Successful Applicant for Promotion to Level C and D Dr Arlie Loughnan, Associate Professor Sydney Law School 2014 Academic Promotions Applicant Information Session

Deciding to Apply ›Ask yourself ‘is now the right time?’/‘what have I done since my last promotion?’: -If yes, can you make a case for ‘excellence’ in teaching and/or research? -If not, what do you need to do to be in a position to apply next year? ›Start the decision-making process early: -Preliminary consultation with HOD/Dean; -Consult with (select) colleagues (senior colleagues and peers). ›Be realistic: critically assess strengths and weaknesses: -Draft CV/summary of application and consult again; -Review the timeline for the application process (esp. date for 1 pg update); -Think forward to 1 January next year: where will you be at that point?; what do you want to be able to do from that point onwards? Deciding to Apply 2

Planning the Application ›Consider the application as a whole: -Save space by avoiding repetition; -Avoid ‘double-dipping’ (although there is some flexibility about where certain activities belong eg HDR supervision). ›Referees: -Referees should add to what you can say for yourself & address the criteria; -Think laterally (ie beyond supervisors, examiners) & ‘Double-up’ where possible. ›Supplementary material: -Allow time for collection and organisation of material (eg citations). ›Completing the application form online: double the time you think you will need (the ‘end matter’). AIM: Tell a personal (unique), persuasive and evidence-based story of success. 3

The Application ›Convince the Committee of the merits of your case on the basis of this section alone; ›Lead with a short punchy summary paragraph; ›Demonstrate an upward trajectory in your teaching/research/service; ›Provide an individualised account of strengths/achievements; ›Make the strongest possible case across teaching, research and service; ›Use evidence judiciously – avoid re-using the same evidence; ›Do not double dip (although you can split activities that cross over different sections eg administrative roles); ›Be detailed/descriptive but do so as succinctly as possible (eg ‘In addition’, ‘At the same time as...’, ‘Concurrently...’). Summary of Application

›Demonstrate superior competency/skill and level of self-reflection about teaching. ›What kind of teacher are you? What is ‘excellence in teaching’ to you? ›Develop a narrative (eg leadership in teaching, scholarship in teaching) ›Outline what you do differently/consistently and its pedagogical value ›Explain what is involved in teaching in Faculty/School (eg class sizes, coordinating tutors, curriculum renewal/development, lectures or seminars) ›Support all aspects of this section with evidence (USEs, s, invitations to teach, above load teaching, report from colleague/co-teacher) ›Supervision of HDR students, completions (student success) ›Don’t forget: informal/formal mentoring of junior colleagues, teaching conferences/colloquia, guest classes, and training. Teaching Case 5

The Application ›Demonstrate that you have a research agenda that you prosecute actively and that results in high quality research outputs. ›What is your ‘hook’? (eg monograph, grants, impact, public engagement) ›Explain to a non-specialist what is significant about your research ›Benchmark yourself (‘Relative to what would be expected at Level X,...’) ›Dissemination: -Include national and international outputs -Provide detail about discipline-specific aspects of ‘excellence’ -Demonstrate reflection about the readership/scholarly community ›Recognition for research (eg by professional community) ›Research leadership (journal editorships, edited collections etc) Research Case 6

The Application Service Case ›Demonstrate good citizenship of scholarly/other communities ›Provide detail about what your service involved (meetings, reports); -‘Over and above my role as member,....’ -‘Biweekly meetings covering everything involved in hosting a major conference...’ ›Indicate length of service commitment (consistency counts); ›Take into account the role of others (I/We/The Committee...); ›Remember: media commentary, writing for a popular audience, guest presentations, University consultancies, extra-curricular activities, activities with USyd student community and alumni. 7

General Points Answer the selection criteria: articulate why you deserve promotion (ie avoid leaving it to the Committee to work it out); Say what you have done and why it is important – give the committee concrete reasons to promote you; Don’t assume even your closest colleagues really know what you do or have done – spell it out for the selection committee members, many of whom will not be in your discipline; Don’t assume even your closest colleagues know who the experts or best journals are in your field – again, be succinct and, without being patronising, spell it out; Back up every statement with evidence' And, most importantly, remember that there is no single type of successful application.

General Points Good luck! 9