Navigating the Tenure Process Anne Dorrance Pharmacology and Toxicology Michigan State University

My Own Story Learn From My Mistakes Tenure track position in 2001 at the Medical College of Georgia Began the tenure process in 2006 to be granted tenure in 2007 Moved to Michigan State University in 2007 The problem………. I did not have a tenure letter to show MSU when they made me an offer. So tenure could not be granted at MSU, and I had to start all over again!

How Did the Two Processes Differ? MCG Very data driven – publications and grants Had to have teaching and service but they did not need to be extensive Personal statement was really a collection of aims pages MSU Also driven by publications and grants Teaching was important Service was requirement Personal “vision” statement an important component Community engagement was necessary

The Things You Really Need Strong CV Great letters Great vision / personal / reflective statement

Strong CV This is your primary resource, use it as a living document that you edit Keep track of teaching – hours and number of students service – peer review, chairing sessions…….. talks and presentations publications

Great Letters Make sure people know who you are (in a good way) Attend the right meetings for your field Push yourself to meet new people Ask questions and introduce yourself when you do Be social – but not too social

A Great Vision Statement Need the past, present and future Remember who will be reading this – keep it accessible to everyone Use it to show how your ideas and research have developed Describe your strengths and your weaknesses Show that you have built a program that fits within the mission of the department / program Be sure that you have several people read this before submitting it

Be an Early Bird Find out the rules for P&T when you start your faculty job Find out the correct time line – you can’t wait until year 6/7 to start (your packet will reflect you at the beginning of year 6) Go to a institutional P&T workshop early in your career Attend the workshop again once you are ready to put your packet together

Find a Mentor Does your institution have a faculty mentoring policy? Make a mentoring committee This should be mostly senior faculty but it does not need to be all full profs Consider two committees, one in your home department and a second group that knows your area well Use them well – be open and honest with them, ask them for advice and support when needed Meet with them at least twice a year

Find your Doppelgänger Pick someone with a CV similar or a little stronger than yours at an institution similar to yours Check in on them every few months Try to keep up with them Doppelgänger: In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger (German, literally a "double goer”) is a paranormal double of a living person. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Productivity What is the standard for your department / college? Do not have a bad year Don’t make excuses Publish technically sound and reproducible science Publish smaller papers to get your name and ideas out there Consider the occasional editorial

Something to Strive For A wise man once told me that I should always have One paper I was working on One paper in revision One in press I never actually managed this, but the idea is great! I do always try to get stuff submitted early in the year – it just feels good

Impact This is not just the quality to the journals you publish in You can make an impact with a model or a technique Share these resources nicely but make sure you get credit where it is due

Teaching and Service Choose your battles! Do your teaching well but wait till you have tenure to be innovative Keep track of your teaching evaluations Get some service under your belt, but don’t over commit The worst thing I ever did was say yes to being on an NIH study section soon after my first grant

Random Things to Keep Print out and store your teaching reports Keep a “spontaneous praise” folder Limit the use of this to things of substance Don’t use this as padding - edit carefully

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Things to Watch For Collaborations are a balancing act Don’t let collaborations get in the way of building your own program Work out authorship before you start the project – make sure it is clear who “owns” the project Don’t dabble you can look unfocussed you can get things really wrong and damage your credibility

Be a Good Colleague Get to know the people in your department – reach beyond the water cooler Make sure your voice is heard in meetings – don’t be a shrinking violet (but don’t be a chatter box either) Sit at the table Go to seminars Support your colleagues

What You Do All Day Stay at the bench Keep your hands on the experiments Read lots Start a notebook with potential ideas Grad student projects Summer project Grants Write as much as you can and then more………

What You Should NOT Do Hide in our office Sit on data Gossip – take pride in being the LAST person to hear news Be too flexible with our work hours – i.e. don’t work midnight to 8am Don’t try to make sweeping changes to established programs (there will be time for this later) Don’t compare your new place to your old place all the time

What About Your Flaws? Don’t make excuses Don’t try to hide your flaws either Do explain what you are doing to try to correct any flaws

Should You Ever Stop the Tenure Clock? Maybe…. Having a family Serious illness Stop the clock before the problems start Accept that if you stop the clock you are going to have to explain why

The Non-science Part of Science Stay positive, no matter how scared and stressed you are Dress for the job you want, not the job you have Don’t dress like a student Be practical especially if you still do lab work Find friends and make time to see them and relax Stay fit and healthy it is more than okay to take the time to workout look after your health, blood pressure and stress (this is another learn from my mistakes moment)

Helpful Books At the Helm – Kathy Barker Lab Dynamics – Carl M. Cohen & Suzanne L. Cohen A Ph.D. Is Not Enough – Peter J. Feibelman What the Didn’t Teach You in Graduate School – Paul Gray and David E. Drew.

Philosophy Make no small plans. They have no magic to stir humanity’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble logical plan once recorded will never die. Daniel Burnham ( )