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Bylaws

Current Bylaws (PDF)

Approved April 10th 2023

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES IN THE DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY.

GENERAL DEPARTMENT GOVERNANCE

Overall Organization

  • Within the Department, the ultimate authority resides in its voting members except in those instances when the College or University has vested authority in the Chair. Voting members of the Department are those who are budgeted to the Department and includes all full-time faculty members [Instructional Professors, Research Professors, Adjunct faculty with full-time load (4+ courses per year) and Tenure-Track faculty]. Operation of the department is conducted by the Chair, Associate Chair, Graduate and Undergraduate Coordinators, and Standing Committees.

Duties of the Chair

  • The Chair is the chief administrative officer of the department. They oversee the professional office staff and all aspects of the academic program, such as: teaching assignments, recruitment, space, promotion, tenure, and annual evaluation of faculty. The Chair appoints and supervises the Associate Chair, Graduate and Undergraduate Coordinators and selects and supervises the members of all committees. On a routine basis, the Chair supervises the day-to-day activities of the Department and in conjunction with the coordinators and committees assures that all policies and procedures are carried out. In addition, the Chair acts as a liaison between the Department and the College.
  • The Chair is also the chief financial officer of the Department. They are responsible for the final recommendations for salaries and leaves. The Chair supervises all receipts and expenditures and prepares the annual academic program review and budget proposal to the Dean. All budget documents shall be available to any voting member of the Department on request. In addition, the Chair acts as a liaison to the College development officers who aid in outside fund raising for the Department.

Duties of the Associate Chair

The Associate Chair will serve a multiyear term (ideally) which overlaps the Chair assignments by at least 6 months. The Associate Chair is named within 6 months of a new Chair term and is selected by the new Chair, ideally by the end of the Fall semester subsequent to new Chair appointment. A Chair can select to keep the existing Associate Chair is both are agreeable.

The Associate Chair position comes with 1 course release per academic year, and compensation as determined by Chair.

The main duties of the Associate Chair relate to:

  1. Course Scheduling: The Associate Chair (AC), will receive the course assignments from the Chair, as written in faculty AAR Chairs letters. Ideally, scheduling will be done collaboratively at faculty meetings to coordinate course times, room assignments, and mode of delivery. The AC will maintain records on course offerings – frequency and past enrolments, with which to advise discussions on courses to add/delete from the schedules. The AC will work with Undergraduate and Graduate Coordinators to monitor enrollments in graduate seminars and undergraduate courses.
  2. Curriculum Review: The AC will serve as Chair of the Communications Committee and will manage course offerings, encourage new course development and review, manage Quest courses, and encourage and assist in their submission, review quality of courses especially those managed by graduate TA’s and provide assistance as needed. The AC will manage the course repository on Teams and help build resources for the department available here. In the first year the new AC will conduct a program review of all courses, meet with faculty and grads, highlight gaps and work to improve the Geography curriculum. The AC will facilitate meetings of the Graduate Coordinator and Undergraduate Coordinator, and Certificate leads, as appropriate, to manage course offerings, timing and alignment of courses, and gaps, problems, or opportunities in the curriculum.
  3. GA-T assignments: The AC will meet with all graduate assistant-teaching (GA-Ts) and request input on course preferences to assist in the GA-T assignments [including UFO, Quest, Department TAs, Writing Program, DIAL Program, or other potential units]. The Graduate Coordinator will assist in this process to ensure available and potential funding and recruiting efforts align with available funding lines and departmental needs. In addition to the semester assignments, the AC will work with the Graduate Coordinator and the Chair of the Student Services Committee for the annual Teaching Workshop, and GA-T orientation – both in Fall prior to the new semester beginning. Additional brown bag lunches and requested meetings and seminars on GA-T related topics will also be managed by the AC.
  4. Summer Scheduling: Summer Scheduling is done by the Chair, Associate Chair, and Graduate Coordinator as funded by the College. The Chair, Associate Chair and Graduate Coordinator solicit course teaching proposals from faculty and graduate students (usually in October) who are interested in teaching over the summer. Teaching proposals are evaluated by the Chair, Associate Chair, and Graduate Coordinator. Approved proposals are forwarded to the College.
  5. Other: The Associate Chair will also stand in for the Chair when the Chair is unavailable.

Standing Committees

Standing Committees include:

  • Department Governance Committee
  • Graduate Committee
  • Undergraduate Committee
  • Communications Committee
  • Student Services Committee

Descriptions and responsibilities of each committee:

  1. DEPARTMENTAL GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE
    This committee will be made up from the chairs of each of the other 4 committees and they will be responsible for:

    • steering committee duties
    • merit committee annual review
    • third year reviews
    • bylaws
    • link to Industry/Alumni Advisory Board for the Department
  2. GRADUATE COMMITTEE
    This committee is chaired by the Graduate coordinator and will be responsible for:

    • graduate admissions
    • graduate awards
    • graduate recruitment
    • co-manage colloquium speaker series – invitations and weekly speakers
    • graduate program development
  3. UNDERGRADUATE COMMITTEE
    This committee is chaired by the undergraduate coordinator and will be responsible for:

    • undergraduate curriculum
    • curriculum/course reviews
    • peer teaching evaluations – assignments set up annually in AAR letters from chair
    • undergraduate awards
    • meteorology program
    • increasing majors

    Note: on some of these issues may need assistance from Department Chair and/or Associate Chair

  4. COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
    This committee will be chaired by the Associate Chair and will be responsible for:

    • alumni development & communication
    • alumni events
    • giving day
    • social media
    • web
    • profile development (grads, undergrads, faculty, alumni)
  5. STUDENT SERVICES COMMITTEE
    This committee Chair will be appointed by the Department Chair, based on expertise and engagement with student activities. Will address issues related to:

    • graduate and undergraduate programs
    • linking with grad reps
    • program development
    • developing opportunities and engagement
    • initiative creation
    • manage colloquium speaker series – invitations and weekly speakers

Ad hoc Committees, such as Faculty Search Committees, are appointed by the
Chair and from time to time for a fixed duration to meet departmental needs.

  • Faculty Search Committees, review the applicants and suggest the pool to bring to campus for interview. Upon completing required training, all faculty members have access to review the applicants’ files. To ensure university rules, non-committee member faculty can bring up for discussion and review any candidate they feel has been overlooked by the committee during (and only during) public meetings of the formal search committee prior to the announcement of final candidates. The Search Committee and Department Chair discuss and decide upon the final interview candidates and notify the full faculty for final comments. At the end of the interview process, the committee reports back to the full voting faculty with summary information on each candidate and any feedback from the faculty, prior to a departmental vote occurring.
  • The Graduate Coordinator is a faculty member appointed by the Chair for a three-year term and is given an annual course reduction and compensation as determined by Chair. They are responsible for the administration of the graduate program: including correspondence with prospective students, coordination of admissions, and, in consultation with the AC and relevant faculty, teaching assignments for TAs and the regular evaluation of graduate students. The appointment may be renewed for additional three-year terms at the discretion of the Chair.
  • The Undergraduate Coordinator is a faculty member appointed by the Chair for a three-year term and is given an annual course reduction and compensation as determined by Chair. They are responsible for undergraduate advising and in consultation with the Undergraduate Committee oversees the undergraduate curriculum. The appointment may be renewed for additional three-year terms at the discretion of the Chair.
  • The Web Coordinator is a faculty member appointed by the Chair for a three-year term and is given an annual course reduction. They are responsible for coordination and management of department social media and webpages, communication with college web development team and CLAS news etc., development of social media initiatives and is the program point person for our online presence.
  • Faculty meetings are called by the Chair as needed. The Chair presides at these meetings and determines the agenda, in consultation with the faculty. Fifty percent or more of the number of voting members of the Department excluding those on leave constitute a quorum.
  • Faculty meetings can be called by full-time faculty members if at least one-third of them initiate the request.
  • Faculty on leave or absent from a meeting are permitted to vote on any specific motion or matter provided they are fully informed of the issues under discussion.
  • The secret ballot will routinely be employed in making personnel decisions. On all other matters, the secret ballot will be employed upon a motion and second to that effect.
  • The Department Chair is responsible for sending periodic email bulletins to the faculty (and others, as appropriate) about events and developments that affect the Department.
  • The Department preference is for a rotating Chair that shall pass among a diverse range of faculty. Accordingly, chairs will normally serve a 3 to 5-year term, as determined by the Dean. Should the faculty choose, and with the support of the Dean, a Chair’s term may be extended for additional terms. Former chairs may serve again following a full term out of office.
  • The Chair will be evaluated in a review organized by the Dean’s office (currently administered as an online survey annually).
  • Visiting faculty are welcome to attend general departmental faculty meetings and may be recognized by the Chair in general discussion. However, Visiting faculty do not have a vote on departmental business.
  • The Chair may appoint Visiting faculty to serve on department committees as part of their service assignment, and they may vote in those committees.
  • Faculty who are recruited by a search and who are appointed to Visiting Faculty lines for administrative reasons in anticipation of an imminent appointment to a tenure-track or tenured faculty position have full participation and voting rights on all department matters (subject to limitations in College and University rules). For example, a foreign national who is appointed as Visiting Assistant Professor while awaiting the completion of Immigration procedures will generally be considered as an Assistant Professor for purposes of department governance.
  • Instructional Professors attend and participate fully in general departmental faculty meetings, and, as a rule, they have a vote on all matters EXCEPT those that assess or address research.

Release Time

  • Types of release time include:
    • release from all teaching and service requirements (research leave)
    • course reduction of one or two courses without administrative release (course reduction) and
    • professional development leave.

Requests for release time need to be submitted to the Chair in sufficient time for the Chair to decide before the class offerings are submitted for the semester in question.

  • Reduction of the usual 2-1 teaching responsibilities (for tenure track 9-month faculty), 3-3 teaching (9-month Instructional Professors), and 3-3-2 (for 12-month Instructional Professors); Course reductions, release time and research leaves are possible within the Department. Such actions are taken with clearly understood criteria, and ultimately at the discretion of the Chair.
  • Current Department policy allows two instances of release time:
    • Junior faculty may be given a semester of research leave within their first three years with the expectation of increased research productivity. Here research leave is understood as release from all teaching and service requirements.
    • The Graduate Coordinator, Undergraduate Coordinator, Web Coordinator, and Associate Chair – will continue to participate in the normal life of the Department, including assigned committee work.

The expectation of increased productivity or reward for service or some combination of the two should guide the granting of release time. In evaluating a request for release time, the Chair will consider such factors as: how recently and how often the individual faculty member has received time off, results of past leaves or course reductions, whether or not an effort has been made to secure outside funding, what service is being rewarded or being offered in return, class coverage and responsibility to graduate students, and the overall fairness and practicality of the request in the context of the competing needs and desires of other faculty members.

Alternative Teaching Assignments

  • Development of new teaching programs or instructional activities may lead to special instructional/development appointments in the place of more traditional in-class instruction. For example – new degree development, new program development, Quest course development, communications coordination for department etc.

Additional Teaching Responsibilities

  • Increases in the usual teaching responsibilities – which are currently a 2-1 or 1-2 for tenure track faculty, a 3-3 for 9-month instructional faculty, and a 3-3-2 for 12-month for instructional faculty – are also possible within the Department. Such actions are taken with clearly understood criteria and ultimately at the discretion of the Chair in their responsibilities for the allocation of teaching assignments. Requests should be proposed to the Chair in writing.

Current College policy permits the accommodation of a load of up to 3-3 for tenure track faculty, a 4-4 for 9-month instructional faculty, and a 4-4-2 for 12-month instructional faculty, at the wish of the faculty member or when expectations of undergraduate and graduate teaching, research activity and service, as defined under Merit Pay Criteria are not met. In evaluating the possibility of additional class loads, the Chair will consider such factors as: patterns of undergraduate and graduate class enrolments in the preceding years, patterns of graduate student supervision and graduate committee membership, whether an effort has been made to secure outside funding, scholarly productivity as defined in the section dealing with Merit Pay Criteria, and levels of service activities.

  • Additional courses should be restricted to subject materials within the faculty member’s broad sub-disciplinary specialty and should be assigned at a level appropriate to maintaining a mix of introductory and more advanced offerings.
  • Such increased productivity in teaching is included in the Merit Pay Criteria and will be considered by the Departmental Governance Committee.

AFFILIATE FACULTY

  • Candidates for Affiliate Faculty status may be nominated by any member of the budgeted faculty or upon request of a potential affiliate faculty member. The faculty members will examine the candidate’s curriculum vitae, discuss the case, and conduct a vote during a regularly scheduled faculty meeting. A simple majority vote of the present faculty will allow the candidate to be appointed as an Affiliate Faculty member of the department.
  • Following a majority vote for Affiliate Faculty status, the department chair will draft a letter of appointment stating conditions appropriate to the position, as stated in these by- laws. The letter must be submitted to, and approved by, the College.
  • Affiliate Faculty holding Graduate Faculty Status may serve as either a co-chair or regular committee member representing the Geography Department on Geography graduate student committees. Affiliate Faculty may not serve as the sole chair of a Geography graduate student committee, except under specific circumstances (see below). The Geography Department requires that the committee chair, or co-chair, be a tenure-track, budgeted faculty member of Geography with full graduate faculty status. According to Graduate School policy, Affiliate Faculty members may not serve as the external committee member or the minor representative in the affiliate department.
  • Affiliate Faculty may chair doctoral committees in Geography under the following circumstances:
    • The academic unit to which the Affiliate Faculty member belongs does not possess a doctoral program.
    • Approval of the request is subject to a two-thirds majority vote in favor by members of the Geography Department.
    • The doctoral committee must have a co-chair selected from the pool of tenure-track, budgeted faculty members of the Geography Department. The request that an Affiliate Faculty member be allowed to chair a doctoral committee in Geography must originate from within the Geography Department.
  • Affiliate Faculty will have the right to participate in departmental listserv correspondence and attend faculty meetings. They shall not be permitted to vote during faculty meeting, nor participate in review processes for either the department chair or other faculty members.
  • Affiliate Faculty members shall not serve on departmental standing committees but may serve on ad hoc committees. The Department will review status annually in the spring semester and extend Affiliate Faculty status on a case-by-case basis.
  • Affiliate Faculty may serve as an advisor or second reader of an honors thesis for undergraduate students.

EMERITUS FACULTY

  • Candidates for Emeritus Faculty status are nominated by the Chair to faculty. The faculty members will consider the request and conduct a vote (online). All full-time faculty in the department can vote. A simple majority vote of the faculty in favor of the status will allow the chair to initiate the paperwork for college approval and Provost approval.
  • The Department will review status annually in the spring semester and extend Emeritus Faculty status on a case-by-case basis.

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT

Merit Pay Criteria

  • Meritorious achievement is recognized for those who contribute to the realization of the Department’s goals in pursuing excellence, and to the intellectual life of the Department and that of the larger academic community, as linked to the effort assignment (% teaching, research & service assignment) for each faculty member. When merit is available it is based on a review of the prior 3 years for each faculty member. If a faculty member has not been at UF for three years, then it will be based on the number of years available.
  • The Department Chair shall determine which faculty members will be awarded merit pay increases when such money is available. There shall be a departmental Merit Committee Annual Review, conducted by the Departmental Governance Committee, with responsibility for recommending to the Chair those individuals who should be eligible for such awards. The committee shall classify each faculty member’s contribution and performance as highly meritorious, meritorious, satisfactory, or unsatisfactory. The Chair, in consultation with the Departmental Governance Committee, shall determine merit awards between and within these categories. Each member of the Departmental Governance Committee, will be excluded from the discussion of her or his own assessment. The assessments of each member of the Departmental Governance Committee, will be made by the remaining members of the committee. The committee’s assessments will be based on the Annual Activities Reports, which include each faculty member’s yearly report and the accompanying letter from the Chair.
  • Determinations of merit shall be based on consideration of faculty’s effort assignment as it relates to their research, teaching and service record in the past three years. The faculty member’s Departmental work assignments are taken into consideration when making merit assessments. Specifically, this review will be based on their assigned effort, or distribution across the three categories of teaching, research, and service. Expectations for productivity in each category are a function of effort assigned.
  • It is assumed that the service duties of junior faculty will be lighter than those of their senior colleagues.
  • For purposes of evaluation, the category of research shall include (but not be entirely restricted to):
    • articles in professional refereed journals
    • scholarly books or monographs
    • textbooks
    • edited books
    • chapters in books
    • convention papers
    • fellowships, grants, and other financial awards
    • research proposal development
    • fundraising
    • invited papers and addresses
    • book reviews, commentaries, research notes and research reports
      • When evaluating research productivity, consideration will be given to quality and quantity. Distinctions will be made between publications in leading journals and others in the field and its subfields and among publishing houses.
  • For purposes of evaluation, the category of teaching shall include undergraduate and graduate instruction, thesis, and dissertation supervision (both within and outside the Department of Geography), intern supervision, course and curriculum development, the cultivation of new graduate students, and other related activities.
  • For purposes of evaluation, the category of service shall include:
    • Attendance at faculty meetings, work on standing and ad hoc departmental committees
    • Undergraduate advising, and attendance at recruitment colloquia
    • Exceptional performance of normal departmental responsibilities
    • Service as departmental graduate coordinator, undergraduate coordinator, web coordinator, and related activities
    • Service on College or University committees, participation in or supervision of special programs and initiatives, and other significant contributions to the College or University
    • Serving on editorial boards, as an officer in a professional association, a Chair or section leader for a major professional conference or other professional program participation, a reviewer for professional journals and other publications, a reviewer for professional research funding agencies, and a contributor to projects associated with professional work or other activities enhancing the reputation and visibility of the Department, College or University
    • Serving as a journal or academic series editor
    • Membership on government boards or commissions, leadership in community organizations, and election to public office or other activity enhancing the reputation and visibility of the Department, College, or University
    • Service to primary or secondary schools

Mentoring

  • The Chair will facilitate the appointment of two mentors for each untenured member as early as possible in their first semester. The choice of mentor need not be based on similarities of academic work. The emphasis should be on finding someone the untenured member can talk with freely about all matters concerning the tenure process.
  • The Chair will seek to assign a modest number of administrative duties to tenure-track faculty while bearing in mind the need to balance the administrative load among all faculty.
  • Untenured members will be encouraged to share their work with their mentors. They will be especially encouraged to discuss decisions regarding their course preparations, paper presentations, research, and publishing activities with the mentor helping to evaluate these decisions in the light of the best possible tenure and promotion portfolio.
  • The mentors will encourage and guide the untenured members in seeking funding for research projects or release time.
  • Prior to the end of each academic year before tenure, the Chair will consult with the mentors and meet with the untenured members before writing the end of the year evaluation letter.

Peer Teaching Evaluations

  • Peer evaluation of teaching consists of the review of teaching performance by colleagues, with the purpose of assessing and improving the quality of teaching by providing feedback and assessments from evaluators in the same or related discipline. Peer review puts faculty in charge of the quality of their teaching and provides an opportunity to enhance teaching quality and skills through regular assessments. To ensure the effectiveness of the process, evaluations will consist of the use of a standardized Peer Teaching Evaluation (PTE) “rubric”, as approved, and sanctioned by the Department, and administered under the department guidelines. Each academic year the Chair will assign teaching evaluations for all geography faculty members of every untenured/pre-promotion faculty member. This assignment is indicated in the annual Chairs letter so both the faculty member conducting the review AND the faculty member being reviewed can communicate in advance, make course materials available and submit the peer teaching in advance of the AAR due date to the Chair and faculty member.
  • Evaluations will be based on classroom visits and examination of syllabi, hand-outs, paper and exam assignments, web-related materials, and any other information the faculty consider relevant to judging their teaching.
  • These evaluations will be particularly concerned with techniques, style, and effectiveness of teaching as well as the content or substance of instruction, which reflect an individual’s command of and fluency in one’s field of expertise.
  • No less than two PTEs should be carried out per junior faculty (by tenured faculty) for every two years of full-time teaching, to evaluate junior faculty teaching performance. No less than two PTEs should be carried out per senior faculty (by other senior faculty) for every four years of full-time teaching, to evaluate senior faculty teaching performance.

Tenure-Accruing Faculty: Policy on Third-Year Review

  • The midterm review process provides structured and constructive information to assist candidates to meet college and university requirements for tenure and promotion. The review is normally done in the third year. It should be designed to provide the faculty member with constructive comments to strengthen the eventual tenure packet and provide the faculty member with a true assessment of how her/his efforts are perceived by peers within her/his own It also will assist that faculty member, in that peers, other than her/his own Chair, will provide an evaluation of the faculty member’s efforts.
  • The fact that the review process takes place at the end of the third year of service should allow for proper review of the faculty members teaching, research and service efforts and will allow enough time for the faculty member to make any modifications necessary for the successful award of tenure in the future, if any deficiencies are noted in the review. Likewise, it could also be used to assist the faculty member in the choice as to when she/he would most likely be successful in applying for tenure.
  • The packet preparation should begin early in the third year of appointment. The dossier will include:
    • An abridged tenure and promotion packet
    • A research/scholarship portfolio including all of the candidate’s research publications, papers submitted for publication, grant proposals, and similar information
    • Annual letters of evaluation from the Chair
  • The dossier will be made available to the Departmental Governance Committee, Faculty at higher rank, and Chair and a review meeting and discussion, to provide input for the Chair, will take place. The assessment will address the issues normally considered in tenure and promotion deliberations and will determine if the candidate is making satisfactory progress toward promotion and tenure. The committee will prepare a report for the Department Chair on what might be included in their letter of review to the candidate. The committee would typically address the following questions:
    • Is the candidate’s teaching at or above department norms and expectations or making steady progress in that direction?
    • Has the candidate presented papers in appropriate venues and are the number and quality of those papersacceptable?
    • Has the candidate published at an acceptable rate and in appropriate journals?
    • Is the candidate beginning to establish a regional and national reputation in her/his field?
    • Is the candidate preparing her/himself to attract external funding to support her/his scholarly work?
    • Has the candidate gained Graduate Faculty Status and served on master’s and doctoral committees?
    • Does the candidate’s record suggest a teaching and research trajectory that is likely to lead to the rank of Associate (and later Full) Professor?
    • Is the candidate appropriately involved in professional service activities at the local, state, national, or international level?
  • The Department Chair will draft a letter of review based on the candidate’s dossier and the committee report.
  • The letter should consider the candidate’s annual work assignments and any support the Department may have provided the candidate. It should identify areas of strengths and weaknesses in the candidate’s record and make clear recommendations, if any, on how the candidate may improve her/his dossier and performance. The goal is to give thoughtful and constructive assessments and suggestions that will help the candidate meet college and university requirements for tenure and promotion. The letter will be explicit in stating that the letter itself is not a decision for tenure and promotion but is rather a mid-course evaluation.
  • Before April 30, the Department Chair will meet with the candidate to provide a copy and discuss the letter of review. The candidate and Department Chair should discuss strengths and weaknesses in the candidate’s dossier; what the candidate might do, if anything, to strengthen her/his papers in the future; and what assistance might be available in the department, college, and/or university to address candidate needs and improve performance, if needed. In making these recommendations the Chair is not entering into a contractual relationship with the candidate such that if these recommendations are fulfilled the candidate is assured of tenure. Rather they are recognizing and acting upon their responsibility to support the candidate in her/his final years before tenure. A copy of the letter of review will be placed in the candidate’s personnel file. The faculty member has the right to submit a written response to the report if so desired, and the response will be placed in the faculty member’s personnel file for future reference. The Chair’s letter will not become part of the tenure and promotion packet.
  • The Department Chair‘s letter of review will be forwarded to the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs by the end of the Spring semester.

Instructional Professor, Policy on Midterm Review

  • The midterm review process provides structured and constructive information to assist candidates to meet college and university requirements for promotion. The review is normally done in the third year. It should be designed to provide the faculty member with constructive comments to strengthen the eventual promotion packet and provide the faculty member with a true assessment of how her/his efforts are perceived by peers within her/his own discipline. It also will assist that faculty member, in that peers, other than her/his own Chair, will provide an evaluation of the faculty member’s efforts.
  • The fact that the review process normally takes place at the end of the third year of service should allow for proper review of the faculty members teaching, service, and/or program development, in the manner required in the faculty members appointment letter, efforts and will allow enough time for the faculty member to make any modifications necessary for the successful award of promotion in the future, if any deficiencies are noted in the review. Likewise, it could also be used to assist the faculty member in the choice as to when she/he would most likely be successful in applying for promotion.
  • The review should begin early in the academic year in which the review takes place. The dossier will include:
    • An abridged promotion packet
    • Evidence of the candidate’s teaching contributions, including peer evaluations
    • Evidence of the candidate’s service contributions, as well as additional service assignments such as program development, course development, and other non-teaching assignments
    • If appropriate, the candidate may include a research/scholarship portfolio including all of the candidate’s research publications, papers submitted for publication, grant proposals, and similar information
    • Annual letters of evaluation from the Chair
  • The dossier will be made available to the Departmental Governance Committee, Instructional Faculty at higher rank, and Chair and a review meeting and discussion, to provide input for the Chair, will take place. The assessment will address the issues normally considered in promotion deliberations and will determine if the candidate is making satisfactory progress toward promotion. The committee will prepare a report which will discuss the candidate’s progress toward promotion and advise the Department Chair on what might be included in their letter of review to the candidate. The committee would typically address the following questions:
    • Is the candidate’s teaching at or above department norms and expectations or making steady progress in that direction?
    • Do peer and student evaluations of teaching reflect or exceed department norms or are making steady progress in that direction?
    • Has the candidate developed new courses, certificates, developed new programs, or other examples of excellence in curriculum development in the Department?
    • Is the candidate acceptable in terms of the services and other objectives of their appointment?
    • Does the candidate’s record suggest a teaching and service trajectory that is likely to lead to a rank of Senior (and later Master) Instructional Professor?
    • Is the candidate appropriately involved in professional service activities at the local, state, national, or international level?
  • The Department Chair will draft a letter of review based on the candidate’s dossier and the committee report.
  • The letter should consider the candidate’s annual work assignments and any support the Department may have provided the candidate. Instructional Faculty often have assignments well beyond teaching – such as specific program and curricular development, new programs, Quest courses or other assigned activities, which should all be considered in terms of their teaching/service activities. It should identify areas of strengths and weaknesses in the candidate’s record and make clear recommendations, if any, on how the candidate may improve her/his dossier and performance. The goal is to give thoughtful and constructive assessments and suggestions that will help the candidate meet college and university requirements for promotion. The letter will be explicit in stating that the letter itself is not a decision for promotion but is rather a mid-course evaluation.
  • Before April 30, the Department Chair will meet with the candidate to provide a copy and discuss the letter of review. The candidate and Department Chair should discuss strengths and weaknesses in the candidate’s dossier; what the candidate might do, if anything, to strengthen her/his teaching, services and/or program development in the future; and what assistance might be available in the department, college, and/or university to address candidate needs and improve performance, if needed. In making these recommendations the Chair is not entering into a contractual relationship with the candidate such that if these recommendations are fulfilled the candidate is assured of promotion. Rather they are recognizing and acting upon their responsibility to support the candidate in her/his final years before promotion. A copy of the letter of review will be placed in the candidate’s personnel file. The faculty member has the right to submit a written response to the report if so desired, and the response will be placed in the faculty member’s personnel file for future reference. The Chair’s letter will not become part of the promotion packet.
  • The Department Chair‘s letter of review will be forwarded to the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs by the end of the Spring semester.

Tenure and Promotion Criteria

  • Candidates for tenure and/or promotion will be evaluated with respect to their accomplishments in teaching, research, and service. The department requires that candidates demonstrate significant achievements in all three areas. Especially notable achievements must be evident in research and in at least one other area. Criteria employed in these considerations will be the same as those detailed extensively in the preceding section governing Merit Pay.

Tenure and/or Promotion to Associate Professor

  • Research: Candidates must have established a program of original research or writing that has gained recognition in refereed journals and/or published books. The expectation is that the candidate will have published a book and/or a significant number of refereed articles, that are either first-authored or for which the candidate is the major author/researcher. Also considered important will be textbooks, scholarly monographs, edited books, chapters in books, book reviews, commentaries, research notes and research reports. The reputation and quality of the journals and publishers will bear on the assessment of publications. Generally, some publications will be derived from the individual’s doctoral dissertation. Some publications or ongoing scholarship (likely to result in new publications) should clearly extend beyond such dissertation research and demonstrate new research initiatives. The seeking and/or successful attainment of fellowships, grants and awards, and fundraising will enhance the candidate’s standing. Candidates are also expected to have given paper presentations at conventions or other scholarly meetings.
  • Service: Candidates must have demonstrated commitment to enhancing the life of the Department, College, and University. The service contributions of untenured assistant professors are kept relatively light to facilitate excellence in teaching and research. Nonetheless, some student advising, and committee work is expected. Scholarly service to the discipline (e.g. reviewing submissions to journals and panel participation at professional meetings, editorial activities in profession) is also expected. Service contributions to the community, state, or nation are considered important.
  • Teaching: Teaching effectiveness will be evaluated in a number of ways, including peer evaluations of classroom performance, instructional materials (e.g. syllabi, exams), student evaluations, intern supervision, course and curriculum development, teaching awards and participation in thesis and dissertation committees. Candidates must demonstrate a sustained commitment to excellence in teaching.

Promotion to Full Professor

  • Teaching: Teaching effectiveness will be evaluated in a number of ways, including peer evaluations of classroom performance, instructional materials (e.g. syllabi, exams), student evaluations, intern supervision, course and curriculum development, and participation in thesis and dissertation committees. Teaching performance must be exemplary to merit promotion to full professor. Normally this will include supervision of Masters theses or Ph.D. dissertations. Innovative curriculum development is expected.
  • Research: Candidates must have established a national and/or international reputation for excellence in scholarship, as made evident by the number of publications and the quality of their journals and presses, by book reviews, by citations of work, and by assessments of recognized authorities. There must be evidence of substantial publications since the candidate was last promoted, indicating a sustained research program. Significant success in winning grants, fellowships, and/or awards is expected.
  • Service: Candidates must have established a notable record of service to the Department, College, and University, as well as to the profession. This service should include the assumption of academic, professional, and administrative leadership roles (e.g., chairing committees, administering programs, organizing and convening sections for annual meetings, membership on editorial boards). Contributions to the community, state, and/or nation are also expected.

Promotion to Distinguished Professor

  • Full professors (except for endowed chairs and graduate research professors) may be nominated by the department Chair for promotion to the rank of Distinguished Professor in recognition of well-established national and/or international reputations in their fields of endeavor and exceptional records of achievement (beyond that expected of full professors) in the areas of teaching, research and professional and public service.

Instructional Professor Promotion Criteria

  • Candidates for promotion to Associate/Full (or Senior/Master) Instructional Professor will be evaluated with respect to their accomplishments in their assigned teaching, service, and research records. Scholarly activities and/or membership in graduate student committees are not expected but may be considered. The department requires that candidates demonstrate significant achievements in teaching. Criteria employed in these considerations will be the same as those detailed in the preceding section governing Merit Pay.

Promotion to Associate/Senior Instructional Professor

  • Teaching: Candidates must demonstrate a sustained commitment to strong teaching. Effort assignment to teaching is also to be considered as many of our instructional faculty have been assigned significant service roles linked to their teaching and pedagogy assignments – e.g., Meteorology Degree Development, Off-Book Certificate Programs, Undergraduate Research Experiences, and Quest engagement, to highlight a few. Teaching effectiveness will be evaluated in a number of ways, including peer evaluations of classroom performance, instructional materials (e.g., syllabi, exams), student evaluations, intern supervision, course and curriculum development, teaching awards and participation in thesis and dissertation committees.
  • Service: Candidates must have begun to demonstrate commitment to enhancing the life of the Department, College and University. The service contributions of assistant instructional professors may be linked to new program development, coordinator activities and additional curriculum and program development. Such activities are key to the department and are often a significant assignment for these faculty. The effort assignments should be considered when evaluating these key tasks of the instructional faculty. Scholarly service to the discipline is also encouraged, along with service contributions to the community, state, or nation.
  • Research: There is no research assignment for instructional faculty unless requested by the faculty member. Even then, it will be 5% maximum of their assigned duties and when possible relate to their instructional activities. [Exceptions possible to this 5% rule only if determined in advance with Chair and faculty member].

Promotion to Full/Master Instructional Professor

  • Teaching: Candidates must demonstrate a sustained commitment to excellence in teaching. Innovative curriculum development is expected. Teaching effectiveness will be evaluated in several ways, including peer evaluations of classroom performance, instructional materials (e.g. syllabi, exams), student evaluations, intern supervision, course and curriculum development, teaching awards, and participation in thesis and dissertation committees.
  • Service: Candidates must have demonstrated their commitment to enhancing the life of the Department, College and University. The service contributions of Full/Master instructional professors are usually linked to continued program development, coordinator activities and additional curriculum and potentially new program development. Such activities are key to the department and are often a significant assignment for these faculty. The effort assignments should be considered when evaluating these key tasks of the instructional faculty. Candidates must have established a notable record of service to the Department, College and University, as well as to the profession. This service should include the assumption of academic, professional, and administrative leadership roles (e.g., chairing committees, administering programs, organizing and convening sections for annual meetings, membership on editorial boards). Contributions to the community, state, and/or nation are also expected.
  • Research: There is no research assignment for instructional faculty unless requested by the faculty member. Even then, it will be 5% maximum of their assigned duties and should relate to their instructional activities when possible. [Exceptions possible to this 5% rule only if determined in advance with Chair and faculty member].

 SELECTION PROCEDURES FOR NEW AND EXISTING
GRADUATE STUDENTS/TEACHING ASSISTANTS

Admission and Funding

  • All graduate student candidates are first ranked first by the Graduate Admissions Committee on whether they will be accepted or not and then ranked second on funding merit.
  • The Department’s goal is to provide funding to assist new M.A./M.S. students for two years and new Ph.D. students for four years.
  • New funding allocation decisions give priorities first to Ph.D. and then to M.A./M.S. applicants.

Graduate Student Admissions

  • Although exceptions can be made, the Department seeks to accept only those graduate students who meet the following minimum criteria:
    • Foreign student scores will be evaluated for competence in English language skills following university guidelines.
    • Overall GPAs greater than 3.0. The last two years of undergraduate work may be considered more heavily.
    • Letters of evaluation by others both inside and outside University of Florida.
    • Other requirements, once the above are met, will consider student-Department fit in regard to topic area, methodological focus, and both the short-term and long-term availability of an appropriate faculty member.
  • Completed files are evaluated by Graduate Committee, appointed by the Chair.
  • Acceptable files are transmitted to potential advisor(s) to confirm willingness to serve as committee chair.
  • Only candidates meeting minimum academic criteria, who can be linked to particular faculty advisors, and admission is approved by advisors are accepted.
  • Candidates will be evaluated according to merit:
    • High priority
    • Medium priority
    • Low priority
    • No funding recommended
  • Letters of admission are sent out after committee decisions and approval by the graduate school/registrar. When funding is offered admission letters are accompanied by letters of appointment describing the duties of the assistantship offer (GA-T or GA-R).