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On a campus-wide level, the University
offers two tenure preparation seminars for early career faculty
every year. The fall seminar is sponsored by the Massachusetts
Society of Professors, and the spring seminar is co-sponsored by
the Office of Faculty Development (“OFD”) and the Office of the
Provost. Individual departments and schools/colleges may also
offer tenure-related programming for their early career faculty
throughout the year. Because these events will vary in
structure, speakers, and emphases, we encourage you to attend as
many preparatory seminars as possible, especially as your
mini-tenure or tenure decision year approaches.
Prior to doing so, you may find it helpful
to consult the following documents in order to familiarize
yourself with the schedule and process of tenure at UMass
Amherst, as well as learn general strategies for achieving
tenure:
Some suggestions to keep in mind as you
navigate the tenure track at UMass Amherst:
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The “mini-tenure” or “4.2” review
typically takes place during the second semester of a faculty
member’s third or fourth year. During mini-tenure, faculty are
usually expected to prepare and assemble a complete tenure
file, with the exception of soliciting external letters of
support. However, schedules and expectations vary by
department and school/college, so it is critical that you
initiate early conversations about mini-tenure and tenure with
your chair. Your senior colleagues, recently tenured peers
and fellow early career faculty will also be invaluable
sources of information and advice on this subject.
-
Early career faculty often report that one
of the most helpful ways to start a tenure file is seeing how
other faculty members from the same school/college prepared
theirs. Ask if your department or school/college keeps
examples of successful tenure files for review. If yours does
not, contact the Office of Faculty Development – we may be
able to connect you with a mentoring partner from your
school/college who has volunteered to talk with early career
faculty about tenure.
-
All faculty are required to complete and
submit an
Annual Faculty Report
(“AFR”) to detail individual accomplishments and contributions
in teaching, research, and service during the prior academic
year. Ask your chair how this report will be used to evaluate
your performance, and if he/she or any of your departmental
colleagues can offer tips on using the information from the
AFR to help prepare your tenure file.
-
There’s no universal list of how many
articles published or classes taught will be “enough” to get
tenure. That being said, chairs and former Personnel Committee
members are excellent sources of information and insight about
how tenure files are evaluated at the departmental level, and
“what matters” in the evaluation process. If an opportunity
arises, you may also wish to consider serving on a Personnel
Committee yourself.
-
Finally, remember that tenure may be a
stressful process, but you were hired at UMass Amherst for a
reason. Search Committees rarely waste their time, energy,
and/or resources to hire a candidate who is unlikely to
achieve tenure. That means that someone – or most likely, a
whole room of “someones” – believed in you from the very
beginning. Keep the lines of communication open with your
Chair about schedules, expectations, and processes; consult
regularly with your colleagues (pre-tenure and tenured, inside
and outside of your department) about their experiences and
advice; and write and seek feedback on all of your file
components well in advance. In other words, build a Mutual
Mentoring network of people who want to support your success
in achieving tenure, and work closely with them throughout the
process.
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