Reflections on the T&P Process: Voices from the Past and Present María Spicer-Escalante, Assistant Professor (LPSC) Eileen Doktorski, Assistant Professor (Art Department)

Questions  How was your experience with the Tenure and Promotion Process?  What was the most difficult challenge you faced during this process?  What did you learn from this process?  What would be your advice to the women faculty members who are currently going through this process?

Participants 10 tenured, female  A total of 10 tenured, female professors:  5 Associate Professors  5 Full Professors  Colleges:  College of Agriculture  Jon M. Huntsman School of Business  College of Education and Human Services  College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences  College of Science  Extension

1. How was your experience with the Tenure and Promotion Process? Difficult (non-positive)  8/10 women experienced some difficulties with the process  3 of them during the last year of the T&P  2 of them at other institutions Positive (smooth)  2/10 expressed that they had a MOSTLY easy or a fairly smooth process

Comments on the process... Positive:  “I had a terribly supportive committee. I had great letters each year... so it was a fairly smooth process”  “My T&P process was MOSTLY easy, with a committee that was LARGELY supportive and willing to listen to my needs for clarification and for advocacy”

Comments on the process... Difficult:  The process was not very nurturing  The DH was especially noncommittal about my file  USU's process with individual committees is much better. Although I had a committee member that I had to ask be removed because of harassment

Difficult (non-positive) Comments... when there was no blue binder  I went through the T&P process in the days when there was no blue binder... The T&P committees did not help with getting binders ready for outside review. No one on campus knew!  Because I am in a 'unique' position on campus, it was unclear to me how I was to get promoted. No one on campus knew! was vague were not excited about tenuring achievers.  At the first institution, the tenure process was vague and the department was full of underachievers who were not excited about tenuring achievers.

Comments from the last year of the process... Everything was fine until the last year... ... I had to make a change on my committee ... During the tenure decision process things turned surprisingly bad. My committee was supportive and encouraging throughout the process, however I do not think any of them ever actually read my notebook (binder) ... I switched my committee chair. I felt that this person had been deceitful. This person was obstructing the process, instead of making it smooth

2. The most difficult challenge...  Lack of information about the T&P  Obstruction from DH/Chair Committee or other Committee members  Lack of mentorship and female role models  Lack of guidelines  Not having a 'road map' and having poorly defined expectations  Being a productive scholar was the biggest challenge  “Being productive is not a good thing in my Department”

3. I learned...  Nothing! It is stressful!!!  I learned that the system works  We needed to help everyone know what the targets were  Administrators (and their ideas) come and go so your documentation should be “bullet proof” so that you don’t have to worry about that  Mentorship is critical as is having clearly spelled out expectations and criteria  It is critically important to take responsibility for understanding the process  When in doubt, frame your own questions and provide the answer to those questions  This process [the review] built my confidence in myself and my job

1. 1. What would be your advice...?  Know the deadlines and be your own best coach  Don’t wait for your DH or your committee chair to tell you what to do  Talk to others and keep your own file current  Publish, publish, publish!  Get lots of mentoring! Ask for help. Don't be shy. Toot your own horn.

 Find a mentor who is not on your committee and have them help you evaluate your teaching and research  Educate yourselves about the EVERYTHING related to the T&P process The truth is your committee knows very little! Self-Assessment Letter  Write a draft for your Self-Assessment Letter each year!!!  Get input from senior faculty who have recently gone through the process  Maintain a positive attitude as much as possible

Conclusions! “Women faculty are not good at ‘shameless self promotion’.” Thanks!