Academic rank at the university level is viewed as an expression by the faculty and administration that a faculty member merits such status. Promotion from one academic rank to a higher one is a recognition of an individual's achievements and an expression of confidence that the individual is capable of assuming greater responsibilities and demonstrating greater accomplishments. The policy of the university is to recommend promotion objectively, equitably, and impartially on the basis of merit tempered by instructional and fiscal considerations (Faculty Handbook, 1994).

Tenure is the granting to a faculty member the expectancy of permanency and security in her or his academic appointment. Tenure is awarded only by positive action by the Tennessee Board of Regents, pursuant to the requirements and procedures of this policy at the university. The awarding of tenure is a recognition of the merit of faculty and of the assumption that they meet the long-term staffing needs of the department, division, and the institution. Tenure is awarded only to faculty who have exhibited professional excellence and outstanding abilities sufficient to demonstrate that their future services and performances justify the degree of permanence afforded by academic tenure (Faculty Handbook, 1994).

The Department of Leadership is committed to a conception of the professoriate reflecting diverse forms of scholarship: integration, discovery, application, and teaching. Thus, the department gives priority to assessing faculty accomplishments consistent with this conception of the professoriate.

The general policies on promotion and tenure of the Tennessee board of Regents, The University of Memphis, and the College of Education provide the framework upon which the Department of Leadership determined its procedures and criteria for promotion and tenure review. Copies of both the university and college general policies and criteria for promotion and tenure are distributed to all members of the department. University and college annual procedures for implementing promotion and tenure policies are also made available for review within the department. Questions relating to promotion and tenure policies and procedures, or to any interpretation thereof, should be submitted to the chair of the department.

University policies prescribe faculty involvement in the promotion and tenure review process with colleges and departments expected to establish procedures to insure that participation. The departmental committee will perform an advisory function by conducting peer evaluations of candidates eligible for promotion and tenure. These evaluations are submitted to the department chair. Recommendations of the committee and department chair are forwards to the dean of the college and the college committee.

The departmental committee is expected to use a variety of information when considering a faculty member for promotion or tenure, with quality of accomplishments considered more important than quantity of production. When assessing quality, the committee may elect to solicit recommendations from other qualified professionals outside the department.

The departmental committee will also serve in an advisory role for probationary faculty who intend to apply for promotion and tenure in future years. Faculty in the fall of their third year of probation will submit credentials to the committee and to the department chair for review. The departmental committee and department chair will conduct independent reviews of the materials and make recommendations to the faculty member about areas of strength and weakness in relation to the department's criteria for promotion and tenure. All documents will remain confidential.

All committee deliberations relating to promotion and tenure review will be confined to the consideration of established criteria for promotion and tenure.

All members of the department faculty holding rank equal to or greater than that to which the candidate is petitioning will serve on the promotion and tenure committee. Faculty not eligible to serve include those holding appointments to the university appeals committee and college committee. The department chair will be responsible for notifying the appropriate faculty of assignment to the committee and for calling the first meeting.

The first meeting of the annual committee on promotion and tenure will be called by the chair of the department who will conduct the election of a committee chair. The committee chair will issue the call for all subsequent meetings which will conform to university and college schedules for applications, submission of dossiers, and reporting committee results. The committee chair will define committee membership appropriate for review of each candidate.

A plan for reviewing dossiers of faculty applying for promotion and tenure will be established and meetings scheduled for committee deliberations.

The committee chair will submit the decision of the committee to the department chair on the appropriate form by the announced date. Candidates for promotion and tenure will be advised by the department chair of committee and department chair recommendations.

Procedures for reviewing candidates seeking tenure or change in academic rank in the Department of Leadership will follow annual guidelines established by the college and the university. These guidelines will be distributed by the department chair to the departmental committee and to faculty requesting promotion or tenure review. The department chair is also responsible for initiating annual promotion and tenure considerations for all eligible faculty in the department.

A faculty member must submit a letter of intent to apply for promotion or tenure to the department chair, who will then inform the committee chair. The applicant will also present to the department chair a dossier of accomplishments in teaching, research, and service, the University's three traditional missions. Dossiers will be made available to members of the committee for review.

During the fall semester of the third year of probationary status in the Department of Leadership, a faculty member in a tenure-track appointment is required to apply to the promotion and tenure committee for review of his or her record of accomplishments in teaching, research, and service.

Faculty members beginning year five of the probationary period are expected to make application for tenure. Faculty applying for a change in academic rank are expected to review the minimum requirements specified in TBR and university policy.

All faculty in the Department of Leadership are expected to work closely with the department chair to define professional goals and establish documented evidence of effectiveness(through activity reports, professional development, annual evaluation, etc.). This evidences should be incorporated into applications for change in academic rank or tenure. It should be noted that promotion and tenure materials and records, including peer reviews, are part of the public record.

Criteria used by the Department of Leadership to assess accomplishments of faculty seeking a promotion in rank or tenure were framed on guidelines established by TBR and the university. Departmental criteria are tailored to the demands of the disciplines within the unit and designed to allow the department to maintain the level of faculty specialization required by the professions.

A faculty member who applies for promotion in rank or change in tenure status is expected to be a member of the graduate faculty of the university. Effective teaching is an essential requirement for tenure or promotion and evidence of research and scholarly activities must be presented. Likewise, candidates for promotion and tenure are expected to demonstrate participation in institutional, professional, and public service, with emphasis on the application of knowledge in solving societal problems.

Effective teaching is an essential criterion for an recommendation for change in academic rank or tenure. Neither will be granted in the absence of clear evidence of a candidate's teaching ability and potential for continued development. Effective teachers are expected to organize, record, and document their teaching in such a way that colleagues can share their contributions to the art of instruction. Candidates are expected to provide comprehensive evidence to substantiate effectiveness as a teacher, including command of subject matter, ability to organize and present subject matter in a logical and meaningful way; involvement in course and program development; and ability to motivate and stimulate students. Examples of information regarding teaching includes course syllabi and related documents, professional development activities relating to instruction, research and scholarly activities pertaining to instruction, peer evaluations, student evaluations, and evaluations provided by recent graduates. Information provided in the dossier should be obtained from several sources.

University policy states that publication of research in refereed journals is considered as a reliable indicator of scholarly ability with national recognition considered the most important criterion in evaluating that activity. In considering research and scholarly productivity, quality is given higher priority than quantity.

In regard to providing evidence of research and scholarship, candidates should list all publications and research products using an appropriate style. Evaluations of published material such as those found in reviewed articles should also be included. Copies of all publications less than five years old must be made available for review by the committee members.

The following are examples of evidence which can be submitted: books and book chapters; monographs and technical reports; articles in national and regional refereed periodicals; editorship of journals and books; articles in nonrefereed journals; proceeding of professional conventions; book reviews; other creative work clearly specified by the candidate.

Service is a term encompassing a faculty member's activities in three areas: public service, institutional service, and professional service. Faculty are expected to provide public service at the same high levels of quality that characterize teaching and research. Quality institutional service at the department, college, and university levels is expected of all faculty. professional service refers to contributions made to one's discipline or to the teaching profession. Evidence of service accomplishments include funded/contract grant proposals, committee and taskforce reports, consultation provided to institutions and agencies, committee assignments and duties, participation in professional symposia, speeches made to professional groups, leadership in professional organizations, and similar evidence. In assessing the service function, the departmental review committee will consider service contributions as they relate to the general welfare of the university and its objectives.

TBR policy specifies that collegiality is a criterion that must be used in the tenure decision. Collegiality is viewed as demonstrated willingness and ability to work effectively with colleagues to support the mission and goals of the institution and the academic unit, as stipulated by the College of Education.