Six weeks before the scheduled CMFA date.
Send a single pdf with each section bookmarked to Vilma Cortez Jusayan Manager of Academic Affairs.
First, try reducing the file size. The process for doing this varies depending on which Adobe software you are using and which operating system you have. Your IT support and/or an internet search should be able to help you.
If that does not work, you may share the file through a free file-sharing service such as Google Drive.
If you still have trouble, please consult your IT support. Do not submit the dossier as separate, incomplete files.
All new appointments at the senior levels (i.e., associate professor and professor) must go through CMFA. Search paperwork for new senior appointments in the research/teaching scholar and (research) tracks must be submitted to BMFA first. See the checklists for more information.
BMFA will send out a call for scheduling requests in mid-Spring for the upcoming academic year. Requests for CMFA dates made after the schedule is set will be considered on a case-by-case basis, space permitting.
Referees should hold a position at an institution of higher education. In some cases, a referee may instead hold a key position at an influential organization or agency such as the National Institutes of Health. If you are unsure if a referee without a college/university appointment qualifies, contact BMFA with the referee's CV and a brief statement of justification.
Referees should not be collaborators, co-authors, former trainees, or former mentors. At the very least, department-selected referees should not include such individuals to allow the department to benefit from unbiased opinions regarding the candidate's contributions and reputation. Collaborators, co-authors, former trainees, and former mentors are not in a strong position to offer an objective evaluation. Candidate-selected referees may include such individuals but candidates should note that the strongest dossiers include 'arm's-length' referees as well
If you cannot obtain a letter with at least one of these elements, include as a cover sheet the original email from the referee to which the letter was attached.
Include a brief (i.e., 1-2 sentences) bio with details such as specialty, research interests, relationship to candidate, or other pertinent details that indicate why this referee was considered qualified to evaluate the candidate.
The associate dean of academic affairs contacts the department chair to notify him/her of the committee's decision. The dossier must then be approved by the dean of biology and medicine, the provost, and the president. Appointments/promotions on the teaching scholar and research scholar tracks, as well as pre-track academic faculty, also require approval of the Corporation. Once final approval is granted, BMFA sends a notification letter to the candidate.
Final approval may take several weeks or even a few months. The timing is largely dictated by the provost's availability and/or the corporation's meeting schedule.
In certain cases, BMFA can backdate an appointment or promotion to an earlier start date as long as that start date is in the recent past. For example, BMFA may backdate a promotion to July 1, 2017 for a candidate reviewed by the CMFA in September 2017. BMFA reserves the right to recommend alternative start dates or refuse to backdate an appointment if the request is determined to be unreasonable.
Yes. If the referee is an appropriate and qualified evaluator who meets the other referee requirements (e.g., rank), s/he may serve as an external referee.
Yes. As long as their primary appointment is not in the department of the promotion/appointment candidate, they are considered ‘outside the department.’
Yes, with certain qualifications: (1) The letters should be reasonably recent, i.e., written in the past two or three years. (2) The letters should not have already been submitted as part of a previous promotion/appointment dossier. (3) The letters must be accompanied by an update from the referee. To collect this update, the department should send the referee an updated CV for the promotion/appointment candidate and ask if the referee would like to revise or update their original letter. The referee’s response should be included in the dossier with the original letter. This exchange can take place entirely by email.
A faculty member is typically in rank for five years before seeking the next promotion. In extraordinary cases, a faculty member may go up for promotion sooner.
The department of the secondary appointment needs only indicate their concurrence with the proposed promotion/appointment by having the chair sign the Secondary Appointment Form, available on the BMFA website. This form should be prepared by the primary department.
CMFA does not impose a specific time requirement for faculty members to be considered for promotion. Each department has its own unique guidelines regarding promotion timelines and criteria. Different fields may have varying expectations for promotion depending on the nature of research and publication cycles. Ultimately, promotion decisions are based on an individual faculty member's performance in research, teaching, and service, rather than solely on the amount of time served.
Contact Vilma Cortez Jusayan Manager of Academic Affairs, via email or phone at 401-863-5475.