*This does not constitute an employment contract

Department of Neuroscience

Tenure and Promotion Guidelines for Tenure-Track and Tenured Faculty 

Approved by Office of the Provost January 2024 

The purpose of this document is to outline the criteria for promotion from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor with tenure, and for promotion from Associate Professor to Professor, in the Department of Neuroscience. The Faculty Manual sets forth the minimum standards for both decisions mentioned above. This document will expand on these criteria. A candidate’s case for these faculty actions will be evaluated with an emphasis upon the work completed while employed by American University. For all decisions, the department recognizes the importance of inclusive excellence or diversity, equity, and inclusion as AU values. 

I. Criteria for promotion and tenure 

The creation and dissemination of knowledge are among the highest goals aspired to by members of American University. Accordingly, candidates for tenure and promotion must demonstrate excellence in both scholarship and teaching. Further, because the creation and dissemination of knowledge also requires the nurturing of administrative processes within the department, college, university, and the community at large, meaningful service across these levels is expected from all faculty members. Importantly, excellence in one area cannot be used to ameliorate any deficiency in any other. More specifically, an inadequate record in scholarship, teaching or service will not be considered adequate because of excellence in either of the other areas. 

Since tenure and promotion reflect important mutual commitments by both the University and the candidate, they come with the expectation of engagement in top-level, visible scholarship, excellence in teaching, and sustained service to the department, the college, the university, and the broader community. The evaluation of these contributions is based on the following tools. 

II. Tools used to evaluate scholarship, teaching and service 
 

A. Scholarship 

The department recognizes the importance of multiple pathways to scholastic excellence and will use three general criteria to evaluate a candidate’s scholarship Firstly, the candidate is expected to demonstrate a sustained progression of high-quality publications that reflect the development and expansion of the scholarly topic in question and to participate in research conferences, as a speaker, organizer, and/or sponsor of poster or lecture presentations by members of the candidate’s research group. Secondly, the candidate is expected to raise extramural support to move their scholarship forward. This can include grants or contracts from various entities including non-profit or governmental organizations. Thirdly, the candidate’s standing in the field will be assessed by evaluative letters solicited from experts in the field outside the University. 

1. Publication Record 

Publications should primarily consist of peer-reviewed articles in journals of the candidate’s area of expertise. These may include manuscripts containing primary data or invited reviews. In this regard, the candidate is encouraged to target high quality peer-reviewed journals in their field as the predominant outlet for their scholarly work. Quantitative measures of publication quality and impact are now readily available and can be used for assessing the quality of a candidate’s scholarship.  

There are some involvements that reflect scholarly standing in, and service to, the greater scientific community. These include organizing conferences or symposia, serving on editorial boards for journals, positions of authority and directorship of scientific organizations, invited talks, membership on grant panels, and serving as a reviewer for journal articles or books. Engagements such as these will be considered as meaningful indices of the candidate’s standing in the field. 

A highly regarded book or book chapter may be used as evidence of quality and impact in one’s field. In this case, indicators of quality and impact may include the reputation of the publisher, the series, or the contributing authors, or the number of citations the book or book chapter has received. 

Peer-reviewed conference proceedings, publications in dictionaries, reviews of textbooks, trade magazine articles, high-profile op-eds and other public dissemination of one's work via popular media can also provide useful information when assessing an individual’s scholarship. 

A strong publication record is critical for tenure and promotion to Associate Professor and for promotion to Professor. It is expected that the high level of publications and professional activity demonstrated for promotion to Associate Professor be sustained for consideration for continued promotion in rank with increased recognition and participation in the field. 

2. External Funding 

External funding is critical for high level research in the neurosciences, and excellence in this field is reflected in securing and maintaining such funding. For promotion to Associate Professor with tenure, a faculty member should have been awarded at least one substantial grant from a nationally recognized and competitive source. Depending on the degree to which external funding is commonly available in a candidate’s subfield of specialization, the candidate may have a number of smaller grants that could, in totality, constitute substantial funding in lieu of the availability of larger funding sources. Faculty seeking promotion to the rank of Professor are expected to obtain at least one significant competitive grant from a national funding agency as an Associate Professor and are encouraged to compete for grants to support student training or research conferences in addition to research grants.  

There are reasons, however, why a candidate may not secure and maintain extramural funding. This includes events such as times of severe budget cuts and suspension of governmental work, among others. These factors will be considered as long as the candidate demonstrates a record of funding applications that are judged to be generally positive by external reviewers. 

3. External Evaluations 

The assessment by external evaluators within the candidate's field of expertise will serve as an important gauge of scholarship quality in decisions regarding tenure and promotion to Associate Professor as well as to promotion to Professor. More specifically, comments pertaining to the quality of the candidate’s publications, productivity, and overall contributions to the field will be given the most weight in judging scholarship. It is expected that external evaluators are internationally recognized as experts in the field who maintain their research programs at institutions that recognize and reward scholarship. 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 

American University strives towards diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in all aspects of faculty performance. The department also recognizes the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in its tenure and promotion decisions and requires a demonstration of one or more of the following DEI activities in scholarship and research: 

1. Working in demographically diverse research teams  
2. Working in cross-disciplinary and intellectually diverse research teams  
3. Disseminating outputs to diverse audiences, which may entail using non-traditional outlets that are open source, etc.  
4. Engaging in community-based scholarship  
5. Conducting public-facing scholarship with impact on public discourse  
6. Engaging in other open practices, such as:  
   1. Putting pre-prints and manuscripts in repositories  
   2. Pre-registering protocols  
   3. Making research data, presentation materials, code, or other research materials openly available  
   4. Serving in roles as peer reviewer, editor, or advisor for open-access outlets  

Resources and Guidance - Candidates are urged to refer to #5 (Scholarship) available at the following link: https://www.american.edu/provost/academicaffairs/guidelines.cfm 

B. Teaching 

Excellence in teaching is demonstrated when students are actively engaged in learning, have developed competencies in their core discipline, and have acquired critical faculties for understanding not only advances in their own fields, but also work in related disciplines. Faculty in the Department of Neuroscience are expected to engage students in critical analysis and to provide timely, fair and objective assessment of their performance. Because “excellence” is not easily captured by any one measure, multiple pathways will be encouraged and evaluated. As such, evidence of teaching efficacy will be sought via the AU Teaching Portfolio at the following link: https://www.american.edu/provost/academicaffairs/faculty-resources.cfm 

Although excellent and creative teaching is expected for promotion at all levels, engagement with students outside formal classes, such as mentoring students in research projects, independent study, theses or dissertations are also critical. Further, the department will highly support evidence of inclusive excellence and community-based activities in teaching as well as the use of multiple pathways to teaching itself. As faculty develop over ranks from Associate Professor to Professor, their contribution to teaching should be reflected in greater graduate supervision, creation of specialized seminars, and/or breadth in course development allowing for curricular growth in the department.  

C. Service 

Any academic institution flourishes by the construction and sustenance of administrative entities that support the goals of the University. These include course development, faculty governance, and other forms of service that blend a variety of abilities, interests, and commitments. Service is considered an important aspect of professional development. A strong record of service will be required for a positive outcome in all tenure and promotion decisions. We recognize, however, that service obligations should be minimal for pre-tenure faculty and grow in scope post-tenure. While service for tenure and promotion to Associate Professor may be more focused on departmental and college activities, service outside of the department/college and/or outside AU, e.g., to professional societies, government agencies and journals or efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in the field, will be expected of candidates for promotion to Professor. 

American University strives for the highest standards of equity and inclusion. The department values service addressing equity and inclusion and requires a demonstration of one or more of the following examples of service towards broader impact: 

1. Mentoring staff or faculty from underrepresented groups  

2. Reviewing and/or revising policies, processes and practices at AU or in one’s discipline towards greater equity 

3. Consciously seeking diverse input from colleagues to inform various leadership roles one might occupy  

4. Conducting and supporting public service activities in the community  

Additional information is available at #6 Service, under Resources and Guidance at the following link: https://www.american.edu/provost/academicaffairs/guidelines.cfm