Structure of Promotion Committees for Purdue West Lafayette
Faculty Promotion Committee Structure and Function, Purdue West Lafayette
- Primary Committee
Primary Committees are chaired by the school, division or department head/chair, who serves as a non-voting member unless the number of members on the committee is less than seven. Membership is comprised of all Tenured professors in the respective administrative unit (see note below). The committee must consist of at least five Tenured faculty members for cases of promotion to associate professor, and five professors for voting on cases of promotion to professor. When this minimum number is not available in the candidate’s department additional Tenured professors are appointed by the chair of the Area Committee to which the Primary Committee reports, following consultation with the appropriate department head. The Provost, dean of the Graduate School, dean of Libraries and the academic deans may not be voting members of any Primary Committee.
Note: Department heads/chairs with faculty members who have joint appointments should establish an augmented Primary Committee according to the college-wide guidelines for evaluating joint-appointed faculty. - Area Committee
Each college's Area Committee is chaired by its dean, who serves as a non-voting member. Membership is comprised of:
- one tenured faculty member at the rank of professor from each school or department, appointed by the dean, and
- tenured faculty members at the rank of professor elected by the voting faculty of the applicable college/school in accordance with procedures established by that faculty. If specified by college/school by-laws, Area Committees may include associate deans as ex-officio (non-voting) members only. At least a third of the membership of each Area Committee consists of tenured faculty members without administrative responsibilities. In no case may the number of faculty members without administrative responsibilities be fewer than two. The membership of the Area Committee of the Libraries and School of Information Studies will have a different composition due to its unique academic role.
- Campus Promotions Committee
The Campus Promotions Committee convened for purposes of academic Tenure and promotion review is referred to as Panel A. Panel A is chaired by the Provost (who does not vote) and consists of the Dean of the Graduate School, Dean of Libraries, all academic deans, one Tenured professor from each college and a number of additional at-large Tenured faculty members so that there are equal numbers of faculty members and administrators on the committee. Faculty members are elected by the University Senate’s Nominating Committee for three-year terms, staggered in the first instance. The Nominating Committee will attend to the representation of college, interdisciplinary programs and diversity in background and experience in selecting candidates. In the event a vacancy occurs that must be filled at a time when it is difficult or impossible to convene the Nominating Committee, the President, in consultation with the University Senate chair, may appoint a Tenured professor as the replacement, ensuring that every college is represented. The Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs is invited to attend Panel A sessions as a non-voting advisor to the Provost.
The Campus Promotions Committee convened for purposes of promotion of Clinical/ Professional Faculty is referred to as Panel B, and consists of the Provost as chair, three academic deans from schools/colleges employing Clinical/Professional Faculty, and six faculty members. The Provost nominates three of these faculty from Panel A. The remaining three faculty, Clinical/Professional Professors, are nominated by the University Senate Nominating Committee and appointed by the President for 3-year terms. The Campus Promotions Committee convened for purposes of promotion of Research Faculty is referred to as Panel C, and consists of the Provost as chair, the Executive Vice President for Research ( ex officio), two academic deans or associate deans from colleges/ schools that employ Research Faculty, three faculty members appointed by the Provost from the University Promotions Committee, and three research professors appointed by the Provost.