Ohio University’s Faculty Senate unanimously passed a resolution at its Monday meeting to standardize faculty tenures and promotions across colleges.
The resolution was first introduced during a senate meeting last spring, but voting was postponed to get more feedback from college deans.
“If their unit recommends them for tenure, but doesn’t recommend for promotion, it is unlikely they will receive tenure,” said Joseph Slade, Faculty Senate’s chair of the promotion and tenure committee.
Before the resolution, colleges voted on tenure and promotion separately. If the college’s committees did not approve both, it would be unlikely that the college deans’ offices and, subsequently, the provost’s office would approve both.
Though a promotion from an associate to a full professor position simultaneously grants tenure, a promotion from assistant to associate does not necessarily guarantee tenure, Slade said.
Slade said he asked each OU college dean how he or she felt about the resolution before putting it back on the Faculty Senate agenda.
“I welcome the elimination of that possibility,” said Duane McDiarmid, College of Fine Arts Senator.
The resolution was also put forth, in part, to educate faculty on how tenure and promotions are awarded, said Elizabeth Sayrs, chairwoman of Faculty Senate.
“I do think voting together will be better,” Sayrs said. “When you vote separately, there’s a danger of a split vote, and the department might not approve you for one or the other.”
Faculty Senate will next meet Dec. 10.
sj950610@ohiou.edu
