PSC 2021-2022 Statement on Tenure & Promotion Review COVID

Statement from Professional Standards Committee regarding the COVID19 Pandemic and Promotion and Tenure Cases
Michael Schuckers, Chair 2021-22

The COVID19 pandemic has had significant consequences for faculty and the way that we approach teaching, scholarship and service.   Many of these impacts were noted by the 2020-21 Professional Standards Committee (PSC) in their statement from Fall 2020. This year’s PSC affirms our commitment to that statement and offers some additional guidance related to the pandemic.

While the pandemic continues, faculty at all levels (but particularly our junior colleagues) continue to face difficult choices about how to teach classes, how to pursue scholarship, and how to engage in university service.  The members of PSC are acutely aware of the impact that the pandemic has had on our professional lives.  As always, PSC encourages candidates for promotion and/or tenure to include in their portfolio context for their professional decisions.   We also acknowledge that decisions regarding teaching modalities (in-person, hybrid, etc.) have caused concern about student evaluations.  We consider these decisions to be driven by necessity, and as such, we will not interpret these choices.