are to be letters of evaluation offering evidence of recognized contributions and not simply letters of support. Outside letters should normally be written by faculty of higher rank than the nominee. Letters from faculty who are at the top of the candidate’s field and at the very best institutions are particularly valued. The emphasis should not be on the number of letters solicited, but on the quality of the review.
Those nominated for promotion to Associate University Librarian must include in their packet at least three letters from colleagues in that rank.
Those nominated for promotion to University Librarian must have at least three letters from librarians who have achieved the rank.
If the nominee has a secondary supervisor, one of the letters of recommendation must come from that supervisor.

Those from whom letters of recommendation are solicited must be notified as to whether or not the nominee waives the right to review the letters.
The Department Chair will use the Libraries’ form letter to solicit letters of recommendation. Copies of the solicitation letters are to be sent to the Human Resources Officer by the department chair.
Letters of recommendation must be available to the nominee to see unless the right to view the letters is waived.

Preparations and Contents of the Tenure and/or Promotion Packet

Preparation

Nominees for tenure and/or promotion need to review the Libraries' Career Development Handbook and the Office of Academic Affairs Memorandum, which includes the University’s tenure and/or promotion forms. Applicable sections of the Florida Administrative Code, the Bargaining Agreement, Constitution of the University of Florida and the Office of Academic Affairs Administrator’s Information Packet are available for review in the Human Resources Office and from the Director’s secretary in the Health Science Center Libraries, the Legal Information Center, and FCLA.
The nominee is responsible for working with his/her supervisor to prepare the tenure and promotion packet. The supervisor is responsible for providing guidance to the nominee.
Prior to consideration of the librarian’s nomination by the department, the nominee will review the materials in the packet to ensure that all information the librarian believes to be pertinent to the nominations is present. It is the responsibility of the nominee to see that the tenure and/or promotion materials are complete.
If the librarian has waived his/ her right to review the letters of recommendation, these may not be seen by the nominee. It is the responsibility of the nominee's supervisor to incorporate the letters of recommendation into the packet in accordance with relevant University Tenure and Promotion Guidelines.
The nominee must be notified in writing of any additions, deletions or changes to the supporting materials in the packet. The nominee then has five days within which to attach a brief and concise response if desired.

Contents of the Tenure and/or Promotion Packet

University of Florida Recommendation for Tenure, Permanent Status, and/or Promotion forms are provided by the Office of Academic Affairs. Instructions for completing the Tenure and Promotion packet can be found in the yearly Office of Academic Affairs Memorandum.

Other documents to be included in the packet are as follows:
- Letters of recommendation. The letters are extremely important in presenting a credible picture of a candidate and should therefore be written by a knowledgeable, competent, reputable, and diverse group of persons. Referees should be selected carefully.
  Letters of recommendation should be arranged and identified: University of Florida Librarians, University of Florida Faculty, and colleagues in other libraries.
- Copies of the last five annual letters of evaluation with corresponding annual assignments and goals/objective statements (or as many as have been written if the nominee has not been at the University long enough to have been evaluated five times).
- A current vita which serves as an extension of information not required by the forms gives a broader description of the nominee’s accomplishments.
  
  NOTE: Annual assignments, goals/objectives, and vita are not forwarded as a part of the packet to the Academic Personnel Board.
- If tenure credit was granted upon appointment, include a copy of the letter approving such previous tenure service.
- The letter from the Department Chair or equivalent administrator is to be added to the packet after the departmental vote has been taken. A copy is forwarded to the nominee. This letter should give an overall assessment (as measured against the criteria described in Chapter Two, Section A) of the nominee’s qualifications for the action sought, provide information, where appropriate, about the professional status of those writing letters of recommendation, comment on the quality of the nominee’s publications and other achievements under the criteria, and provide any other clarification’s which will assist the reviewers in evaluating the materials in the packet. The chair should append to the letter the list of referees with a brief narrative description of the reasons why these individuals were selected, including the referee’s credentials/qualifications and his/her relation to the candidate (specifically the extent of contact, knowledge of the candidate’s performance, etc.).
- An evaluative statement from the Dean of University Libraries is required. The statement is added to the packet after the Dean of University Libraries has reviewed the fact-finding information with the Tenure and Promotion Committee. This statement, a copy of which is sent to the nominee, may be used to explain/clarify such issues as unusual votes, exceptional assignments, or early promotions as well as serving as an evaluation of the nomination.
- Any further information.

Departmental Vote

All tenured librarians in the nominee’s department are eligible to vote on a tenure nomination.
Those librarians in the nominee’s department in ranks higher than the nominee’s current rank are eligible to vote on a promotion nomination.
Faculty in the department eligible to vote will independently review all material in the packet, including letters of recommendation. (They do not view the chair’s letter of transmittal, or the chair’s endorsement, or lack thereof—these are added after the vote.)
The Chair will hold a meeting of eligible voting faculty to discuss the nominations.
The vote, by secret ballot, may not be taken sooner than within one day of this meeting. Department members are expected to vote (by secret ballot) on their experience working with the candidate as well as the contents of the packet. It is recommended that candidates be discussed alphabetically (first all candidates for tenure at that rank, then the candidates for promotion to University Librarian). All discussions and material reviewed must be held confidential by all involved.

Department Chair’s Addition of Information to the Packet

After the department members vote is taken, but before the packet is forwarded to the Library Personnel Office, the Chair adds to the packet a letter of transmittal which evaluates the nominee’s qualifications for the promotion or conferral of tenure, indicates whether the nominee is endorsed or not, and writes in the results of the departmental vote. Once this information has been added to the packet, the nominee must receive a copy of the letter, evaluation, and results of the departmental vote.
If the nominee’s immediate supervisor reports to a Department Chair, the supervisor may write the chair’s letter of transmittal. In this case, the chair indicates in writing on the letter concurrence with the lower level supervisor.
At any point in the process if information is added to, deleted from, or changed in the packet, the nominee must be notified in writing and has five days to respond. A copy of the notification is sent to the department chair.
The original packet and two photocopies are to be submitted to the Human Resources Office for review for omissions or errors. After the packet has been reviewed and corrected, if needed, the packet is forwarded to the Tenure and Promotion Committee.

Review by the Tenure and Promotion Committee

Composition and Formation of the Committee

The Tenure and Promotion Committee is composed of nine tenured librarians who are appointed by the Dean of University Libraries in August of each year. When appointing new committee members efforts are made to ensure that there is broad representation on the committee of experienced librarians from various library specialization’s and locations on campus.
Each librarian appointed to the committee will serve a three-year term, unless the librarian is appointed to fill in for a committee member who has left the Libraries, in which case the appointee will serve the remainder of the term. New members take office October 1^st and are relieved three years later on September 30^th. Appointments will be staggered in such a way that the appointments of three librarians will end each year thus necessitating the appointment of three new committee members.
In August of each year one member of the committee will be appointed chair of the committee by the Dean of University Libraries.

Responsibilities of the Committee

The members of the Tenure and Promotion Committee will review the files of candidates.
The members of the Tenure and Promotion Committee will review and discuss appropriate tenure and promotion regulations for the Libraries and the University in order to develop a common understanding of the requirements, procedures and their responsibilities prior to consideration of the tenure/promotion nominations.
The evaluation information used in the tenure and/or promotion process as well as the Committee’s discussion of said information are confidential and open only to those individuals involved in the recommendation and/or decision making process, unless otherwise required by law.
Members of the committee may request at any stage in the fact-finding process additional information.
After review and discussion of the nomination, the chair of the Committee informs the Dean of University Libraries and the Human Resources Officer that their review has been completed.
A fact-finding report, identifying the strengths and weakness of each candidate, is prepared for the Dean of University Libraries. The Dean may discuss the findings with members of the committee.

Review by the Library Directors

The Dean of University Libraries may request that the Health Science Center Libraries' Director, the Legal Information Center Director, the FCLA Director and the Smathers Libraries directors provide information on the nominations.
After consideration of the materials in the packets, and after consultation with the above mentioned groups and/or individuals, the Dean of University Libraries decides whether or not to endorse the nominations. This decision is noted on the tenure and promotion forms.
The Dean of University Libraries may choose among the following. In either instance, the packet is forwarded to the Academic Personnel Board. Copies of the material added to the packet are sent to the nominee.

Tenure

recommend the nomination. An evaluative statement is written by the Dean of University Libraries and inserted into the packet.
recommend against tenure. If the nomination is not recommended, the Dean of University Libraries must notify the candidate within five (5) days. The Candidate may ask for a meeting with the Dean within 10 days of notification.

Promotion

recommend the nomination An evaluative statement is written by the Dean of University Libraries and inserted into the packet.
recommend against promotion. If the nomination is not recommended, the Dean of University Libraries must notify the candidate within 5 days. The Candidate may ask for a meeting with the Dean within 10 days of notification.

Review by the University’s Academic Personnel Board or Designee

The University’s Academic Personnel Board or designee shall review nominations received in order to advise the President.
The Dean of University Libraries shall have the opportunity to meet with the president to review negative recommendations for tenure before the president makes a decision.

Review by the University President

In tenure decisions, the President will submit a recommendation to the Board of Trustees for approved. The Dean of University Libraries will be notified of that recommendation and will keep the librarian informed.
The President has the authority to make the final decision with respect to promotion nominations to the Associate University Librarian and University Librarian ranks. The Dean of University Libraries will be notified of such action.

Review of Tenure Nominations by the Board of Trustees

The library faculty member shall be notified in writing by the appropriate administrative official immediately, or as soon thereafter as possible, of the final action taken on the nomination for tenure.
Tenure and Promotion File

Copies of tenure and promotion packets will be filed in the Human Resources Office in a separate tenure and promotion file. This material may be viewed only by those required to participate in making recommendations and decisions regarding tenure and/or promotion as needed.

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