The Role of Your Department in the Review Process

Jeffrey A. Barrett, Chancellor’s Professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science

The tenure process is closely tied to the structure and constitution of one’s department. How the process unfolds depends on how one’s colleagues write up the case, how they vote, and the Chair’s letter. The voice of one’s department is central at every step of the review. Understanding how one’s departmental community works is essential to understanding the process of tenure.

The tenured faculty in a department are bound together, often for many decades. In deciding whether to tenure a colleague, a department is shaping its future. Indeed, a candidate’s tenure case might best be thought of as providing concrete evidence of the ways that she is expected to contribute to the department’s future. Among other things, this includes (1) producing research that contributes to the academic vitality of the department and enhances its reputation, (2) teaching courses that fulfill the department’s undergraduate and graduate mission, and (3) providing the sort of service and contributions to climate that make the department a thriving intellectual community. When one’s department has strong positive evidence firmly in hand concerning the role that the candidate will likely play in its intellectual community, the tenure process tends to take care of itself.