UNIVERSITY of PENNSYLVANIA



Dean’s Memorandum 2007-08 #1

TO: SAS Department Chairs and Administrators

FROM: Rebecca W. Bushnell

DATE: July 23, 2007

RE: 2007-08 Calendar for Faculty Personnel Actions

This memo contains important information regarding the calendar for faculty personnel actions during academic year 2007-08. It is essential that we spread out the workload for the SAS Personnel Committee so that cases can be given careful evaluation in time for Provost’s Staff Conference consideration. Please refer to SAS Policies and Procedures for Appointments and Promotions (available at ) for detailed guidelines on all personnel actions.

• Promotion to Associate Professor: We will continue to ask departments to submit dossiers for such actions to the Dean’s Office by December 15. Please time your deadline to reviewers accordingly. The relevant departments have already been reminded that lists of recommended external reviewers should be sent to the Dean’s Office before July 31, even if the request letter to the reviewers will not be sent until later in the summer or early fall. The Provost has set a deadline of September 15 for submission of consultant lists. Exceptions to all of these deadlines are possible in the face of a large departmental caseload or the special circumstances of a specific candidate, but all exceptions must be approved in advance by your divisional dean.

• Promotion to Full Professor: Cases for promotion to full professor will continue to be considered by the Provost’s Staff Conference only in the fall. Proposals that are received in the Provost’s Office after the fall semester will risk being deferred for consideration until September 2008. Obviously, departments should have already begun the process of sending lists of recommended external reviewers, with the candidate’s curriculum vitae, to the Dean’s Office.

• Timing issues for outside appointments: Please bear in mind the following: the time required to process the appointment of an external scholar is approximately 14-16 weeks, and the School’s Personnel Committee stops meeting regularly by the end of May (while the Provost’s Staff Conference meets throughout June). The time-consuming part is the solicitation of external letters. The normal time period to ask for return of such letters is six weeks. It is thus in your best interest to not delay in obtaining letters. There is no need to wait for a candidate’s acceptance before beginning the dossier assembly process. You should expect approximately eight weeks to elapse between the arrival of your dossier to this office and final action by the Provost. In view of this timeline, it is prudent to submit your department's recommendations for appointments well in advance.

• Changes in SAS Personnel Committee procedures: Last year a faculty task force recommended that department chairs have the opportunity to answer questions in person from the SAS Personnel Committee about any case involving tenure (appointment or promotions). We will work out the mechanics of this procedure in the fall, but chairs who anticipate having such cases may wish to note that the standard meeting time of the SAS Personnel Committee is Wednesdays from 11 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Please also note that as a result of the changes to the SAS Bylaws approved by the faculty this spring, the SAS Personnel Committee will no longer be reviewing any cases involving non-standing faculty; such cases will of course still require approval by the Dean’s office and, where appropriate, the Provost’s office.

• Tracking system: Last year we instituted an online system to track personnel cases across their many stages of preparation and approval. The system is located at: and has been updated to allow access to new department chairs. I remind you that departments (chairs or designated staff) are required to indicate in this system when the steps for which they are responsible have been completed. If you have questions about the use of the system, please contact Kathy Fey.

• Dean’s Office staffing: All cases involving tenure (appointment or promotion to Associate or Full Professor) continue to be handled by Kathy Fey, while all other cases should be submitted directly to Kathy Clawson, who will process cases that do not involve tenure (Assistant Professors, Associated Faculty, and Academic Support Staff, i.e., Lecturers). Each will work with the appropriate divisional deans.

• Offer letters: I remind chairs that all letters offering--or tentatively offering--appointment to the standing or research faculty at any rank must receive prior approval from me or the appropriate divisional Associate Dean. There will be no exceptions to this policy.

Thank you for your cooperation. The calendar follows on the next page.

Attachment (Calendar)

cc: SAS Administrative Committee

Kathy Fey

Kathy Clawson

School of Arts and Sciences

Calendar for Faculty Personnel Actions

2007-2008

Submission of Lists of Recommended External Reviewers for Promotions

Action Deadline

1. Promotion to Full Professor should already be

complete

2. Promotion to Associate Professor July 31, 2007

Submission of Dossiers

Action Deadline

1. Promotion to Full Professor October 13, 2007

2. Reappointment of Assistant Professors and Senior Lecturers October 27, 2007

3. Promotion to Associate Professor December 15, 2007

4. Initial Appointment at Tenured Rank March 30, 2008

5. Initial Appointment at Untenured Rank April 13, 2008

6. Appointment to the Associated Faculty April 13, 2008

SAS Policies and Procedures for Appointments and Promotions:



07/23/07

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