In the College of Arts & Sciences at Boston University, the standard professorial titles of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor are used for tenure-track and tenured appointments. Below, we describe how the College uses modified professorial titles for certain non-tenured appointments, namely: Professors of the Practice, Research Professors, and Clinical Professors.
Professors of the Practice are officers of instruction who are or have been distinguished practitioners in their respective professions and whose primary responsibilities lie in teaching, mentoring, and service to the University, starting at the rank of Associate Professor of the Practice. The rank of Professor of the Practice is intended for our most distinguished practitioners, often in fields outside of academia, who have demonstrated excellence in their respective professions; gained national or international prominence in their field; and who possess the ability to educate, advise, and mentor undergraduate, graduate, and/or professional students on the basis of their professional expertise and knowledge. Professors of the Practice contribute in important ways to their students’ education by using their accumulated and continuing experience, knowledge, and professional skills and connections to expand students’ knowledge and professional capacities. Appointments may be made at the rank of Associate Professor of the Practice or Professor of the Practice.
Research Professors are scientists and scholars who work for the University on research, typically supported by external grants and contracts. These faculty members fulfill the research qualifications of the equivalent unmodified professorial rank. The principal criteria for these titles are scholarly productivity and recognition of original work. Research faculty are also eligible to give seminars and teach occasional courses, at the discretion of the department. Research appointments are for the stated term of the appointment with no guarantee or expectation of renewal. Appointments may be made at the rank of Research Assistant Professor, Research Associate Professor, or Research Professor.
Clinical Professors identify faculty members whose appointments primarily provide practical instruction and application of practical knowledge. In the College of Arts and Sciences, examples include clinical psychologists, applied mathematicians, and faculty whose expertise lies in improving pedagogy. The duties and terms of appointment are specified in the letter of appointment. In general, the applicable rank and any subsequent promotions should be determined by the relevant academic achievements, professional accomplishments, and demonstrated effectiveness of the appointee, using criteria that are defined by individual departments and approved by the College. Appointments may be made at the rank of Clinical Assistant Professor, Clinical Associate Professor, or Clinical Professor.
Faculty holding these ranks may apply for promotion when they believe their achievements have qualified them for promotion. As per university policy, the eligibility for promotion is open to all full-time professorial faculty members, including these modified professorial ranks. (See “Promotion Not Related to Tenure Review.”)
The University outlines basic criteria for promotion amongst modified faculty ranks:
Clinical faculty: “The general criteria for promotion for Clinical faculty are a strong record of a) teaching, b) scholarly or creative work, and c) University and professional service. Promotion on the Clinical track normally requires substantive contributions to the School or College’s teaching program while exhibiting a high degree of teaching proficiency, as well as a national and/or international reputation for scholarship or educational pedagogy in the field of practical expertise. Candidates are normally expected to provide service to the profession nationally and/or internationally, as appropriate for promotion to Clinical Associate Professor and Clinical Professor, respectively.”
Research faculty: “The most important criterion for promotion for Research faculty is outstanding scholarly or creative work. A national reputation for excellence in scholarly and/or creative work is required for promotion to the rank of Research Associate Professor and an international reputation for excellence in scholarly and/or creative work is normally required for promotion to the rank of Research Professor. Supporting evidence includes the record of publication, externally sponsored activities (e.g. grants, fellowships), presentations, and service to the profession. Although Research faculty commonly work as part of collaborative teams, promotion on the Research track usually requires significant evidence of leadership and independence, such as lead or corresponding authorship on publications and serving as the principal investigator on sponsored research grants. Significant weight is normally placed on the strength of these activities since the last time the faculty member was appointed or promoted.”
Of the Practice faculty: “The criteria for promotion to Professor of the Practice includes excellence in teaching, which usually is supported by strong teaching evaluations, peer observations, and leadership in course or curricular design. The candidate should also have a strong record of mentoring students with interests in the profession represented by the candidate; service to the School or College, University and the profession; and significant continuing achievement in professional activities, advancement of professional standing, and/or relevant professional experience leading to an international or, as appropriate, national reputation in the candidate’s field.”
CAS has also further defined criteria for promotion to Professor of the Practice: the criteria are similar to the standard criteria for tenured Associate Professors with unmodified titles seeking promotion. Teaching, including mentoring and advising of students, and service, including professional service and contributions at BU, will be evaluated in much the same manner as in the standard promotion process. Because professional practice is central to these positions, candidates for promotion to Professor of the Practice will be expected to show evidence of maintaining and enhancing excellence in their area of practice and continuing to contribute intellectually to that area of practice. Specific criteria for evaluation will be based on the expectations set out in the candidate’s appointment.
In each case, the internal and external evaluation of promotion candidates will focus on the following areas:
- Excellence in teaching (including mentoring and advising) at BU
- Excellence in service to BU
- Evidence of continuing achievement in professional activities, advancement of professional standing, and/or relevant professional experience since the candidate’s appointment as Associate Professor of the Practice
Where appropriate, evaluation will also take into account evidence of advancement in pedagogy, curriculum-development, and/or program building, with respect to the professional area in which the faculty member was recruited as a distinguished practitioner.
Due to the varying roles held by Clinical and Research faculty members across the college, CAS has elected not to develop our own more specific criteria. Instead, we ask departments with any faculty within these ranks to develop their own clear criteria. Such criteria should conform to and expand upon the college level criteria stated above. These criteria should be developed independently of any individual promotion case and should be made available to all faculty holding that rank. For Research and Clinical faculty, it is helpful if the statement of criteria addresses the differences between promotion to Associate Professor and promotion to Professor.
B. Consultation and Dossier Preparation
- Faculty should consult with their department chair and, if they wish, divisional associate dean, to ascertain the right timing of their application for promotion.
- Candidates should be prepared to furnish an updated CV for review during this consultation. They should provide this to the CAS Tenure and Promotion Coordinator who will share the CV with the appropriate divisional associate dean.
- In preparing a dossier, candidates should present the evidence that best illustrates the achievement of the relevant promotion criteria outlined by their department. For guidelines on the kinds of materials expected in a promotion dossier and instructions on preparing such materials, please see Chapter V.
External evaluator letters will be solicited to assess the candidate’s contributions and accomplishments in light of expectations for their rank and the criteria defined by the department. Toward this end, external evaluators will be provided information about the candidate’s specific set of responsibilities and it may be appropriate to include the department’s statement of criteria in the dossier for external evaluators. Candidates should show evidence of their ability to contribute their professional expertise to the academy at a level that is appropriate for a major research university. Where appropriate, this will include an assessment of the quality of their scholarship in their field. The evaluators will review the dossier and submit a report to BU. A minimum of 6 external letters of evaluation, including at least three that are “arm’s length,” are required for promotion. For initial hires of Associate Professors of the Practice and Professors of the Practice, 5 letters are required, with at least 1 letter being fully arm’s length. We recommend departments initially submit 12 names of evaluators for all modified faculty reviews. Please see the section regarding external evaluators (IV A) for information on preferred characteristics of external evaluators.
Candidates for promotion will undergo a modified promotion review, beginning with a review by the department, then the Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee, the Dean, and finally the Provost. The promotion process will begin early in the fall semester with solicitation of evaluator letters. The department will then review later in the fall semester, with the goal of submitting the dossier for college review by the end of the fall semester. The APT will review these cases in the spring semester, followed by the Dean, as the case is available. If the Dean denies promotion, the candidate has the right to appeal. Please see the appropriate section of the University policy for more information regarding the appeals process. If the Dean recommends promotion, the case is forwarded to the Provost by June 1 for final approval. The Provost makes a final decision and communicates this decision by August 1.
Please note: if denied promotion, a full-time faculty member with a modified or unmodified title may reapply for a promotion after a two-year waiting period.
Please see the relevant sections on Departmental review process (VI) and College review process (VII) for more information on those procedures.
Candidates may withdraw themselves from consideration from promotion at any time in the process, but anyone who is considering doing this is advised to seek advice from the department chair or appropriate divisional associate dean.
Successful promotion does not guarantee contract renewal.