1. Welcome to FSU Janet Kistner VP Faculty Development & Advancement
August 20, 2018
New Faculty Orientation
Goals of today’s meeting: 1) brief presentation (slides will be made available) not going to get into the weeds, we do that in other venues (P&T workshops, closer to time of tenure review) or get into the history and merits of university tenure (interesting but not enough time) – instead will give an overview of criteria & procedures for getting tenure at FSU; Other goals of this meeting – answering any questions you may have. Hope is that today and tomorrow provide a good foundation for starting your career here at FSU. But NFO will continue – we’ll meet a number of times this year – next time will be in September – Friday, 9/28 – for an on-campus workshop on mentoring. Sign up for it today (will open it up for registration by other faculty after this week).

2. Pursuit of excellence
Hiring & Tenure Decisions are the most important decisions we make
Hired with the expectation that you will excel in your field
Our commitment to you:
Resources to launch your program of scholarship/creative works
Support for teaching
Positive work environment
Constructive, timely feedback on your progress toward tenure

3. University tenure criteria
Meritorious performance in scholarly or creative accomplishments AND teaching AND service
Is there evidence that you:
have (or will) achieve national and international recognition as a scholar or creative artist in your field?
are an effective teacher and mentor?
make positive contributions in service to the university and your academic discipline?
Build on Sally’s presentation. Jim Smith: No “or” in the criteria
What constitutes sufficient evidence? Not a simple answer, no formula, no minimum number of x or y. It’s about excellence, impact. Not true that the only thing that matters is your scholarship/creative works. Lack of evidence of effectiveness in teaching and service is enough to derail tenure. But – it is true – it is the lack of evidence of excellence in scholarship/creative works that is the most common reason for not getting tenure.
BUT – there should be no surprises – you should know well in advance if you are on track (or not) for tenure. Goes back to what I said a few minutes ago about the university’s obligation to provide you with constructive timely feedback on your progress toward tenure.

4. How do I know if I’m making progress toward tenure?
Provide guidance/encouragement to actively plan and frequently participate in professional development/scholarly activities.

5. faculty evaluations at fsu
When do evaluations occur?
Annually: ratings plus progress toward P&T letters
2nd & 4th year reviews (mini-P&T reviews)
P&T review (typically during your 6th year in rank)
Who evaluates you for tenure?
Tenured faculty in your academic unit
Department Committee & Chair
College Committee & Dean
University Committee
Provost, President, Board of Trustees

6. Your role in faculty evaluations
Make it easy for your faculty colleagues, chair, dean to see what you’ve accomplished
Tell “your story” well
What are your most important professional accomplishments?
Why is your work important to the university, nation, world?
Refer back to Sally’s presentation -

7. What you can (should) do now
Ask about your academic unit’s expectations of you and the criteria they most value in evaluating faculty performance
Talk to recently tenured faculty colleagues to learn more about the process in your academic unit
Attend the Mentoring Workshop on September 28th
Make contact with the Office of Research
Get the word out about your work (check out the flyer on “The Conversation”)

8. Join Now
And sign up for the on-campus workshop on mentoring: Friday, September 28th, 1 to 4 (with lunch at noon with chairs/mentors)

9. How to maximize your success
Stay focused on your goals
Maintain connections with leaders in your field of study
Seek mentors (September’s workshop will help with this)
Remember your timeline (amazing how fast the years go by)
Protect your time (but say yes to projects/tasks that will advance your career)
If you say you’re going to do something, do it well and on time

10. Questions?