UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Promotion and Tenure Modernization Committee will hold listening sessions throughout spring 2025 as they begin to evaluate Penn State Policy AC23. All tenure-line faculty are invited to participate.
Charged by Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Tracy Langkilde, the overarching goals of the committee are to assess whether the current promotion and tenure criteria and process fosters excellence and is transparent and reflective of equity and inclusion. The committee is also being asked to identify gaps in existing policies and procedures, and consider whether processes are efficient, well-communicated and consistently applied to tenure-line faculty. While each academic unit holds the primary responsibility for developing its specific promotion and tenure criteria, the University plays a key role in establishing a broad framework for these criteria and processes. The process improvements identified will be recommended to the provost.
“We need faculty involved in this process and to bring their expertise and experiences to the table as we evaluate our promotion and tenure policies. The promotion and tenure process is essential for maintaining our standards of academic excellence and retaining exceptional faculty members that are essential to meeting our mission,” Langkilde said.
The committee is currently developing a feedback collection strategy. The first step will involve a series of organized listening sessions with faculty across the University, beginning in February 2025. Faculty members should watch for more information about their campus or college listening session from their leadership.
The work of the steering committee is supported by the Office of Faculty Affairs. Committee members include:
- Amy Allen, associate dean for faculty affairs and advancement; distinguished professor of philosophy and women's, gender, and sexuality studies; College of the Liberal Arts
- Mallika Bose (chair), associate dean for research, creative activity and graduate studies; professor of landscape architecture; College of Arts and Architecture
- Rick Brazier, dean of the University College, professor of math and geology, Office of the Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses
- Deb Ehrenthal, Social Science Research Institute director and professor, Office of the Vice President for Research
- Ana Enriquez, copyright officer and head, Office of Scholarly Communications and Copyright, University Libraries
- Peter Hopsicker, professor of kinesiology, vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, associate dean for research and sponsored Programs, Penn State Altoona
- Jennifer Kraschnewski, professor and vice chair for research, Department of Medicine, Penn State College of Medicine
- Beth McGraw, Biology Department head, Eberly College of Science
- Amit Sharma, Edward Friedman and Stuart Mann Professor of Hospitality Management; associate director and professor-in-charge of undergraduate programs; director, Food Decisions Research Laboratory; School of Hospitality Management; College of Health and Human Development
- Jeanine Staples-Dixon, professor of education (literacy and language, African American studies, women's, gender and sexuality studies), College of Education
- Douglas Wolfe, associate vice president for research and professor of material sciences and engineering, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
Kathy Bieschke, senior vice provost for Faculty Affairs, said that she is eager for the work of the committee to begin and to hear from faculty members, whose insights will be invaluable in creating a system that is fair, equitable, transparent and aligned with shared goals.
“I am very grateful to Mallika Bose for agreeing to serve as chair of this committee, given her experiences as an academic leader both in faculty affairs and research,” Bieschke said.
Questions about the Promotion and Tenure Modernization committee can be directed to p&tmodernization@psu.edu.