CFANS Promotion and Tenure: U of M College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences

The promotion and tenure process at the University of Minnesota is governed by the Board of Regents Policy–Faculty Tenure and the University’s Procedures for Reviewing Candidates for Tenure and/or Promotion: Tenure-Track and Tenured Faculty.

The University's general criteria for awarding indefinite tenure are set forth in Faculty Tenure, section 7.11. Unit criteria are specified in the departmental statement called for in section 7.12 of Faculty Tenure.

All units in the university revised their 7.12 documents in 2007. As new 7.12 documents are approved by the Provost's office, the old documents will be replaced by the new. Current tenure-track faculty will be required to choose which departmental 7.12 statement they will to use for promotion and tenure. All new tenure-track faculty will be required to use the new 7.12 document.

Criteria for Tenure and Unit 7.12 Documents

Guidelines for Promotion and Tenure Dossiers

Promotion and tenure dossiers should be assembled in accordance with the University's Procedures for Reviewing the Performance of Tenure-Track Probationary Faculty, Section 12–Preparation of the file for tenure decisions.

The elements of promotion and tenure dossiers in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) are specified by CFANS Guidelines for Promotion and Tenure Dossiers. The Guidelines are updated annually, taking into account observations and suggestions made by the CFANS Promotion and Tenure Review Committee, the dean and associate deans, and central administration.

Timeline for Promotion and Tenure

Promotion and tenure dossiers for cases being considered during the 2008/09 academic year are due in the Office of the Associate Dean for Faculty and Research no later than Friday, 14 November 2008. The Timeline for Promotion and Tenure provides a detailed schedule of the year's promotion and tenure activities.

Timeline for Promotion and Tenure - 2008/09

Extension of Probationary Period

As provided by Faculty Tenure, Section 5.5, the maximum period of probationary service will be extended by one year at the request of a probationary faculty member:

On the occasion of the birth of that faculty member's child or adoptive/foster placement of a child with that faculty member; or
When the faculty member is a major caregiver for a family member [2] who has an extended serious illness, injury, or debilitating condition. A faculty member may use this provision no more than two times; or
When the faculty member has an extended serious illness, injury, or debilitating condition.

The request for extension must be made in writing within one year of the events giving rise to the claim and no later than June 30 preceding the year a final decision would otherwise be made on an appointment with indefinite tenure for that faculty member.