Peer Review in Evaluation and Promotion: The Linchpin of Faculty Governance Mary Reichel Ph.D. University Librarian & Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished Professor, Appalachian State University What’s in a Name: Defining Our Profession 2002 ACRL/NY Symposium Baruch College November 15, 2002

Peer Review Importance “It is [the] tradition of faculty self-governance in peer review of professional competence and ethics that makes professional academic freedom unique, not the tenure system that has many parallels in other employment settings.” “Academic Tradition and the Principles of Professional Conduct” Neil Hamilton, Journal of College and University Law Winter 2001, p.620

Encourage an Open System Faculty and administrators have to take peer review seriously Faculty need to be prepared for their roles Convey the seriousness of the decisions made and the nature of the responsibility for the individual At Appalachian State, the University Librarian is considered in most respects like a department chair Advantage is that the role of the Univ. Librarian as one of the faculty, even though an administrator, is reinforced I chair the peer review committee which is called the Departmental Personnel Committee. I know this would not be the case in most institutions, but the ideas I have implemented can be translated to a system where a faculty member is chair

Guidelines Follow the Procedural Requirements Notification of meetings Deadlines for dossiers Mandatory review schedule

Guidelines 2 Peer Review Committee Orientation Topics Important to get returning Committee members involved Topics Importance, Confidentiality, Procedures, Voting, Faculty Handbook and Library Guidelines

Guidelines 3 Meetings Formal, Robert Rules of Order Importance of the Faculty Handbook and Library Guidelines Read the applicable criteria for the personnel action under consideration

Guidelines 4 Give the candidate under review a chance to meet with the Personnel Committee Ensure as much as possible that the Committee members read candidate’s materials Expectations have been set that peer review committee members will be prepared for meetings. They are—or they certainly don’t indicate otherwise

Tensions Peer Review Committees make recommendations The decisions made at the Dean’s or Provost’s level or beyond Taking into account the Review Committee’s recommendation and administrator’s We have language in our Faculty Handbook about no other level in the process substituting their professional judgment for that of the peer review committee

Evaluation Process Adding peer participation Opportunity for congruity between annual evaluations and personnel actions Pitfalls Advantages

The Idea of “Fitting In” Appropriate to consider such characteristics: Uncontrollable temper Never reliable Uncooperative Ethics in Academic Personnel Processes: The Tenure Decision” Rudolph W. Weingartner Morality, Responsibility, and the University ed. Steven M. Cahn, Temple Press 1990 p.84

The Idea of “Fitting In” 2 Illegal to Consider Race, sex, age, etc. “This illegal behavior is…also unethical.” Ethics in Academic Personnel Processes: The Tenure Decision” Rudolph W. Weingartner Morality, Responsibility, and the University ed. Steven M. Cahn, Temple Press 1990, p.85

Personal Malice “A decision not to reappoint, promote or tenure may not be based on upon (1) the faculty member’s exercise of rights guaranteed by either the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or Article I of the North Carolina Constitution; (2) Unlawful discrimination based upon the faculty member’s race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation; or (3) personal malice. “ -Appalachian State University Faculty Handbook, July 1, 2002 Had the privilege at Univ. of Arizona of working there when Annette Klodney was Dean of Humanities She wanted peer review committees who had active research records really questioned patriarchy and racism in the academy

Ethical/Procedural Issues Method of selecting peer review committees has to be the same for each class of candidates Members have to be qualified (not students) And prepared, conscientious Meet face to face “Ethics in Academic Personnel Processes: The Tenure Decision” Rudolph W. Weingartner Morality, Responsibility, and the University ed. Steven M. Cahn, Temple Press 1990, p.86

Ethical Considerations “Since significant roles in the personnel processes of the academy are assigned to administrators and to faculty members, they bear a responsibility both for the ethical acceptability of the procedures used and for the way in which they are implemented from case to case.” Ethics in Academic Personnel Processes: The Tenure Decision” Rudolph W. Weingartner Morality, Responsibility, and the University ed. Steven M. Cahn, Temple Press 1990, p 90

Legal Issues Law Suits Campus Grievance Procedures Representation by the University Public Institutions Private Institutions

Conclusion