VCU office of the provost

Dear VCU Faculty,

Once again, I am sorry that my schedule prevented me from attending the January 28th meeting of the VCU Faculty Senate. I understand that there was a spirited discussion regarding the guidance my office gave to deans regarding the prominent role that terminal degrees should play in the consideration of faculty promotions, and that my attempt to clarify* that guidance did little to help the conversation.

To that end, I would like to offer you a few thoughts as this conversation continues forward:

First, I hear the concerns being expressed about the timing of this announcement with regards to those who are about to submit their portfolio for consideration for promotion. This is something that I should have given more consideration to before publishing that initial blog post. 

Accordingly, I urge those faculty members to proceed forth and will work with the deans to ensure that those candidates for promotion receive the consideration that they were reasonably expecting when they began the process some months ago. Those faculty members will be reviewed under the existing process.

Second, I hear loud and clear that we need to articulate soon the alternative pathway model for promotions that can appropriately accommodate the career needs of faculty members who do not hold a terminal degree. This needs to be done quickly – ideally for the next cycle that begins in April. The clear and distinct career pathways for faculty members with and without terminal degrees exist today at many, if not most, public R1 and aspirant AAU universities, and we need to put them in place at VCU.

I continue to seek the help and collaboration of our faculty in elevating and modernizing VCU’s P&T policy.  Bringing this level of clarity to VCU’s policies is integral to maintaining the university’s exciting momentum and our shared pursuit of excellence in academic offerings and faculty recruitment and retention.

I look forward to continuing constructive engagement with VCU’s faculty on this and many other issues. As always, thank you for all that you do for VCU and the students we serve together.

Warmest regards,

Fotis


*(Please know that I removed the earlier attempt to clarify that guidance from the blog because I believe it adds to the confusion that this message is intended to address.)

Categories Faculty Affairs, Provost