2020 Showcase Celebration of Undergraduate Engagement (CUE) | Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences

What Our Students Say

What our Students Say

What Our Students Say

Full Name

Linda Feltman

Email

lcf8@psu.edu

Who are Fixed-Term Faculty?

Fixed Term (FT) faculty augment the extent and range of activities performed by tenured faculty. FT faculty currently make up a significant percentage of the total faculty in the college, are found within each unit, and perform a wide variety of functions. There are approximately 130 tenured faculty and 130 FT faculty. Each FT faculty has their own responsibilities unique to their job description. Some FT faculty focus entirely on conducting research, others on teaching or administration. Many are involved in a mixture of these responsibility areas, and these responsibilities may change over time. In general, FT faculty's duties and responsibilities target specific categories as determined by their funding source.

How are Fixed-Term Faculty evaluated and promoted?

The department/institute promotion and tenure policies are linked below:

<ul>
<li><a href="/sites/ems/files/documents/faculty_staff/institutes.pdf">College Institutes</a> (John A. Dutton e-Education Institute; EMS Energy Institute; Earth and Environmental Systems Institute)</li>
<li><a href="/sites/ems/files/documents/faculty_staff/geosc.pdf">Geosciences</a></li>
<li><a href="/sites/ems/files/documents/faculty_staff/geog.pdf">Geography</a></li>
<li><a href="/sites/ems/files/documents/faculty_staff/meteo.pdf">Meteorology and Atmospheric Science</a></li>
</ul>

EMS Supplement to AC23: Fixed-Term (FT) Faculty Promotion Policy

<ul>
<li><a href="/sites/ems/files/documents/faculty_staff/ems_fixed_term_faculty_promotion_policy_-_15_january_2018.pdf">Fixed-term Faculty Promotion Policy</a></li>
</ul>

Annual Evaluation Form for Fixed-Term Faculty

Download <a href="/sites/ems/files/documents/faculty_staff/ems_fixed-term_faculty_annual_activity_summary.docx">Fixed-Term Faculty Annual Performance Evaluation Instructions and Form</a> (Word doc)

Have a Question?

Email <a href="/node/468">Eliza Richardson</a>, Chair Fixed-term Faculty Advisory Committee

Committee Members

The Fixed-Term Faculty Advisory Committee is composed of representatives from each academic department, institute and alliance in EMS. Committee members serve three-year terms that are staggered to ensure institutional continuity.

Annual Performance Review

<ul>
<li><a href="https://www2.ems.psu.edu/forms/faculty_staff/faculty_activity_summary">… Activity Summary</a> - This informaton is used in the evaluation of all tenured and tenure-track faculty. Please visit the secure web site to complete the <a href="https://www2.ems.psu.edu/forms/faculty_staff/faculty_activity_summary">… Activity Summary</a> form. For questions, please send an email to John Barlett at <a href="mailto:jvb102@psu.edu">jvb102@psu.edu</a>. Faculty Activity Summaries are due by April 1.</li>
<li><a href="/sites/ems/files/documents/faculty_staff/ems_fixed-term_faculty_annual_activity_summary.docx">Fixed-term Faculty Annual Performance Evaluation Form</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ohr.psu.edu/performance">Penn State’s Performance Management Program for Full-Time Staff Members</a></li>
</ul>

Diversity and Inclusion Resources

<ul>
<li><a href="http://ohr.psu.edu/diversity-and-inclusion/">Diversity and Inclusion</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.ems.psu.edu/diversity">College's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resources</a></li>
</ul>

Employee Resources

<ul>
<li><a href="http://ohr.psu.edu/current-employee" target="_blank">Resources for Current Employees</a></li>
<li><a data-mce-href="http://ohr.psu.edu/prospective-employee" href="http://ohr.psu.edu/prospective-employee" target="_blank">Resources for Prospective Employees</a></li>
<li><a href="https://hr.psu.edu/careers">Penn State Jobs</a></li>
<li><a href="https://hr.psu.edu/">Penn State Human Resources</a></li>
</ul>

<h3>Benefits</h3>

<h3>Request to Review Personnel Records</h3>

<ul>
<li><a href="https://policy.psu.edu/policies/hr60">HR60: Access to Personnel Files</a></li>
</ul>

<h3>Request Job Classification Review</h3>

<ul>
<li><a href="http://ohr.psu.edu/compensation-and-classification/job-reviews">Job Review Toolkit</a></li>
</ul>

Penn State Policies

<ul>
<li><a href="https://policy.psu.edu/">Penn State Human Resources Policies and Guidelines</a></li>
</ul>

Interpersonal Conflict Resolution

A standard process to address a wide variety of interpersonal issues should follow the steps below. Ideally, conflicts should be attempted to be resolved at the lowest possible level. However, if employees are not comfortable with step 1 (i.e. if they don’t feel like they can safely talk to the person), they should move to step 2.

<ol>
<li>First, try to address it with the other employee;
<ul>
<li>NOTE: It is usually best to address issues when both parties are not frustrated, so you may want to set up a later time to discuss, if at all possible;</li>
<li>Clarify what the issue is from your point of view;</li>
<li>Ask the other employee what they may think about this issue from their point of view;</li>
<li>Discuss what you would like to see changed/improved/stopped and try to come to a mutual agreement</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Second, if you and the other employee cannot come to an agreement, discuss your concerns with your manager and ask their help in addressing the behavior;</li>
<li>Third, if your manager is unable or unwilling to attempt to resolve the issue, please bring your concerns to your department head or institute director;</li>
<li>Fourth, if your department head or institute D]director is unwilling or unable to address your concerns/issue, you should bring your concerns to EMS HR;</li>
<li>Fifth, if EMS HR is unable to assist, HR will go with you to bring your concerns to the dean.</li>
</ol>

If the behavior is especially egregious or criminal, employees should report it directly to their department head or institute director and HR (along with the appropriate reporting authorities, i.e. police if criminal, AAO if prejudicial, etc.). See: reporting wrongdoing/behavior: <a href="https://universityethics.psu.edu/resources-reporting-wrongdoing">https:…;

If you are interested in some applicable LRN trainings, here are a few:

Energy and Mineral Engineering

Eligibility: To be eligible to serve on the Promotion and Tenure Committee, members must be tenured professors or tenured associate professors not serving as an Academic Administrator. To be eligible to serve as the Energy and Mineral Engineering representative to the Earth and Mineral Sciences Promotion and Tenure Committee, the representative must be a tenured professor who is not serving as an Academic Administrator and who has previous experience on the departmental promotion and tenure committee but has not served in the previous two years.

Size and Composition: The Promotion and Tenure Committee shall consist of five people including one elected chair and four elected members, two associate professors and three professors. There shall be one department representative to the EMS Promotion and Tenure Committee.

Election procedures: Elections shall be held at the end of each spring semester for the following academic year. All tenure-track and tenured faculty members, excluding those serving as an Academic Administrator, are eligible to vote. A faculty member on sabbatical leave for the coming year is not eligible to be a candidate. Election of the representative to the EMS committee shall be held first, followed by election for members of the Energy and Mineral Engineering committee. The ballot will be organized into sections for votes on the Professor ranked member and votes on the Associate Professor ranked member, with one vote allowed in each category. If any election is needed for a replacement to fill out a term, that will be conducted as a separate ballot following elections for the full-term members. The top vote recipients will be elected. Tie votes shall be resolved by a run-off election of those individuals receiving the same number of votes. The chair for the Energy and Mineral Engineering committee will be held immediately once the members have been established.

Chair: The Chair shall be elected every year for a one-year term. The Chair must be a professor and be elected from among the three professors serving on the committee during the coming year. Chairs may serve multiple successive terms.

Representative: The representative to the EMS committee shall be elected for a two-year term and shall be eligible for renewal.

Members: The committee shall be composed of five tenured faculty members elected by the entire faculty. At least three will be at the rank of professor. Three members of the committee shall be elected each year. Eligibility will be restricted to tenured faculty. The two faculty members receiving the most votes will serve two-year terms. If any of the two faculty members with the most votes served in the previous year, however, they will be limited to a one-year term. The faculty member receiving the third most votes will serve a one-year term. Each faculty member may vote for three candidates in the election. After serving on the committee for two consecutive years, a faculty member may not serve for the following two years. The chair of the committee shall be elected annually by the membership of the committee.

Duties: Working within college and university (AC-23) guidelines, the promotion and tenure committee is responsible for evaluating a faculty member’s progress toward promotion and tenure. Where applicable, the committee will evaluate faculty members in non-tenure track academic ranks (as described in AC-21) for promotion.

Vacancies: If a member of the Promotion and Tenure Committee or the Representative to EMS resigns his/her position, or is unable to fill a full term, a replacement of the same academic rank shall be selected to fill the remaining term using the procedure specified below.

Under-performing Committee Member: If the faculty member is not fulfilling their duties, the P&T committee chair and/or department head may meet with the committee member to discuss ways the person can better meet obligations. However, the department head should not request the member’s resignation or take part in replacing

the member. If the faculty member continues to be unable to meet their obligations to the committee, the P&T committee can vote to remove the member, and then a new member will be elected by a vote from the department faculty through normal voting procedures (detailed above/below)

When any vacancy occurs, the replacement to fill the open term will be selected through a special election in which faculty who are eligible to vote can vote for one candidate from the set of eligible candidates.

Changes to this departmental policy are discussed in a faculty meeting and voted on by the tenured and tenure- track faculty with tenure-home in Energy and Mineral Engineering.

Geography

Eligibility: To be eligible to serve on the Promotion and Tenure Committee, members must be tenured professors or tenured associate professors not serving as an Academic Administrator. To be eligible to serve as the Geography representative to the Earth and Mineral Sciences Promotion and Tenure Committee, the representative must be a tenured professor who is not serving as an Academic Administrator and who has previous experience on the departmental promotion and tenure committee but has not served in the previous two years.

Size and Composition: The Promotion and Tenure Committee shall consist of five people including one elected chair and four elected members, two associate professors and three professors. There shall be one department representative to the EMS Promotion and Tenure Committee.

Election procedures: Elections shall be held at the end of each spring semester for the following academic year. All tenure-track and tenured faculty members, excluding those serving as an Academic Administrator, are eligible to vote. A faculty member on sabbatical leave for the coming year is not eligible to be a candidate. Election of the representative to the EMS committee shall be held first, followed by election for members of the Geography committee with each eligible faculty member voting for two candidates (unranked) to fill the two elected positions open each year (see explanation below of staggered terms). The top two vote recipients will be elected. Tie votes shall be resolved by a run-off election of those individuals receiving the same number of votes. The chair for the Geography committee will be held immediately once the members have been established.

Chair: The Chair shall be elected every year for a one-year term. The Chair must be a professor and be elected from among the three professors serving on the committee during the coming year. Chairs may serve multiple successive terms.

Representative: The representative to the EMS committee shall be elected for a two-year term and shall be eligible for renewal.

Members: Professors shall be elected for three-year terms. Terms will be staggered among members to ensure regular change in membership. Professors may serve a maximum of two consecutive terms followed by a two-year break, during which time they are not eligible.

Associate Professors shall be elected for a two-year term. Terms will be staggered among members to ensure regular change in membership. Associate Professors may serve a maximum of two consecutive terms followed by a two-year break during which time they are not eligible.

At the end of every spring semester two members shall be elected to serve for their appropriate term. Elected members may be either associate professors or professors. The ballot will be organized into sections for votes on the Professor ranked member and votes on the Associate Professor ranked member, with one vote allowed in each category. If any election is needed for a replacement to fill out a term, that will be conducted as a separate ballot following elections for the full term members.

Vacancies: If a member of the Promotion and Tenure Committee or the Representative to EMS resigns his/her position, or is unable to fill a full term, a replacement of the same academic rank shall be selected to fill the remaining term using the procedure specified below.

Under-performing Committee Member: If the faculty member is not fulfilling their duties, the P&T committee chair and/or department head may meet with the committee member to discuss ways the person can better meet obligations. However, the department head should not request the member’s resignation or take part in replacing the member. If the faculty member continues to be unable to meet their obligations to the committee, the P&T committee can vote to remove the member, and then a new member will be elected by a vote from the department faculty through normal voting procedures (detailed above/below).

When any vacancy occurs, the replacement to fill the open term will be selected through a special election in which faculty who are eligible to vote can vote for one candidate from the set of eligible candidates.

Changes to this departmental policy are discussed in a faculty meeting and voted on by the tenured and tenure-track faculty with tenure-home in geography.

Adopted by the Geography Faculty April 18

Geosciences

There shall be a single departmental committee to consider matters of promotion and tenure on the University Park Campus.

Eligibility: To be eligible to serve on the Promotion and Tenure Committee, members must be tenured professors not serving in an academic administrative position.

Size and Composition: This committee shall be composed of five tenured faculty members elected by the entire faculty. At least three must be at the rank of professor.

Election/Appointment Procedures: Three members of the committee shall be elected each year. Each faculty member may vote for two committee members in the election. The Head of the Department of Geosciences shall be excluded from membership on the committee.

Term Lengths and Leadership of the Department Committee: The two eligible faculty members who receive the most votes will serve two-year terms; the third will serve a one-year term. After completion of a two-year term of service, the member may not serve on the departmental promotion and tenure committee for the following two years. The Chair of the committee shall be elected annually by the membership of the committee.

EMS College Committee Representation: The departmental representative to the College Promotion and Tenure Committee serves a three-year term. Therefore, every three years an election for this position shall be held with votes being cast by all tenure-line faculty, with the Department Committee Chairs from two, three, and four years prior as candidates for election to the College P&T Committee. For example, in Spring 2016 the Departmental Committee Chairs from spring 2012, 2013 and 2014 will form the slate of candidates. The candidate with the most votes will be appointed to a three-year term. At the discretion of the Department Head, the serving chair could be reappointed to serve a second term.

Under-performing Committee Members/Replacement Procedures:

Committee Member Requests Replacement

- If the Faculty Member cannot fulfill their duties due to time restraints, travel schedule, or research needs, they may request removal from their P&T Committee responsibilities

- Replacement of the member will follow the department's normal appointing procedures (found in the Election procedures captured above)

Under-performing Committee Member

- If the Faculty Member is not fulfilling their duties, for any reason, the P&T Committee Chairperson, the Dean and/or department head (as appropriate to committee level) may meet with the under-performing committee member to discuss behaviors, causes of behaviors, and ways to meet obligations. However, neither the dean nor the department head should request the member’s resignation or take part in replacing the member

- If the Faculty Member continues to be unable to meet their obligations to the committee, the under-performing committee member may be replaced by a vote from the department’s P&T Committee members or a vote from the department faculty

- Replacement of the member will follow the department's normal appointing procedures (found in the Election procedures captured above)

The Department P&T Committee Chair two years prior serves as the EMS P&T Committee Representative (i.e., Professor X was the department committee chair in 12-13 so he serves as the EMS representative in 14-15).

Materials Science and Engineering

Eligibility: To be eligible to serve on the Promotion and Tenure Committee, members must be tenured professors not serving in an academic administrative position.

Size and Composition: The Promotion and Tenure Committee shall consist of five people including one Chair and four members, all of whom are tenured professors. There shall be one representative to the Earth and Mineral Sciences Promotion and Tenure Committee.

Election/Appointment Procedures: Elections shall be held at the end of each Spring semester for the following academic year. All tenure-track and tenured faculty members, excluding those holding academic administrative appointments, are eligible to vote.

Each year the Department Head will nominate a new member of the Committee at a Department faculty meeting. Nominees will be selected based on time since last service, as well as balance on the Committee with respect to discipline and diversity. Additional nominations may be made at the faulty meeting, including self-nominations. A faculty member on sabbatical leave for the coming year is not eligible to be a candidate. After the faculty meeting an electronic vote will take place as to the suitability of the faculty candidate(s) to serve on the Committee.

Term Lengths and Leadership of the Department Committee: Each Committee member will serve for four years. The Committee member serving his/her third year will be the Chair of the Committee.

EMS College Committee Representation: To be eligible to serve as the Materials Science and Engineering representative on the Earth and Mineral Sciences Promotion and Tenure Committee, the representative must be a tenured professor who has previous experience on the Departmental Promotion and Tenure Committee. The representative will be selected by the Department Head, approved by the faculty, and will serve on the College Committee for three years.

Vacancies: If a member of the Promotion and Tenure Committee or the representative to the Earth and Mineral Sciences Committee resigns his or her position or otherwise fill a full term due to illness, sabbatical, extensive travel in fulfillment of professional duties, or other reasons, a replacement shall be elected to fill the remaining term using the same process described above. If the Chair of the Promotion and Tenure Committee is unable to fulfill his or her duties, the member serving his/her second year shall become Chair of the Committee.

Under-performing Committee Members/Replacement Procedures

Committee Member Requests Replacement: If the Faculty Member cannot fulfill their duties due to time restraints, travel schedule, or research needs, they may request removal from their P&T Committee responsibilities. Replacement of the member will follow the department's normal appointing procedures (found in the Election/Appointment procedures captured above).

Under-performing Committee Member: If the Faculty Member is not fulfilling their duties, for any reason, the P&T Committee Chairperson, the Dean and/or department head (as appropriate to committee level) may meet with the under-performing committee member to discuss behaviors, causes of behaviors, and ways to meet obligations. However, neither the dean nor the department head should request the member’s resignation or take part in replacing the member. If the Faculty Member continues to be unable to meet their obligations to the committee, the under-performing committee member may be replaced by a vote from the department’s P&T Committee members or a vote from the department faculty. Replacement of the member will follow the department's normal appointing procedures (found in the Election/Appointment procedures captured above).

Meteorology and Atmospheric Science

Eligibility:  Full Professors

Size:  3 members, 1 of whom is chair.

Election:  Each spring, the Department Head looks ahead to likely P&T activities during the coming academic year.  The Head identifies needed disciplinary expertise and approaches full professors to ask if they would be willing to serve if elected.  Consideration is given to continuity from year-to-year and having someone with past experience as a member of this committee.  The chair is also identified in this process.  This slate of 3 is then brought to the full faculty for a vote during the last faculty meeting of the spring semester.

Term lengths:  Service is for 1 year, with potential for renewal.  There are no restrictions on the number of years that someone can serve.

EMS College Committee P&T Representative:  The College P&T Representative is selected by the Department Head and will be a full professor.

Vacancies:  If needed, the Head will suggest replacement(s) for any vacancies and bring these to the faculty for a vote.

Procedure changes:  The Head would discuss any changes with the faculty and seek approval.

<h3>Under-performing Committee Members/Replacement Procedures</h3>

Committee Member Requests Replacement: If the Faculty Member cannot fulfill their duties due to time restraints, travel schedule, or research needs, they may request removal from their P&T Committee responsibilities. Replacement of the member will follow the department's normal appointing procedures (found in the Election procedures captured above).

Under-performing Committee Member: If the Faculty Member is not fulfilling their duties, for any reason, the P&T Committee Chairperson, the Dean and/or department head (as appropriate to committee level) may meet with the under-performing committee member to discuss behaviors, causes of behaviors, and ways to meet obligations. However, neither the dean nor the department head should request the member’s resignation or take part in replacing the member. If the Faculty Member continues to be unable to meet their obligations to the committee, the under-performing committee member may be replaced by a vote from the department’s P&T Committee members or a vote from the department faculty. Replacement of the member will follow the department's normal appointing procedures (found in the Election procedures captured above).

Energy and Mineral Engineering

Working within college and university (AC-23) guidelines, the promotion and tenure committee is responsible for evaluating a faculty member’s progress toward promotion and tenure. Where applicable, the committee will evaluate faculty members in non-tenure track academic ranks (as described in AC-21) for promotion.

Tenure

The three main criteria for tenure are:

<ol>
<li>The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 
The applicant's teaching record should demonstrate an ability to convey the subject matter to students in an effective manner. Such judgment will be based upon peer review, student evaluations, and alumni surveys.</li>
<li>The Scholarship of Research and Creative Accomplishment 
The applicant should demonstrate an ability to carry out independent, high quality research and should have published significant contributions in recognized, refereed journals over the provisional period. The applicant should also demonstrate the capability of supervising graduate-level thesis research. The applicant should have an area of specialization, wherein a major portion of the research effort is concentrated.</li>
<li>Service and the Scholarship of Service to the University, Society and Profession 
The applicant should show evidence of personal involvement in professional and learned societies and in department, college and university affairs.</li>
</ol>

Promotion

For promotion to the rank of Associate Professor, the faculty member must have demonstrated all of the qualifications for Assistant Professor (as described in AC-23), if applicable. In addition, the individual must have demonstrated, through scholarly achievements and evaluations by students and peers, the potential to become an outstanding scholar of national repute and an accomplished, inspiring teacher.

For promotion to the rank of Professor, the faculty member must be a superior teacher and an established, internationally recognized scholar. Truly outstanding performance in one area may be considered to compensate to some degree for less than superior performance in the other. Demonstrated ability to direct others in research and participation in university-wide decision-making or formulation of national science policy are desirable.

Geography

The Department will follow the guidelines suggested in the revised University Promotion and Tenure Procedures and Regulations (AC-23) and the University's administrative guidelines. Our criteria for promotion and tenure are those so stated in the "Statement of Criteria to be Used by the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences in Promotion and Granting Tenure" as affirmed by the EMS Faculty, Spring 2009.