Explanation of In-Rank for New Faculty

Explanation of In-Rank for New Faculty

For cases where a candidate is concerned about pre-appointment work being considered 'in rank.'

Thank you for joining our university as an assistant professor. As noted in your offer letter, you have a full probationary period of seven years (pending annual reappointments during the probationary period) with a review for tenure scheduled no later than the sixth year. Per IU policy, you may apply for tenure and promotion earlier than that date, with the caveat that there may be only one full review for tenure.

The emphasis in reviewing faculty for promotion to associate professor, and for tenure, is on an increasingly strong trajectory in one’s area of excellence (research, teaching, or service). In that light, while formally work done prior to one’s appointment at IU Indianapolis is not part of one’s “work in rank,” it contributes to one’s intellectual development and is part of one’s trajectory.

The key elements reviewers would look for in an IU Indianapolis assessment are independence, impact, and an emerging national reputation. For “independence,” reviewers look to see that the candidate can lead research, rather than simply participating or partnering with senior colleagues (mentors). This is best demonstrated in recent work and would need to be seen in the work done at IU Indianapolis, to indicate a successful transition to a fully capable researcher at the SCHOOL. Impact and reputation, on the other hand, develop slowly and may start based on key work done at any time, including early in one’s career. For example, an eight year old study has a chance to gain more citations than one that is two years old, and if it is seen as truly key, will continue to gather recognition. The “emerging” aspect, though, would need recent work to show its sustainability: tenure is a vote of confidence in the future, not a reward simply for past work.

Thus, while promotion and tenure language distinguishes between work done “in rank” and before, and this can be complex for people coming into the university with substantial existing research, one can certainly point to key work in the past (prior to IU Indianapolis) upon which one builds, and which constitutes the start of an ongoing and increasing research portfolio.

We hope that this explanation is helpful to you. IU Indianapolis Guidelines for Promotion and Tenure define Time in Rank: “For faculty, publications and presentations in rank at another institution prior to appointment at IU Indianapolis will be considered part of the candidate’s record. The overall pattern of productivity over time will be scrutinized, with emphasis place[d] on recent work and scholarly trajectory.”

For units which have numeric guidelines for tenure or promotion: the chair and candidate should note which items will be counted in the total. Normally the ‘rate’ of productivity (# of items per year) should be the same for all candidates.

For questions related to faculty affairs, please contact the Office of Academic Affairs team at ude[dot]ui[at]rhdaca.

Reviewed and revised: 2/2024.