Faculty Promotion Tenure

Because the overall goal of SU ADVANCE was institutional, cultural, and structural transformation to align our expectations and reward structures with our educational mission, we focused on both procedural and cultural change within Seattle University. 

“These guidelines are a corrective to the tyranny of the R1 promotion and tenure process.” —One of the SU ADVANCE External Consultants after reading the revisions in March 2021

The SU ADVANCE Program's Proposed Revised Guidelines for Promotion to Full Professor was a key policy change that stemmed from the engagement and work performed by many stakeholders in our community. It was, however, first and foremost the product of intense collaborative work done by SU ADVANCE team members, Dr. Kristi Lee, Dr. Colette Taylor, and Dr. Jenny Loertscher. The group's activities and products included:

• More than two years of discussion with a Provost-appointed SU ADVANCE Task Force, composed of faculty and staff drawn from the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Science & Engineering, the College of Education, the College of Nursing, and Albers School of Business & Economics.
• An extensive online feedback survey sent out to all tenured and tenure-track faculty. For more details, look through our second Newsletter.
• Multiple presentations to the SU Academic Assembly in 2020 and 2021.
• Feedback sessions with the Deans’ Council, the Associate Deans, and other groups.
• Research into best practices at sixty other universities in the U.S. who have adopted more inclusive guidelines.
• An Open Forum with the community in January 2021.
• A dynamic review process with the Faculty Handbook Revision Committee in February 2021.

Significant changes in the Proposed Revised Guidelines for Promotion to Full Professor at Seattle University included:

• Addition of the Holistic Faculty Development Plan
• Expansion of faculty activities evaluated for promotion to Professor 
  
  On March 8, 2021, the Seattle University Academic Assembly voted to approve our revised promotion guidelines. On June 3, 2021, the Seattle University Board of Trustees adopted a resolution approving the proposed amendments. Approved Revised Promotion Guidelines

The revisions went into effect immediately, although faculty seeking to apply for promotion are not expected to produce evidence of a multi-year Holistic Faculty Development Plan (HFDP) until AY2024–2025.