Criteria for Tenure (Kent Campus)

The Department requires that the scholarship and relevant professional activity of candidates for tenure be reviewed by scholars knowledgeable in the candidate's field or sub-field who do not hold academic appointments at Kent State University.  The candidate's file must contain a minimum of three letters from outside evaluators. After discussion with the Department Chairperson, the candidate for tenure supplies the Chairperson with a list and short scholarly biography of at least four persons who might serve in this capacity.  These scholars are to be specialists in the candidate's field and must carry at minimum the rank of associate professor; undergraduate and graduate advisors or mentors are excluded from the list of possible reviewers.  The Department Chairperson will select and contact reviewers from that list.  To preserve the professionalism of the process, the candidate will not communicate with the reviewers, but will supply the Chairperson with sufficient copies of his/her C.V., scholarly publications and presentations, and work in progress.  The Chairperson may also seek additional information and material that bears on the candidate's qualifications and performance.

In terms of scholarship, candidates for tenure in the Department will be expected to provide evidence of ongoing scholarship, usually the receipt of a book publication contract from an appropriate press (after a process of scholarly review) for a historical monograph based on original research.  The scholarly monograph may be, but is not limited to, a revised doctoral dissertation.  The candidate's file must contain a copy of the book manuscript.

The candidate is also expected to continue and sustain, over the long term, a program of high quality teaching, scholarship and activity relevant to the mission of the candidate's academic unit(s) and to the mission of the University. Tenure considerations can include evaluation of accomplishments prior to arrival at Kent State University to examine consistency, as well as grant proposals submitted but not funded, proposals pending, papers “in review” or “in press,” graduate students currently advised, and any other materials that may reflect on the candidate's potential for a long-term successful career. The tenure decision is based on all of the evidence available to determine the candidate's potential to pursue a productive career.