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Dean of Faculty

Physics Department Promotion Policy


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After tenure, members of the Physics Department are expected to continue as excellent teachers and productive scholars, and to contribute to the community with service both inside the department and for the general College community. A candidate for promotion to full professor will ordinarily serve in the rank of associate professor for a length of time consistent with Faculty Handbook policy. The chair of the department will provide ongoing feedback during that period about the faculty member's progress toward promotion. Our Handbook states that successful candidates for promotion will present strong records in three areas: teaching, research, and service. In this document we provide clarification about what defines a strong scholarly record in the Department of Physics. The teaching record will be evaluated using the guidelines specified in the Handbook.

Research and Publications: Members of the Physics Department are expected to maintain scholarly activity after receiving tenure. The awarding of tenure signifies that the faculty member has succeeded in establishing a productive research program. After tenure, faculty members normally continue as independent researchers with their pre-tenure research program, and should maintain the pre-tenure publication rate. However, they may choose to switch fields, and a temporary slowing of publication rate often accompanies a change of direction. This is acceptable and should not discourage faculty from trying new ideas.

For promotion to full professor, faculty must continue to be active, productive, and visible scholars. There are many ways of demonstrating scholarly activity, including publishing original work in peer-reviewed journals, attending professional meetings to present current research, and submitting proposals for external support. Normally 2 or more peer-reviewed journal articles should result from work that occurs after the tenure. Successful candidates for promotion will continue to involve Hamilton students in research. Faculty must work with seniors on research projects as part of the senior program. When appropriate, seniors should be involved in the primary area of research. The department is committed to offering summer research opportunities to students and all senior faculty members should participate.

Although grant writing is not required for senior faculty, they are encouraged to seek external funding for laboratory equipment and operating costs when external awards help the productivity of the research program. Successful grant applications strengthen the research record, as awards indicate the respect from reviewers for the applicant's record as well as his/her proposed research project.

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