Sam Fox School Policy on Faculty Appointment, Retention, Tenure, and Promotion

The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University is fully committed to the protection of each faculty member’s right to academic freedom.

Academic freedom, in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, is the freedom of faculty to pursue knowledge through their creative and scholarly endeavors without unreasonable restriction. Evaluation and appraisal of faculty creative and scholarly endeavors shall be made on the basis of those criteria generally recognized and promoted by members of the professions of art, design, and architecture, not personal beliefs, political views, religious affiliation, or other individual preferences, except as these may demonstrably affect intellectual and professional achievement.

All full-time tenure-track and tenure-eligible appointments in the Colleges of Art and Architecture are initiated by the respective directors with written approval of the dean of the Sam Fox School. This occurs after a search has been conducted by a search committee and the faculty has voted according to the procedures outlined in Section V.D. Official offers must be approved and signed by the dean of the Sam Fox School.

Tenure-track appointments are made to fill a variety of studio, research, and instructional needs. Appointment to the faculty is based on the candidate’s qualifications as an artist, designer, architect, and scholar as well as his or her demonstrated potential of moving toward excellence in the criteria appropriate to the candidate’s work assignments. Hence, the faculty member is expected to maintain and develop this competence by means of a sound and productive program of creative activity and/or scholarly activity.

Appointments to professorial rank are determined by the teaching and creative/scholarly needs of the program for which budgetary provision has been made.

Upon appointment to a tenure-track position, each faculty member will be assigned a mentor. (See Appendix E for Policy on Mentoring.)

A.  Criteria for Appointments

Criteria used in determining qualifications of candidates for appointment to tenure-track positions are those used throughout the academic personnel review process outlined in Section II of this document. Evidence of performance in teaching, creative/scholarly activity, and service, including letters of recommendation, should be assembled by the search committee.

B.  Recommendation for Appointments

After thorough review of all candidates presented for consideration for appointment to the faculty, the eligible voting members will meet to discuss the qualifications and potential of each candidate. Faculty members eligible to vote in the appointment unit shall vote by secret ballot to recommend candidates for full-time appointments in the unit. This vote will be reported to the faculty of the appointment unit, as well as to the director of the college. The college director reviews the vote of the faculty and any recommendations developed by the search committee. Recommendations for appointment shall be made by the director of the college to the dean of the Sam Fox School. Letters of appointment will be signed by both the director of the college and the dean of the Sam Fox School.

C.  Titles

1. Tenure-Track Titles

Tenure-track appointments in the colleges are made using the following titles: Professor, Associate Professor, and Assistant Professor. Appointments using these titles are of two types: probationary or with continuous tenure.

2. Professor of Practice

The title Professor of Practice may be used for non-tenure-track appointments made in accordance with Section VIII of this policy. No other titles or ranks may be used for such appointments. Professor of Practice appointments may be full-time or part-time.

3. Lecturer Titles

The titles Lecturer and Senior Lecturer may be used for non-tenure track teaching appointments made in accordance with Section IX of this policy. Lecturer and Senior Lecturer appointments may be full-time or part-time.

4. Visiting Faculty Titles

Temporary appointments not to exceed three years may be designated with “visiting” titles in accordance with Section X of this policy. The following titles are used: Visiting Professor, Visiting Associate Professor, and Visiting Assistant Professor. Visiting appointments may be full-time or part-time.

D.  Probationary Period for Tenure-Track Faculty

The probationary period for faculty appointments in the Sam Fox School is seven years. The decision whether or not to grant tenure will be made no later than during the sixth year of the probationary period. Prior tenure-track (or equivalent) academic service at another institution of higher education ordinarily will be credited toward the probationary period at Washington University. It may be mutually agreed in writing between the incoming faculty member and the University, however, that some or all of the prior academic service not be counted toward the probationary period at Washington University, even though the total probationary period in the academic profession is thereby extended beyond the normal probationary period of the University’s school or college.

(See Appendix A for Tenure Status Form.)

Effect of Parental Leave Policy on Probationary Period

During the probationary period, the time that a faculty member spends on parental leave under the Danforth Campus Policy on Parental Leave for Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty or Section IV.B.2 of the Washington University Policy on Academic Freedom, Responsibility, and Tenure shall not count toward the probationary period. To avoid the administrative difficulties that deviations from the usual yearly tenure review schedule would create, the total time spent on parental leave will be rounded up to the nearest whole number of years to the extent necessary to avoid such schedule deviation, for purposes  of tolling the tenure clock.

E.  Granting of Tenure

Tenure may be granted only to full-time faculty with the rank of associate professor or professor (for a definition of tenure, see Section IV of the Washington University Policy on Academic Freedom, Responsibility, and Tenure). Tenure may be granted at the time of appointment to the faculty or at the conclusion of the probationary period but, in either case, is subject to the review of the appropriate voting body of the faculty (see Section V.B). Cases of tenured appointments from outside the university should be submitted as soon as possible after the search committee decides on the candidate but before any employment offer is made. With support from the Provost, offers can be made with the expectation of tenure contingent on a tenure review according to the policy on faculty appointment, retention, tenure, and promotion. 

Candidates for appointment, retention, tenure, or promotion shall be evaluated on their record of performance in teaching, creative activity/research, and University and public service, as well as institutional criteria such as budgetary, teaching, and research requirements. Exceptional ability in teaching, creative activity/research, and service is necessary to achieve tenure and promotion.

The disciplines within the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts are diverse, ranging from studio art and design disciplines to architecture and architectural history, with a wide range of forums for teaching and dissemination of creative and scholarly work. These criteria are meant to serve as guidelines in the evaluation of these various disciplines.

A tenured appointment is a long-term commitment, based not only on the evaluation of the candidate’s past teaching and creative activity/research and service, but also measured with the expectation of continuing high-quality teaching and work that will significantly benefit the Sam Fox School and advance the academic standing and reputation of both the candidate and the institution.

Tenured faculty members are expected to develop and expand their work and teaching beyond that which merited them their appointment with tenure. A faculty member will be encouraged to attain standards in work and teaching that merit promotion to full professor.

The work and activities of all tenure-track and full-time faculty members are evaluated annually. (See Appendix B for Annual Professional Activities Report Form.) The quality and recognition in the field of the individual candidate’s teaching, creative activity/research, and professional practice, as well as the merits of the candidate’s role and contribution to the programs of the school are evaluated using the criteria for tenure and promotion of the Sam Fox School. The burden is on the faculty member under consideration to demonstrate that these criteria have been met and will be met during his or her academic career.

A.  Guidelines for Tenure and for Promotion to Associate Professor

The documentation enumerated below for evaluating performance in teaching, creative activity/ research, and service are intended to serve as guides, not to set boundaries or to exclude other areas of performance that may be considered. Where quantity is indicated, the numbers should serve as guidelines, not mandates. The tenured faculty has the discretion to make judgments about depth and quality of work. In addition to the documentation to be included as evidence of performance in each of the categories listed, letters of recommendation are required for all reviews for appointment; external letters of evaluation are required for all reviews for tenure, and promotion.

1. Teaching

Teaching must be of the highest quality, as measured by the work of the candidate’s students, curriculum, syllabi, and the contributions of his or her teaching to the intellectual life of the school and the University. While highly effective teaching is essential to achieve tenure, it is not alone sufficient without evidence of creative work/research and service of the highest quality.

Each faculty member of the school must be an excellent teacher. He or she must clearly document and demonstrate the active contributions to the program area that he or she is responsible for, including the following:

• The ability to foster knowledge and mastery of fundamental technical and conceptual skills;
• Command of the subject while remaining current with relevant changes in the field;
• The ability to awaken interest and curiosity in beginning students and to stimulate advanced students to original and independent creative work;
• The ability to organize material and to present it clearly and effectively;
• Encouragement of individual freedom of thought and creative expression and effectiveness in promoting an open learning environment that is encouraging to all students; and
• Participation in the general guidance and mentoring of students.

Evidence of teaching effectiveness must include the following:

• Course plans and syllabi, with clearly stated course objectives, expectations, and related teaching materials;
• Peer evaluations based on class visitations by faculty members knowledgeable in the candidate’s field or through public lectures given by the candidate; and
• Student evaluations of teaching.

Evidence of teaching effectiveness may also include the following:

• Honors or special recognitions for teaching accomplishments; and
• Evaluations of graduates who have achieved notable professional success.

Candidates whose early record reflects difficulty in teaching must document the steps that they have taken to address these problems, and the record must reflect, through student evaluations, peer evaluations, and other means, that significant improvement has occurred.

2. Creative Activity and Research

Engaging in original and innovative work—including creative activity and research—is among the primary responsibilities of each faculty member within the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. These activities must occur in tandem with the responsibilities of service and teaching. Importance is given to these activities being mutually reinforcing.

To achieve a tenured position within the Sam Fox School a candidate’s creative activity/ research must have a record of accomplishment that is highly regarded within his or her field and has attained national distinction. His or her creative activity/research should display merit, depth, and originality and be a significant contribution to a particular field of study and to the discipline as a whole. The faculty member’s creative activity/research should also utilize and/or display evidence of new approaches of creative activity and scholarship to its respective discipline. Professional practice within an academic setting is distinctive and should seek to advance the discipline. Professional practice and consulting must not exceed the University standard of one day per week. (See Danforth Campus Policy on Consulting Privileges, 2007 Faculty Information Brochure, p. 17.)

It is recognized that the balance and quantity of creative activity/research will vary between candidates. Variations in the quantity of creative activity/research may exist, but it will be the responsibility of the Tenure Committee, director of the respective college, and the dean of the Sam Fox School to determine whether or not the candidate’s work meets the highest standards of excellence within his or her field to attain tenure.

For those candidates whose work is primarily scholarship, the expectation for tenure is to have published or had accepted for publication a substantial work or body of scholarship that represents research undertaken since and extending well beyond the scope of their dissertation. The publication of a dissertation alone is not sufficient for tenure.

               a. Art

Faculty members in art include those currently working in painting, sculpture, printmaking, digital imaging, and photography or in a combination of these areas. In addition to exhibiting art, studio careers may also encompass curatorial projects, refereed publications, Web projects, consultancies, and collaborative projects with other artists, architects, designers, critics, historians, philosophers, and scientists, among others.

Faculty members in art should engage in work that explores the boundaries of the practice as it exists today. They are expected to contribute original knowledge to the field through the creation of original works and to participate in creative activity and research about the field. Their body of work should demonstrate the overarching trajectory of their investigation in annual, midterm, and tenure review documents.

Creative activity is inclusive of both traditional and nontraditional art practices. While dossiers will likely include a variety of creative activities, they will all need to demonstrate external engagement, review, and evaluation. While this may be a natural part of the process in more traditional areas of research and scholarship, it may require nontraditional forms of peer review in the areas of creative activity, practice, and outreach. Where demonstration is across the areas of creative activity, practice, research, and scholarship, the candidate must articulate the interrelationship of these activities and show how they aggregate to meet the requirements for tenure and promotion.

An artist is expected to present evidence of involvement in solo or group exhibitions and other projects at the regional and national level. Regional is defined by exhibitions, reviews, and venues where the work is juried or selected from a regional pool of artists and the audience is principally regional in scope. A national exhibition is selected from a pool of artists having either a national audience or national reach through the reputation of the venue or through publications; this can be true even when the exhibition is held in the region. Artists whose focus involves the regional culture of the Midwest are expected to have a national and/or international audience. In the case of juried competitions, the level and scope of the competition as evidenced by such data as the number and geographic range of applicants is one way in which a candidate can document the status of a particular venue. Part of the definition of establishing a national record is participation in exhibitions outside of the Midwest, and in venues that have been selected by nationally recognized jurors or curators and/or held at reputable private galleries, university galleries, art centers, museums, or alternative venues of significant impact across the country as recognized by experts in the field of specialization.

Grants for creative work, commissions, and all other creative projects may also be categorized as either regional or national depending on the client, location, and process of selection. Reviews, catalog reproductions, articles, and books of an artist’s work are also part of the evidence used to judge the stature of a candidate’s work as an artist or designer. Papers delivered at regional and national conferences, artist residencies, visiting artist lectures, and other public presentations will also be considered as part of the candidate’s evidence of recognition. The expected number of art exhibitions may vary depending on medium. The scale of a particular artist’s work or the nature of the materials should also be taken into consideration when judging the record and number of shows. Solo exhibitions or closely curated smaller group shows should also be given more weight if they are at reputable and established regional and national venues.

For the rank of associate professor, a faculty member in art should demonstrate a record of consistency and growth that clearly demonstrates an emerging stature at the regional or national level as an artist in general or in his or her specific area of specialization.

A candidate for tenure and for promotion to associate professor is expected to have had an average of two to three group exhibitions per year, or twelve to fifteen exhibitions in total, at the regional and national level. At least six exhibitions should be at the national level. In addition, three solo exhibitions at the regional or national level at an art center, university gallery, private gallery, museum, or alternative venue of significant impact are also expected.

Candidates for promotion to associate professor are also expected to have received one or more grants, commissions, selected artist residencies, or special projects at the regional or national level. Ongoing recognition of the candidate’s work can also be demonstrated through published reviews, citations, catalogs, or published catalog/ book reproductions of the candidate’s work, and its inclusion in public and private collections. Visiting artist lectures and papers or lectures presented at regional or national conferences are also indications of recognition.

               b. Design

Design faculty members include those currently working in Visual Communications— graphic design, illustration, motion graphics, advertising—and Fashion and Costume Design, as well as other subsets of the practice of design that may be added to the Sam Fox School.

Design faculty members should engage in work that explores the boundaries of design practice as it exists today. They are expected to contribute new knowledge to the field through the creation of original works, participation in research about the field, and/or professional practice. Their body of work should reflect a coherent investigation of one or a series of ideas, and they are expected to articulate the overarching trajectory of their investigation in annual, midterm, and tenure review documents.

For tenure and promotion to associate professor, candidates should expect to produce eight to twelve substantial projects over the course of the probationary period. While the exact number, size, and complexity of the projects may vary, what is important is to demonstrate a sustained body of work that is recognized within the field. Clusters of smaller projects, if properly contextualized, may be considered equal to a substantial project.

1. Creative Activity

For design faculty members, creative activity may occur in one or multiple categories, including, but not limited to, self-generated work distributed through a range of venues. For example, projects may exist as motion graphics and short films, artists’ books, informational and children’s books, graphic novels, and garment and product design, as appropriate to the candidate’s area of expertise. Modes of distribution include film festivals, performances, exhibitions and permanent collections, publications, and commercial distributors, as well as design competitions (regional, national, or international).

2. Practice

Commercial practice for design faculty is the completion of projects for clients. These projects could involve strategy, brand, and identity development, copywriting, information design, motion graphics, book and publication design, and garment design. Their form can be visual, fabricated, sonic, or written.

3. Research

While design practice may include research, here it may be understood as partnered research projects, often grant funded, in which a faculty member works with a researcher or an organization in another field to find new, hybridized knowledge. These projects often yield a visual result, followed by a published analysis.

Design research may also include research or scholarship about design history, emerging/future directions of design, culture, theory, education, and the social impact of design. The form of this work is conference presentations, published articles, or books for audiences inside and outside of the field. When developed by the candidate, images, diagrams, informational graphics, and the design of an article or book can also be included as part of the research/creative activity.

4. Scholarship

Scholarship is generally demonstrated by publication or through presentation to scholarly or professional audiences. It is often accompanied by funded research. The expectations for publication must conform to the accepted standards within each distinct field.

Candidates are expected to have received national recognition for at least a portion of the work they complete in the tenure track. National recognition in design includes, but is not limited to, the acquisition of a project from a nationally recognized client or organization; invited participation in a national conference, symposium, or festival; production (opera, theatre, dance, etc.); writing and/or visual work published in nationally distributed books, newspapers, or magazines; peer-reviewed journals of national stature (printed or Web); grants from national sources; national awards; visiting designer talks at nationally known institutions; and inclusion in nationally renowned design publications. Regional recognition in the categories described above is expected but a candidate must demonstrate clear evidence of emerging national recognition.

               c. Architecture

Architecture by its very nature is a broadly based discipline that can include creative activity, research, and scholarship, all of which is equally valued by the College and Graduate School of Architecture. Creative activity, research, and scholarship—whether specialized in one area or across these categories—are a primary responsibility of each faculty member. These activities must occur in tandem with the responsibilities of service and teaching. Where demonstration is across the areas of creative activity, practice, research, and scholarship, the candidate must articulate the interrelationship of these activities and show how they aggregate to meet the requirements for tenure and promotion. Importance is given to these activities being mutually reinforcing.

Candidates are expected to demonstrate a record of accomplishment that is highly regarded within their field and has attained national recognition.

1. Creative Activity

Creative activity includes both traditional and nontraditional architectural and design practices. While dossiers will likely include a variety of activities, products, and constituencies, they will all need to demonstrate external engagement, review, and evaluation. While this may be a natural part of the process in more traditional areas of research and scholarship, it may require nontraditional forms of peer review in the areas of creative activity, practice, and outreach.

Creative activity may also include curatorial work, exhibition proposals, exhibition design, and other commissioned and noncommissioned design activities. These activities must relate to the goals of the College and Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design and advance its mission.

2. Practice

Faculty who engage in professional practice must demonstrate the following: recognition of the practice by outside sources within or outside the field of the practice, impact of the work on the advancement of the field or discipline, and the role of the candidate in the development of the work, particularly when the work is done through a firm or in collaboration with other people.

Examples of recognition may include monographs on the work of the practice; professional awards; awards in regional, national, or international competitions; work published in professional journals; regional, national, and international exhibitions of the work of the practice; reviews or citations in scholarly journals; external grants and funding related to the work of the practice; scholarship by others about the practice; invited lectures about the practice in regional, national, and international venues; and citations in local and regional media. In some cases the securing of a project, commission, or consultancy of sufficient importance or scale can be a demonstration of recognition.

For tenure and promotion to associate professor, candidates should expect to produce five to eight projects over the course of the probationary period. While the exact number, size, and complexity of the projects may vary, what is important is to demonstrate a sustained body of work that is recognized within the field. Where the practice is primarily through design competitions, candidates should expect to show a sustained record of competition submissions during the probationary period with at least one major (first- or second-place) award and two lesser awards (mentions). These numbers should serve as guidelines, not mandates.

3. Research

While design practice may include research, in architecture it is understood in the more conventional sense of activities that receive funding from internal, external, or university sources or peer-reviewed activities aimed at advancing the discipline. Funding is a strong indication of recognition—but not the only indication. Other kinds of recognition for research may include patents, production or product development contracts, and demonstration of influence through citations, papers, awards, graduate student support, and the ability of the research to attract further funding.

For tenure and promotion to associate professor, candidates should expect to submit five to six national research proposals with three successful awards over the course of the first six years of the probationary period. These numbers should serve as guidelines, not mandates. Research that is not supported by external funding must demonstrate a significant and national impact on the discipline.

4. Scholarship

Scholarship is generally demonstrated by publication or through presentation to scholarly or professional audiences. It is often accompanied by funded research. The expectations for publication must conform to the accepted standards within each distinct field.

For promotion to associate professor, the candidate should be actively writing, giving papers, doing research, and publishing through the period leading up to tenure review. A book based on original research in the candidate’s field or a book-length manuscript in press is the clearest indication of the candidate’s standing in the field. Ideally, this book or manuscript would be accompanied by refereed articles; papers at regional, national, or international venues; and other evidence of recognition.

Alternatively the candidate can succeed on a record that includes a combination of the following, which suggest a potential for ongoing contributions to the field: four to seven different significant or refereed articles (both referred journals and chapters in edited volumes that include outside review before publication will be considered), publications with major contributions by the candidate, a national or international research or publication grant, or other publications such as an edited scholarly volume.

Evidence of recognition such as published reviews in academic periodicals, visiting lectures at universities and museums, edited volumes, catalogs, grants, and papers presented at other venues are also relevant.

5. University and Public Service

The faculty of the Sam Fox School plays an important role in the establishment of school policies and in the recruitment and retention of outstanding students. Recognition should therefore be given for a strong record of service to and concern with the general betterment of the school and the University. Service includes devoting time and effort to advance the objectives of the school in a manner displaying personal integrity, collegiality, and respect for others. Similarly, student outreach and recruitment efforts and other contributions to student welfare should be recognized as service. Service by members of the faculty to the community, state, and nation, in their specific capacities as artists, architects, designers, and/or scholars, should also be recognized as service.

Evidence of college, school, university, and community service may include, but is not limited to, the following:

• Committee responsibility in university and school affairs;
• Contributions toward improving the school’s curriculum;
• Excellence in academic direction or coordination of academic levels or programs;
• Sponsorship of ideas and projects contributing to the growth and added richness of experiences within the academic, art, architectural, and design communities;
• Initiating and organizing symposia that bring national and international attention to the school;
• Service as student advisers;
• Service publicizing the school and the work of both faculty and students, which may include the direction of and participation in school publications, both print and electronic media, and initiating, organizing, and directing traveling exhibitions of student, faculty, or other creative/scholarly work and research to venues outside of the school;
• Participation in student outreach events and activities;
• Participation in directing, assisting, organizing, and publicizing the school’s lecture series;
• Participation in directing, assisting, and organizing student work for accreditation visits;
• Participation in professional organizations;
• Service on boards and other community organizations; and Community outreach.

Successful candidates for promotion to associate professor or for tenure are expected to attend departmental meetings and serve on student and departmental standing and ad hoc committees and, if asked, on campus committees and governing bodies. Service can be interpreted broadly to mean participation in activities, other than teaching and research that contribute to the life of the candidate’s particular area(s), his or her college, the school as a whole, the University, the discipline, and the community. Area-specific service includes shared maintenance of teaching resources, curriculum development, and evaluation of area and departmental objectives and direction. Participation or leadership in professional organizations helps meet service criteria.

B.  Guidelines for Promotion to Full Professor

The Sam Fox School’s expectation is that faculty seeking promotion to full professor must have consistently demonstrated national and/or international recognition through their research endeavors. This record must include evidence of significant publications, exhibitions, commissions, and other formats as recognized within the specific discipline. Where quantity is indicated, the numbers should serve as guidelines, not mandates. The voting faculty and the college and school have the discretion to make judgments about depth and quality of work for promotion to full professor.

Faculty seeking promotion to full professor will have demonstrated sustained excellence in teaching and shown disciplinary innovation and/or program leadership within the College, School, and/or University.

1. Art

An artist is expected to present evidence of involvement in solo or group exhibitions at the national and international level. National is defined by exhibitions, reviews, and venues where the work is juried or selected from a national pool of artists and the audience is principally national in scope, whereas an international exhibition is selected from an international pool of artists with an international audience even when the venue takes place in the United States. The level and scope of the competition, based on such factors as the number and geographic range of applicants, is one way in which a candidate can document the status of a particular venue. Establishing a national record includes regularly participating in exhibitions outside of the Midwest and in venues that have been selected by nationally recognized jurors or curators and/or held at reputable galleries, art centers, or museums across the country as recognized by peers in the field of specialization. Establishing an international record includes regularly participating in exhibitions outside of the country and in venues that have been selected by internationally recognized jurors or curators and/or held at reputable galleries, art centers, or museums abroad.

In addition to the guidelines for the promotion to associate professor (see Section III.A.2.a), a candidate for promotion to full professor is expected to have a record of 15 to 25 exhibitions since the last promotion and 3 solo exhibitions at the national or international level at an art center, university gallery, private gallery, museum, or alternative venue of significant impact. Professional honors and awards, grants, commissions, selected artist residencies, or special projects at the national or international level are also significant indicators of recognition. Published reviews, catalogs or catalog reproductions of the candidate’s work, as well as visiting artist lectures and papers or lectures presented at regional or national conferences also demonstrate national recognition.

In addition to exhibiting art, studio careers may also encompass curatorial projects, refereed publications, Web projects, consultancies, and collaborative projects with other artists, architects, designers, critics, historians, philosophers, and scientists, among others.

2. Design

In addition to the guidelines for promotion to associate professor (see Section III.A.2.b) faculty members seeking promotion to full professor are expected to intensify the investigation of their work in a significant way, producing substantial creative achievement and professional recognition. This could occur through the development of new, larger projects with more measurable impact on one or a set of audiences, or as the result of a deeper investigation in an existing category of work. Alternatively, a candidate might elect to adapt his or her work trajectory for a new mode of distribution.

Tenured design faculty members should engage in work that explores the boundaries of design practice as it exists today. They are expected to contribute new knowledge to the field through the creation of original works, participation in research about the field, and/or professional practice. Their body of work should reflect a coherent investigation of one or a series of ideas, and they are expected to articulate the overarching trajectory of their investigation, including developments since tenure, in promotion documents.

For tenure and promotion to full professor, candidates might expect to produce four to eight substantial projects over the course of the probationary period. While the exact number, size, and complexity of the projects may vary, what is important is to demonstrate a sustained body of work that is recognized within the field. In general, it is expected that projects will be of larger scope and significance after the granting of tenure. Clusters of smaller projects, if properly contextualized, may be considered equal to a substantial project. These numbers should serve as guidelines, not mandates.

Candidates are expected to have received significant national or international recognition for their work. International design recognition may include: the acquisition of a project from an internationally recognized client; invited participation in an international conference, symposium, or festival; production (opera, theatre, dance, etc.); writing and/or visual work published in internationally distributed books, newspapers, or magazines; peer-reviewed journals of international stature (printed or Web); grants from international sources; international awards; visiting designer talks at internationally known institutions; and inclusion in internationally renowned design publications. A candidate for full professor must be able to show clear and convincing evidence of mature work and national and/or international stature in the design field in the categories described above.

3. Architecture

Faculty members seeking promotion from associate to full professor are expected to intensify the investigation of their work in a significant way, producing substantial creative achievement and professional recognition on a national or international scale. This could occur through the development of new, larger projects or books and publications with more measurable impact on one or a set of audiences, or as the result of a deeper investigation in an existing category of work. Alternatively, a candidate might elect to adapt his or her work trajectory for a new mode of distribution, or a shift in emphasis to another area of creative work, research, or scholarship, for example, from practice to scholarship, scholarship to practice, or any other combination that is of merit, and represents ongoing activity and engagement within the discipline of architecture.

               a.  Creative Activity See Section III.A.2.c.

               b.  Practice

For promotion to full professor for a candidate whose primary demonstration is in architectural practice, the candidate should show national and/or international recognition through projects that are significant in their contribution to the advancement of the discipline. This would likely include five to eight projects over the six- to ten-year period between tenure and promotion to professor. While the exact number, size, and complexity of the projects may vary, what is important is to demonstrate a sustained body of work that is recognized within the field and advances the discipline. Where work is in the area of competitions, two major (first-place) awards in national or international design would be expected. These numbers should serve as guidelines, not mandates. This would be accompanied by reviews or publication of the work in professional journals, books, or other venues of review. Professional design awards and exhibitions could also demonstrate national recognition.

               c.  Research

For promotion to full professor for a candidate whose primary demonstration is in research, the candidate should show a sustained record of research, grant writing, and grant proposal submissions in support of research. At least two major successful grants or research projects since promotion to associate professor would be expected for promotion to full professor. These numbers should serve as guidelines, not mandates. The research should be shown to advance the discipline in a significant way on a national or international scale. Where research is not supported by external funding the research must be shown to have a significant impact on the field on a national or international scale.

               d.  Scholarship

For promotion to full professor for a candidate whose primary demonstration is in scholarship, the candidate should exhibit a sustained record of scholarship, publishing, and engagement with his or her field that has led to national or international recognition. This would likely include at least one book based on original research in the candidate’s field or a book-length manuscript in press since promotion to associate professor. It could also include a sustained record (two different papers per year for five years) of scholarship and publishing in scholarly journals that result in a significant contribution to the field. These numbers should serve as guidelines, not mandates.

A.  Annual Review

All tenured and tenure-track faculty members must submit their Annual Professional Activities Reports to the director of their respective college by the first day of class of the fall semester. It is the responsibility of each member of the faculty to compile his or her annual report. (See Appendix B for Professional Activities Annual Report.)

1. Tenure-Track Faculty

Criteria used in conducting annual performance reviews of faculty members serving probationary appointments are outlined in Section III of this document. Evidence of the quality of performance in teaching, creative activity/scholarship/research, and service for all faculty members serving in their probationary period should be reviewed and discussed by all tenured faculty. Reviews of the performance of tenure track faculty will be conducted at a meeting of the tenured faculty. The mentors or an appointed tenured faculty member will present the candidate’s most significant accomplishments for review and discussion in order for the tenured faculty to make recommendations for improvements if needed. The secretary to the faculty will record the discussion and comments for the benefit of the director of the college. Comments from the tenured faculty may be submitted to the director in writing any time prior to the meeting or within 24 hours after the meeting of the tenured faculty. This process will serve to advise the director on the candidate’s progress towards tenure and form the basis of the director’s annual performance evaluation letter. These letters issued by the director throughout a candidate’s probationary period will be compiled as part of the candidate’s file and kept by the director of the college.

   2.  Tenured Faculty

The dean of each college will summarize the Annual Professional Activities Reports submitted by tenured faculty for inclusion in each faculty member’s file.

B.  Midterm Review

All eligible voting faculty members within the college will vote, in accordance with the procedures outlined in Section V.A.2.b, to recommend to the director of the college whether or not to retain a faculty member who has not yet achieved tenure. In addition to the retention vote, the midterm review should serve to inform both the school and the faculty member whether he or she is making satisfactory progress toward tenure. The faculty vote will be made known to the candidate in a letter from the director of the college. A recommendation for retention with qualifications should alert the faculty member to areas of deficiency. If the midterm review leads to a decision not to retain the candidate, procedures described in Section IV.B.4 of the Washington University Policy on Academic Freedom, Responsibility, and Tenure will be followed.

1. Timing of the Midterm Review

The retention review should occur in the third year of the seven-year probationary period.

2. Criteria and Standards

Midterm reviews are conducted using the criteria outlined under Section III of this document. Annual review summaries are to be presented to the tenured faculty by the director of the college and must include the following:

• An updated curriculum vita (CV) including a chronological list of all courses taught, with enrollments;
• Syllabi and examples of student work;
• A statement of the candidate’s teaching philosophy, methods, and interests;
• A complete set of College of Art or Architecture Course Evaluation Guides for all courses taught;
• College or peer evaluation of the candidate’s teaching effectiveness and development as a teacher;
• Representative portfolio of creative work and/or research;
• Complete list of service activities within the school and at the University level; and
• Professional service at the local, regional, national and international level.

Candidates for retention should be evaluated for the quality of teaching, creative activity/scholarship/research, and service and the promise of continuing growth and accomplishment to the degree that he or she will become a suitable candidate for tenure when that time arises.

C.  Tenure and Promotion Reviews

1. Timing of Tenure and Promotion Reviews

Each February the director of the college will invite applications for tenure and/or promotion in a letter to the faculty. Faculty members who wish to apply for tenure and/or promotion must reply by March 1 with their intent to do so in order to be considered for the following academic year.

The year of the tenure review is normally the sixth year of the probationary period or the year preceding the final year of the probationary period. The year the tenure review is to occur will be stated in writing at the time of appointment.

An early tenure review may be requested by an individual faculty member. In the event that an early tenure review results in the denial of tenure, the candidate may not subsequently be reviewed again for tenure (aside from available procedures for review and reconsideration of the initial decision set forth in Section VI), and the academic year following the denial will be the final year of the candidate’s faculty appointment.

Associate professors seeking promotion may select the timing of their full professor review. There are no limits to the number of times that an associate professor may apply for promotion to full professor.

All cases involving the granting of tenure as well as those for promotion to full professor must be in the office of the director of the college by October 15. The director of the college must submit his or her letter of recommendation to the dean of the Sam Fox School by December 1. The Sam Fox School Dean’s Advisory Committee will review cases between December and mid-February and, after receiving the committee’s advice, the dean will decide whether to forward the case to the Board of Trustees. Candidates and college directors will be informed of the decision after the Board of Trustees’ decision and vote is communicated by the chancellor to the dean of the Sam Fox School.

2. Criteria and Standards

Tenure and promotion reviews are conducted using the criteria outlined under Section III of this document. In addition to the letters and evaluations enumerated below, a list of materials necessary for promotion and tenure dossiers appears in the Appendix to this document.

3. Letters and Evaluation

          a.  Internal Letters of evaluation

Written comments from current students or from colleagues at Washington University may be voluntarily submitted.

          b.  External Letters of Evaluation

It shall be the responsibility of the college director and the chair of the Tenure and Promotion Advisory Subcommittee (see Section V.B.2) to solicit objective external letters of evaluation. It is essential that the committee begin early to gather external letters in the spring or summer prior to the fall application for promotion with tenure. Letters should come from several universities with well-regarded departments in the candidate’s field, and letters should be from well-regarded senior people in the field. Although six external letters is the minimum, it may be necessary to request more to adequately meet these guidelines, and cases will typically have more than six. All external letters received by the college must be submitted to the director of the college and to the Sam Fox Dean’s Advisory Committee on Tenure and Promotion at the appropriate stage of the process.

Qualifications of the referee should include an established reputation and a disciplinary expertise enabling him or her to comment and assess the candidate in an objective and informed manner. Preferably, such persons should hold a high level of professional standing and be recognized as authorities in a field of creative or scholarly endeavor suitable to the case under review.

External referees should be asked to provide analytical evaluations of the candidate’s contributions to his or her field of creative activity or scholarship. They should assess the candidate’s standing in the field including comparisons with individuals at a similar stage of career. Writers should be informed that their comments will be read not only by members of the college but also by the directors and members of the school-wide tenure advisory committee who are not necessarily familiar with the candidate’s area of creative activity or scholarship. It is imperative that all involved in this process are committed to the strictest confidentiality.

When determining potential referees, both the Tenure and Promotion Advisory Subcommittee and the candidate should independently develop lists. If there is a great deal of overlap between the two lists, the college should expand its list and indicate those people who have been added after comparison of the lists. Although some of the external referees may be taken from the list suggested by the candidate, there should also be at least three letters from people in the field selected from the non-overlapping portion of the college’s list. The college director will approve the final list.

The material submitted to the review committee should include a statement about each referee: the method of selection, the relationship of the referee to the candidate, if any, and the nature of the referee’s expertise and position in the field. Including each referee’s curriculum vita (CV) is also very helpful.

All letters received from external reviewers shall be included in the candidate’s file. These letters are confidential, to be read only by the college directors, dean of the Sam Fox School, members of the tenure committee, and, if requested, the chancellor.

External reviewers should be sent the candidate’s current CV along with examples of the candidate’s work, as appropriate. It is the responsibility of the candidate to prepare his or her material for external review. Mailing and production expenses up to $1,000 for material sent to external reviewers shall be covered by the respective college.

          c.  Peer Evaluations

Candidates will be responsible for inviting at least two tenured associate or full professors to observe their classes, each year of the probationary period. Written evaluations of the candidate’s effectiveness as a teacher must be submitted by the professors who have observed the candidate for inclusion in his or her file.

           d.  Student Evaluations

Student evaluations of teaching conducted during the probationary period and collected by the Tenure and Promotion Advisory Subcommittee, become part of the permanent file of the faculty member and, as such, will be included in the file for tenure review.

           e.  Letters from Former Students

Written evaluations may also be requested from former students of the candidate.

4. Tenure and Promotion Review Procedures

           a.  Director of Art/Architecture’s Recommendation to the Dean of the Sam Fox School

The directors of each college shall review all candidates for promotion or tenure within their college, taking into consideration the criteria and recommendations of the faculty and any other factors deemed pertinent. Recommendations for promotion or the granting of tenure shall be made in writing by the director of the college to the chair of the Sam Fox School Dean’s Advisory Committee on Tenure and Promotion.

          b.  Letter from the Director of the College to the Dean of the Sam Fox School

The college director’s letter should state the recommendation of the college, including all votes in the college leading to that recommendation. This letter should be written in the format approved by the Educational Policy Committee of the Board of Trustees. The letter must summarize the candidate’s principal creative and scholarly achievements, including clearly what the candidate has accomplished and the significance of those accomplishments to the field. The director should write with a non-specialist audience in mind, placing the candidate’s achievements in the broader context of creative activity and research in the field. The director should not quote extensively from the external letters.

The college director’s letter must evaluate the candidate’s teaching and should also address how the candidate’s teaching and research fit into the college’s and/or school’s needs and plans and how the candidate’s interests affect the balance of the college and/or school. Where appropriate, the director should also address the candidate’s contributions to the faculty more broadly, both within and beyond the department.

          c.  Procedure for Sam Fox School Dean’s Advisory Committee on Tenure and

                Promotion

The Sam Fox School Dean’s Advisory Committee will use the following procedure: the committee meets for preliminary discussion of the written materials received and to identify questions for the college director. The college director is then invited into the meeting and will be expected to give a brief presentation on the candidate. The presentation should include the candidate’s major contributions to teaching, creative activity/research, and service and any special issues to consider in the case. Following the presentation, the advisory committee will ask the college director questions that would clarify the case. The chair may then briefly add any further comments he or she thinks appropriate before the director is excused by the committee. All discussions in the committee meeting are to be held in complete confidence.

The Sam Fox School Dean’s Advisory Committee on Tenure and Promotion will vote by secret ballot and make its recommendation to the dean of the Sam Fox School, recording the vote with any additional comments in response to the report of the college director.

It is the purpose of the academic personnel review process to evaluate the professional qualifications of each candidate and the likelihood that the candidate will pursue a productive career according to the criteria described in the preceding section. Responsibility for carrying out this review process rests with the faculty, appropriate committees, and administrative officers of the Colleges of Art and Architecture, the Sam Fox School, and Washington University.

Recognizing the responsibility entrusted to them in conducting personnel evaluations, voting members of the faculty must maintain confidentiality in all evaluations of candidates for appointment, retention, tenure, and promotion.

A.  Voting Rights

1. General Provisions

Except as specified below, voting privileges on matters concerning academic personnel review proceedings are extended to all tenured and tenure-track faculty members in their respective college holding a current appointment as assistant professor, associate professor, or professor in the Sam Fox School.

2. Designation of Voting Rights

               a.  Appointments

All tenured and tenure-track professors, associate professors, and assistant professors have the right to vote on all cases of appointment. Recommendations for appointment with tenure or to a rank higher than that of assistant professor must include as applicable a vote by all faculty eligible to vote on appointments, a vote for tenure by all faculty eligible to vote for tenure, and a vote for rank by all faculty who hold the rank of the candidate being appointed. Votes for appointment may be called during a standard search process or as a standalone vote if an appointment takes place outside of a standard search process. 

               b.  Midterm Retention Reviews

All tenured professors and associate professors of a rank equal to or higher than the candidate have the right to vote on all midterm retention reviews.

               c.  Tenure Reviews

All professors and associate professors who hold tenure have the right to vote on all cases of conferral of tenure.

              d.  Promotion Reviews

                          i. All professors and associate professors have the right to vote on all cases of promotion to the rank of associate professor.

                           ii. All professors have the right to vote on all cases of promotion to the rank of professor.

3. Voting Rights and Responsibilities

               a.  The files of candidates for appointment, retention, tenure, or promotion will be reviewed by all faculty members eligible to vote on specific cases (see V2.a & c.). It is incumbent upon all tenured faculty members to take an active part in the review and voting on matters of tenure and promotion. At the very least, a thorough study of the candidate’s file is expected of voting faculty members and should take place well in advance of the meeting.

                b.  A vote shall be taken after due consideration and discussion by a quorum of 2/3 eligible voting members in attendance at review proceedings. The vote shall always be by secret ballot.

               c.  Every attempt should be made to arrange all meetings to accommodate the schedules of voting members. Eligible faculty members unable to attend voting meetings of full review committees due to sabbatical travel or other extenuating circumstances may submit written recommendations and absentee ballots.  Eligible faculty members unable to attend voting meetings are held to the same standard of review as defined in V.A.3.a. All absentee ballots will maintain anonymity. Voting will only take place when a quorum of 2/3 of eligible voting faculty is present at the meeting. 

               d.  In no case may the voting rights of the full faculty eligible to vote on appointment, retention, tenure, or appointment be delegated to a smaller committee. No eligible voting member in attendance at meetings may be denied the right to vote.

                e.  All votes will be counted and recorded and announced by the Chair at each meeting of appointment and review committees.  For these cases a vote of less than 75% in support of a candidate will be characterized as being less than a positive recommendation of the faculty and will be conveyed as such to the Dean and Director. These votes, while not binding, are considered an important and essential advisory guideline to the Dean and Director.

4. Attendance at Meetings

               a.  Only faculty members with voting privileges for particular cases under consideration may be in attendance at personnel review proceedings.

               b.  The director of the respective college serves as ex officio member of all academic personnel appointment and review committees. The director participates in the discussions but does not vote.

B.  Committees

1. Tenured Faculty Committee

               a.  Membership

All eligible voting faculty members for cases under review shall constitute the appropriate personnel review committees for appointment, retention, tenure, and promotion.

               b.  Meeting Management and Record Keeping 

An elected faculty member for each college serving in the role of Chair will call and preside over all meetings of the faculty conducting reviews or making recommendations for appointment, retention, tenure, and promotion. A separate elected or appointed faculty member or staff member will take formal notes and present those notes to the Chair following the meeting. 

2. Tenure and Promotion Advisory Subcommittee

The Tenure Advisory Subcommittee will consist of three tenured faculty members appointed by the director of the college to include the candidate’s mentor, a faculty member from the candidate’s area of specialization, and one other member of the tenured faculty. This committee will assist the candidate for tenure in the selection of external reviewers. Each member of the committee will be responsible for writing a summary report evaluating the candidate’s performance in one the following areas: teaching, creative activity/research, and service. These summary reports will be presented to the tenured faculty.

3. Sam Fox School Dean’s Advisory Committee on Tenure and Promotion

The Sam Fox School Dean’s Advisory Committee on Tenure and Promotion will consist of six full professors serving staggered three-year terms: three elected from the College of Art and three elected from the College of Architecture. Faculty from Art and Architecture are nominated and elected to this committee by all full-time faculty at the first faculty meeting of the academic year. The directors will accept nominations for this committee two weeks prior to the first faculty meeting. Members of the committee need not recuse themselves from voting procedures at the college level.

The chair of the Sam Fox School Dean’s Advisory Committee will be elected by the committee and will contact the directors of Art and Architecture when the committee has scheduled its discussion of the case the college has submitted. The dean of the Sam Fox School and the directors of Art and Architecture serve as non-voting ex officio members.

C. Search Procedures

The faculty at the Sam Fox School is committed to an objective and broad search process that yields diverse candidates and extends the intellectual, cultural, and social boundaries of the School. The University does not discriminate in access to, or treatment or employment in, its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, veteran status, disability or genetic information.

1. Search Commencement

               a. Search Initiation and Authorization

Searches will be initiated by the directors of the colleges of Art and Architecture in discussion with the faculty. The director, in collaboration with the tenured faculty from the college to which the search is relevant, will draft a statement of purpose to summarize the needs of the college, the goals of the new position, and the expertise sought in a candidate. The search will be authorized by the dean of the Sam Fox School following approval by the Office of the Provost.

                b.  Position Description

Once the search is authorized, a position description will be written by the search committee, approved by the dean’s office and University Human Resources, and distributed to the faculty. Consideration will be given to writing the position description broadly enough to encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds to apply.

               c.  Diversity Statement

The position announcement and all advertisements for the position will include the following statement: “Washington University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution and encourages applications from, and nominations of, women and minority candidates.”

2. Diversity Outreach Plan

The Dean of the Sam Fox School will prepare and maintain a record of faculty diversity to be provided to all search committees. Before the search commences, the search committee will review this and other relevant information to develop a diversity outreach plan that includes a record of current faculty makeup in the search area and across the school and specific outreach efforts for obtaining a diverse applicant pool. The dean of the Sam Fox School will request the diversity outreach plan before the search is permitted to proceed. Suggestions for diversity outreach approaches are described below under Diversity Officer.

3. Search Committee

               a.  Search Committee Makeup

Searches for full time positions will be delegated to ad hoc committees appointed by the director of the college of Art or Architecture and approved by the Dean of the Sam Fox School. In addition to the appointed eligible voting faculty members from the college, search committees must include a faculty member from the College of Art in the case of a College of Architecture search, and a faculty member of the College of Architecture in the case of a College of Art search. A faculty member from another division of the University may serve on a search committee when deemed appropriate. Search committees are also encouraged to include non-voting graduate and undergraduate students.

Efforts will be made to appoint a search committee that includes individuals from diverse backgrounds and tenured and tenure-track faculty, including faculty related to the search area. If the small number of women and minority faculty in the school precludes their membership on the search committee, consideration should be given to including women or minority faculty from other departments or areas on the search committee. Outside experts may be included if the field is new for the school or is an interdisciplinary field.

                b.  Search Committee Chair

A search committee chair will be appointed by the director of the college with approval from the Dean of the Sam Fox School. The chair of the committee must be a tenured member of the faculty. The role of the chair is to manage an open and impartial search and to follow the search process procedures, including the protocol for increasing the diversity of the applicant pool.

                c.  Diversity Officer

The school’s officer for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will serve as a non-voting, consulting Diversity Officer to all search committees. In the case that the DEI officer is not able to serve in this role, the standing Chair/Co-Chair of the Sam Fox School Fairness and Diversity Committee will serve in this role. The Diversity Officer will work in tandem with the chair and members of the committee to address aspects of diversity related to the search, including outreach efforts and monitoring the diversity of the candidate pool. The Diversity Officer will help ensure that the chair and the committee fulfill the following responsibilities, including the following:

• Work with the Vice Provost to ensure best practices for diversity and contact appropriate on-campus committees and offices for information and resources to assist with developing a diverse and strong applicant pool.
• Consult relevant publication lists and databases to identify potential candidates, identify appropriate venues for advertising, and generate mailing lists for distribution of job description.
• Advertise in selected specialty journals, organizations and websites such as those targeted to women and minorities.
• Consult with Washington University faculty colleagues (particularly women and minorities) for advice on effective outreach strategies and potential candidates.
• Contact colleagues elsewhere for suggestions of promising minority, women and other candidates.
• Contact the college’s alumni, making sure to include women and minority alumni, as potential candidates, or for suggestions of other potential candidates.
• Approach women or minority candidates who may be considered unavailable; assumptions should be verified through direct inquiry.

     d.  Search Committee Conduct

The identities of the applicants must be kept confidential within the committee.

All communication with the candidates and outside referees must be conducted through the search committee. A written record of this communication must be kept.

4. Search Process

                a.  Reading applications and selecting the short list

The search committee will discuss selection criteria before reviewing applications. It may be appropriate for the director of the college to participate in this discussion. All applications will be read by the entire committee to help ensure that the same criteria are applied consistently to all applicants and to minimize the possibility that qualified candidates might be overlooked.

Initial conversations and screening may be conducted by phone to determine the short list of candidates to be interviewed. A standard list of questions should be developed by the committee for this purpose. All interviewers will be familiar with legal guidelines regarding questions that should be avoided during an interview (see Appendix F).

A record of telephone interviews should be kept as part of the written documentation of search communication. This record should be submitted to the chair of the search committee and included with the final diversity report.

Every effort must be made by the committee to identify a short list of three candidates plus two alternates.

If there are women, minorities or others who would add diversity in the applicant pool who have not been invited to interview, the search committee will review their applications again to ensure they were given full and thoughtful consideration based on the criteria for the position and the applicants’ academic qualifications.

The search committee diversity officer and the search committee chair should monitor diversity-related efforts throughout the process, including reviewing the short list before it is finalized. The director of the college and the dean of the Sam Fox School will also review the short list before approving the selection of those who will interview to ensure that qualified candidates who would bring diversity have been appropriately considered.

Once the short list has been approved, the committee chair or his or her designee will contact shortlisted candidates to alert them of their finalist status. The candidates will be notified that their references will be called, and they will be asked to submit four formal letters of reference. These letters must be on file before a final offer can be approved.

              b.  Candidate Interviews

At least 3 reference checks must be conducted prior to campus visits. Each search committee should develop a list of questions that will be asked consistently of all references.

The committee chair or the director must consult with candidates before contacting references other than those provided.

Search committees should be sensitive to the limited travel flexibility of some candidates.

The director of the college and the Dean of the Sam Fox School (or his or her designee) must interview all finalists for tenured and tenure-track positions.

The search committee must interview all candidates making campus visits.

All search committee members and as many as practicable of the other faculty who will vote on the appointment will read the candidates’ applications, attend their public lectures, and meet with the candidates.

All interviewers will be familiar with legal guidelines regarding what questions should be avoided during an interview (see Appendix F).

All candidates will meet with undergraduate and graduate students.

               c.  Selection of the candidate by the search committee and the faculty

The search committee will present the final candidates’ credentials to the directors and the tenured and tenure-track faculty of the college with a clear assessment of each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses. A ranked-order presentation of candidates is preferred, but not required. The tenured and tenure-track faculty of the college will vote; each faculty member will have one vote for one candidate.

The search committee ranking and the faculty vote are advisory to the director of the college who forwards his/her recommendation to the dean of the school for approval.

The dean of the Sam Fox School must approve all offers and sign all offer letters and letters of appointment. Cases of tenured appointments based on accomplishments made prior to joining WashU should be submitted to the Office of the Provost for preliminary review before an employment offer is made. With support from the Provost, offers can be made with the expectation of tenure contingent on a tenure review in line with the SFS appointment, retention, tenure, and promotion policy.

After the faculty vote has been tendered, neither the Chair of the search committee nor the committee members will contact search candidates until the Dean of the Sam Fox School has approved an offer.

             d.  Search Conclusion

The diversity officer will submit a report outlining the search process and the fulfillment of the diversity outreach plan to the dean of the Sam Fox School, to the Vice Provost, and to Human Resources.

Following the conclusion of the search, the director of the college will report to the faculty regarding search outcomes.

In the event of a negative tenure decision, the candidate will be advised of the decision in writing by the dean of the school. Subject to available procedures for post-decision review and reconsideration, the academic year following the denial of tenure will be the final year of the candidate’s faculty appointment.

Candidates denied tenure may request to be advised in writing by the dean of the school of the reasons that contributed to that decision. Candidates also may request reconsideration of denial of tenure. Requests for reconsideration must be submitted in writing to the dean of the school within 30 days of notification of the denial of tenure or of the outcome of a request for procedural review pursuant to the paragraph below. Reconsideration will not normally be undertaken unless new and substantial evidence is available.

Claims that a tenure candidate received inadequate or unfair consideration in terms of the relevant standards of the school will be considered by a joint standing faculty committee comprised of one faculty member from the Olin School of Business, the School of Law, and the Brown School of Social Work as appointed by the director of each of the participating schools. Requests for such procedural review must be submitted in writing to the dean of the school within 30 days of notification of the denial of tenure or of the outcome of a request for reconsideration pursuant to the paragraph above. The candidate’s written request must state in detail the basis for the claim. The standing committee shall not substitute its judgment on the merits for that of the appropriate decision-making body, and shall report its findings to the faculty member and directors of the colleges and dean of the school.

A.  Termination of Appointments by Faculty Members

See Section VI.A of the Washington University Policy on Academic Freedom, Responsibility, and Tenure.

B.  Nonrenewal and Termination of Appointments by the University

1. Notice of Nonrenewal

Notice that an appointment for a probationary period will not be renewed will be given in accordance with Section IV.B.4 of the Washington University Policy on Academic Freedom, Responsibility, and Tenure. Consistent with that provision, faculty with appointments other than as assistant professor, associate professor, or professor will also receive written notice of nonrenewal, except that different notice requirements may be agreed to in writing.

2. Faculty Members in the Probationary Period

               a.  If, following review and recommendation by the faculty and the director of the college, a decision not to renew appointment results, the faculty member shall be notified of the decision in writing. At the request of the faculty member, a written summary of the reasons that contributed to that decision will be provided.

               b.  The faculty member may request reconsideration of a decision not to renew his or her appointment. Requests for reconsideration must be submitted in writing to the dean of the school. Reconsideration will not normally be undertaken unless new and substantial evidence is available.

               c.  Claims that a probationary faculty member given notice of nonrenewal received inadequate or unfair consideration in terms of the relevant standards of the school will be considered by the joint standing faculty committee. The faculty member must state in detail the basis for the claim. The standing committee shall not substitute its judgment on the merits for that of the appropriate decision-making body, and shall report its findings to the faculty member and directors of the colleges and dean of the school.

               d.  If the faculty member claims that the decision not to renew his or her appointment was made for reasons that violate his or her academic freedom, he or she may proceed as indicated in Section VII.C of the Washington University Policy on Academic Freedom, Responsibility, and Tenure.

3. Faculty Members with Tenure

See Section VI.B.2 of the Washington University Policy on Academic Freedom, Responsibility, and Tenure.

C.  Termination of Appointments for Cause

See Section VI.B.3 of the Washington University Policy on Academic Freedom, Responsibility, and Tenure.

A.  General

In accordance with Section III.C of the Washington University Policy on Academic Freedom, Responsibility, and Tenure, appointments as Professor of Practice are non-tenured teaching positions. Professors of Practice (POPs) demonstrate superior excellence in the practice of their disciplines and are nationally and internationally acknowledged experts and leaders in their fields. Only exceptional candidates will be considered for an appointment as a POP, and only a limited number of these appointments will be made. Candidates for POP appointments must be practicing professionals who provide an invaluable educational experience to students. In addition to teaching, the duties and responsibilities of the position may include service to the University and Sam Fox School community. The only title/rank for such appointments will be “Professor of Practice.”

B.  Guidelines and Criteria for Appointments

This title is reserved for distinguished practitioners including architects, artists, designers or scholars in a related discipline, such as history, criticism or theory. Practitioners are expected to have a significant record of professional accomplishment, attaining national and/or international distinction in their area of endeavor. The creative activity/research and body of work of a Professor of Practice must clearly demonstrate exceptional merit, depth, and originality, with command of the subject, while remaining current with relevant changes in the field.

Professors of Practice must have the experience or potential to be effective and engaging teachers. Their teaching must be the highest quality, and will be measured by the work of the candidate’s students, curriculum, syllabi, and other evidence of effectiveness and service to the intellectual life of the school and the University.

While employed at Washington University, a Professor of Practice must maintain an excellent and effective record of teaching and be active in the Sam Fox community through visible engagement and service. A Professor of Practice is expected to remain professionally active while holding this title.

C.  Terms

Professor of Practice contracts may be up to five years in length. There is no limit to the number of times a Professor of Practice may be renewed. A Professor of Practice appointment may be part-time or full-time. Given that most practicing professionals pursue a career outside of academics, it is expected that most Professor of Practice appointments will be part-time in nature and duties. The teaching and service load will be recommended by the director of the college and must be approved by the dean of the Sam Fox School.

D.  Process of Appointment

The dean of the Sam Fox School may extend a formal offer after the candidate has gone through a thorough review and formal appointment process. The candidate may be recruited through a national/international search or as a target of opportunity hire.

Candidate(s) for Professor of Practice must be formally presented to the tenured and tenure-track faculty in the respective college for recommendation of appointment through the process of an advisory vote.

E.  Annual Reviews

Professors of Practice are to be reviewed and evaluated annually in writing by the director of the college of appointment. The evaluation will be completed by March 1 for fall appointments and November 1 for spring appointments.

F.  Renewal Process

A positive performance review by the tenured faculty in the college of the Professor of Practice appointment is required to renew the appointment. The performance review will include a review of professional activity and teaching, and will be followed by an advisory vote of tenured faculty presented to the director of the college of the appointment. The director will then make a recommendation to the dean of the Sam Fox School for approval.

The University’s rules for notice of non-renewal apply to Professors of Practice:

Not later than March 1 of the first academic year of service, if the appointment expires at the end of that year;

Not later than December 15 of the second academic year of service, if the appointment expires at the end of that year;

At least twelve months before the expiration of an appointment after two or more years of service at the University.

The University normally shall notify faculty members of the terms and conditions of their renewals by March 31, but in no case shall such information be given later than April 15.

G.  Governance and Voting

Professors of Practice are entitled to attend and participate in faculty meetings and have the right to vote on all matters of faculty governance with the exception of faculty appointments and promotion and tenure.

A.  General

The Sam Fox School recognizes the breadth and depth of the contributions of non-tenure-track teaching faculty to the education of our students. Non-tenured teaching appointments include full- or part-time Lecturers and Senior Lecturers.

B.  Full-time Lecturers and Senior Lecturers

The duties of full-time Lecturers and Senior Lecturers include teaching and service as assigned by the dean or director.  Faculty in these ranks will be reviewed annually by the chair and/or director and will be expected to submit an annual activity report prior to the review. Full-time Lecturers are expected to demonstrate continued excellence and innovation in teaching. While not evaluated on the basis of their research or scholarship, they are expected to maintain current knowledge in their field.

Full-time Lecturers and Senior Lecturers will have voting rights on curricular and academic policy, but not on matters of governance, appointment, tenure, promotion, or research/scholarship.

Initial full-time appointments may be made at the Lecturer or Senior Lecturer level depending on educational background, teaching experience, and contributions to the field. Promotion of Lecturer to Senior Lecturer can be requested by application or through nomination by the tenured and tenure-track faculty or the chair or director in recognition of a Lecturer’s record of outstanding teaching after six years of full-time service in that rank at the School.

1. Full-time Lecturers

Full-time Lecturers will receive one-year renewable appointments. Notice of non-renewal of Lecturer appointments will be given by April 15.  (For example, a Lecturer will be notified by April 15, 2018 whether or not she or he will be reappointed for academic year 2018-2019.)

2. Full-time Senior Lecturers

This rank is reserved for faculty who have demonstrated consistent excellence in teaching, service and other creative practice or activity.

Full-time Senior Lecturers may receive up to three-year renewable appointments. Notice of non-renewal for Senior Lecturer appointments will be given at least 12 months before the expiration of the appointment. (For example, a Senior Lecturer with an appointment ending May 31, 2019 will be notified by May 31, 2018 whether or not she or he will be reappointed for academic year 2019-2020.)

C.  Part-time Lecturers and Senior Lecturers

Part-time Lecturers and Senior Lecturers receive appointments of up to one year, which may be renewed.  Notice of non-renewal will be given by May 15. However, part-time Senior Lecturers who were appointed before September 1, 2018 will continue to receive the same notice of non-renewal as full-time Senior Lecturers.

Part-time Lecturer and Senior Lecturer appointments do not carry voting rights or service requirements.

If a part-time Lecturer appointment is covered by the University’s adjunct collective bargaining agreement, the terms and conditions of that document will govern the appointment.

Upon occasion, the Sam Fox School may strengthen its connection to practice and expand expertise within the school by appointing visiting faculty with a record of excellence in professional practice, creative activity, research, scholarship, and/or teaching.

Visiting faculty appointments are temporary and are limited to a maximum total appointment duration of three years. Visiting faculty appointments can be full-time or part-time. Full-time visiting faculty will receive initial appointments of up to two years and part-time visiting faculty will receive initial appointments of up to one year.

Visiting faculty may be appointed to the rank of Visiting Assistant Professor, Visiting Associate Professor, or Visiting Professor.  Visiting faculty are expected to perform duties consistent with and at a level commensurate to those of tenure-track faculty in their corresponding rank.

Visiting appointments do not carry voting rights. Visiting faculty will be reviewed annually by the chair and/or director.

APPENDIX A – Tenure Status Form

APPENDIX B

Sam Fox School Voting Policy

Governance of the Sam Fox School depends on the commitment of its faculty to shared responsibility in a wide variety of matters shaping the future of the School. By receiving a faculty appointment to the Sam Fox School one assumes their role as part of this governing body.

Faculty regularly meet in committee and general faculty meetings to discuss and vote on important issues. For votes to accurately reflect the will of the faculty it is essential that faculty avail themselves of the relevant information, attend the discussions, and make their voice heard in the vote. General categories of voting include academic policy, curriculum, governance policy (how the school is operated and managed), committee membership, and matters of appointment, retention, promotion, and tenure.

A vote to amend the Policy on Faculty Appointment, Retention, Tenure, and Promotion requires a 2/3 quorum and a simple majority constitutes a positive vote. For more general policy matters, including academic policy and curriculum, a simple majority of faculty is required to hold the vote, and a majority vote will be accepted as positive. The committee chair presenting the material for faculty review on policy should circulate that material via email and request commentary and votes from anyone unable to attend the vote.

For those matters other than cases of tenure, appointment, or promotion, voice or show-of-hands may suffice for the vote. The faculty Chairperson will determine the need for a paper ballot at that time of the vote.

Votes on tenure, appointment, and promotion in the Sam Fox School require a quorum of 2/3 of eligible voting faculty present. For these cases a vote of less than 75% in support of a candidate will be characterized as being less than a positive recommendation of the faculty and will be conveyed as such to the Dean and Director. These votes, while not binding, are considered an important and essential advisory guideline to the Dean and Director.

Votes on tenure, appointment, and promotion require paper ballots to be on record with the Dean’s office. Faculty unable to attend the vote in person may file an absentee ballot provided they demonstrate they have reviewed the materials relevant to the vote. The anonymity of the absentee ballot will be maintained by the faculty chairperson conducting the meeting.

Tenured and Tenure-track faculty are eligible to vote on the following matters:

• Curriculum
• Academic Policy
• Governance (tenured faculty only)
• Appointment
• Tenure (tenured faculty only)
• Promotion (for ranks commensurate to current or lower ranks)
• Sam Fox School committee membership 

Full-time Lecturers, Full-time Senior Lecturers, and Full-time and Part-time Professors of Practice are eligible to vote on the following matters:

• Curriculum
• Academic Policy

Visiting faculty and part-time faculty do not carry voting rights.

Absentee voters cannot be counted toward the quorum required to hold the meeting. However, when a quorum has assembled to consider the vote, absentee votes, as well as abstentions, will count in determining the outcome of the vote.

Abstentions will not have a negative effect on a vote; however, an abstention does not decrease the number of positive votes required to reach a simple majority.

Proxy votes (made by a designee) will not be permitted

APPENDIX C

Submission of Material

Eight copies are required of the full dossier: college director’s letter to the Sam Fox School dean, the candidate’s CV, a sample letter from the director requesting evaluations from external referees, the descriptions of the referees and how they were selected, the referees’ letters, reviews of exhibitions and creative projects, and letters or other evidence supporting the teaching evaluation.

Two copies of visual material and documentation, books, selected papers, unpublished manuscripts, student evaluations, syllabi for all courses taught and any supporting material should also be provided.

The dossier should have a table of contents that guides readers through the material; dividers and tabs may be helpful. All pages should be numbered consecutively.

Each of the 8 copies should have as a cover page the enclosed checklist filled out to indicate that all required material has been submitted. A completed check-list is required.

Teaching Evaluation

The college must provide evaluations of the teaching record and teaching skills of internal candidates. This section of the dossier should include:

     a.  A statement of the candidate’s teaching philosophy, methods, and interests

     b.  A chronological list of all courses taught, with enrollments

     c.  College or peer evaluation of the candidate’s development as a teacher, noting strengths              and weaknesses*

     d.  A complete set of College of Art or Architecture Course Evaluation Guides for all courses                taught

     e.  Visual documentation

     f.  Any relevant supplementary information*

*Concerning (c): The committee is particularly interested to see evaluations over several years by senior faculty of the college who have attended classes, and have reviewed syllabi, assignments, projects, graded papers, student work, etc.

*Concerning (f): Candidates are encouraged to submit syllabi and assignments for courses taught. Candidates may want to submit evidence of any teaching fellowships that supported additional instruction and supervision in teaching methods, or attending and participating in meetings and conferences specifically concerned with teaching, or publications and presentations at seminars that are specifically concerned with teaching. Descriptive and analytic letters from graduate students and advanced undergraduates may be included—these letters are particularly helpful when the writers represent a random sampling of the full range of student opinions on the candidate’s teaching.

In the case of appointment from outside the university, as close as fit as possible to the dossier listed in a) – f) above should be sought, but most important would be letters evaluating teaching from members of the candidate’s present department and student evaluations from the present university. 

CV and Explanatory Notes

The director of the college and the chair of the Tenure Advisory Committee should work with the candidate to present appropriate and informative curriculum vitae. If necessary, the director should provide background that helps the committee understand the CV. Supplementary material should include the following information:

The director should indicate which of the exhibitions and creative or scholarly research projects are juried, and in the case of published articles, which ones are in refereed journals, and indicate the stature of each exhibition venue or journal. Similarly, indicate the stature of the press that published each of the candidate’s books, if any. Regardless of the length of the creative and scholarly research activities, indicate which are the three or four most significant accomplishments on the list in numerical order.

When important projects are collaborative or publications are co-authored, the candidate’s relationship with the collaborators or co-authors should be indicated. External letters from collaborators or co-authors may provide that information, or the director may describe the relationships involved.

If the candidate has received external grant support, indicate the nature of the selection for this support and whether the candidate was the principal investigator or a co-investigator. Please provide dollar amount and the dates of the grant periods.

Indicate pertinent information on curriculum development, undergraduate advising, and participation of undergraduates in creative or scholarly research projects.

Statement of Candidate’s Creative Work and Research Directions

The committee urges that these statements be confined to no more than two pages. The candidate should be reminded that this is intended for a committee composed of art, architecture, and design faculty as well as a faculty member from a department outside of the Sam Fox School. If the statement is not written by the candidate, please specify author.

APPENDIX C – Sample Letter A

APPENDX C – Sample Letter B

APPENDIX D – Checklist

APPENDIX E

Mentoring Policy

Goal: The mentoring of tenure-track faculty is the responsibility of tenured faculty, based on the shared understanding that hiring a person into a tenure track position presupposes that they have the potential to make significant contributions in teaching, creative activity/research and service. The tenured faculty are expected to advise the candidate in achieving a successful balance in these areas. It is the mentor’s responsibility to encourage the highest standards and provide critical assessment in the development of junior faculty. This process will ensure the maintenance of a collegial, fair and productive environment for all faculty. All tenured faculty members shall share in the mentoring responsibilities of junior faculty.

Applicability: All tenure-track faculty.

Duration: Mentoring shall continue from initial appointment through tenure.

Committee: The Mentoring Committee shall consist of three tenured faculty members from the respective College. The chair of the committee is appointed by the director of the College to serve a three-year staggered term. Two members of the committee shall be elected by the tenured faculty of the College to serve a three-year term. When appropriate, a member of the tenured faculty from another school within the University may be invited to serve at the discretion of the committee.

Committee Responsibilities: The committee shall assign two tenured faculty members to serve as mentors for each tenure track faculty for the duration of his or her time in the tenure track. This should occur before October 1 of an incoming faculty member’s first year. The Art and Architecture Mentor Committees will meet together annually for a workshop with all faculty members being mentored to discuss general issues regarding promotion and tenure.

Mentor Responsibilities: The mentors will meet with the non-tenured faculty member being mentored on a regular basis and at least once a semester to give direction and counsel to their research endeavors, such as venues for exhibition and publication, professional opportunities and professional networking on a regional, national, and international level. Mentors should advise in preparing course work and syllabi, observation of teaching, review and interpretation of student evaluations, and general guidance in development. These faculty mentors shall also advise the non-tenured faculty in the preparation of their mid-term (3rd year) and tenure review documents. Mentors should be prepared to report periodically to the Mentoring Committee.

In the event that the relationship between mentor and faculty member being mentored becomes ineffective within the spirit of this document, either mentor or faculty member being mentored may request from the committee a new mentor without consequence or prejudice to either party. Should a mentor fail to meet their obligations under the terms of this document, the mentoring committee may relieve them of their assignment and assign a new mentor. Mentoring shall be considered part of a tenured faculty member’s service contribution and be credited as such.