The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences is committed to fostering the timely advancement of its untenured tenure-line faculty towards tenure. Therefore, under extraordinary circumstances, individuals may be considered for early tenure if an extremely strong case can be made to do so. The number of years and achievements beyond the completion of the doctoral degree (or the highest professional degree in the discipline) are key factors in early tenure considerations.

PURPOSE

The purpose of these guidelines is to outline the EMS procedures and conditions for candidates or department leadership to request the dean’s support for a request for an early tenure review.

UNIVERSITY RESOURCES

Policy AC23
Guidelines for Recommending Faculty for Early Tenure
Promotion and Tenure | Faculty Affairs

• see questions 51 through 54 of the Promotion and Tenure FAQs under Tenure-Line Policies
• see Administrative Guidelines for Policy AC23 and in particular, Appendix H

PROCEDURES

The department head and the candidate meet to discuss the candidate’s materials. If the department head determines that the candidate’s dossier is strong enough to warrant an early tenure review, the department head will compile the required documents listed below and submit them to their department’s P&T committee for their review.

1. A current curriculum vitae from the candidate
2. A statement from the candidate outlining their significant accomplishments that would support an early tenure review

The department’s P&T committee will meet to review and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the candidate’s case for early tenure.

1. If the committee unanimously supports an early tenure review, they will write a letter to the department head outlining their support. This letter will accompany a statement of support from the department head, along with the two required documents above, when the whole package is submitted to the Dean.
2. If the committee is not unanimous, they will write a letter to the department head outlining their areas of concern and reasons for their lack of unanimous support. The department head will review the letter and then schedule a meeting with the candidate to outline why the request for an early tenure review was not supported and will not be going any further in the process.

If the candidate’s early tenure review request goes forward to the dean, the dean determines whether or not they support the request.

1. If the dean supports the request, they will write a letter of justification and submit the whole package to the Senior Vice Provost in the Office of Faculty Affairs, as outlined in Appendix H of the Administrative Guidelines. The rest of the process is outlined in AC23.
2. If the dean does not support the request, they will write a letter explaining their concerns and reasons for their lack of support. The department head will then meet with the candidate and outline why the request was not supported and state that the request will not go any further. Because of this, the candidate’s request is not covered by AC23, as it did not reach the first step in AC23.

Adopted: EMS Tenure Line Faculty Advisory Committee – June 2025