In January 2023, the members of the MU chapter of the AAUP voted to approve the following resolution:
In 2020, the MU administration made major changes to the promotion process without appropriate consultation of faculty. In particular, CRR 320.035 (an Executive Order) was unilaterally changed such that those evaluating candidates for promotion at any level in the UM System may solicit “additional information pertinent to answering . . . The critical question . . . Is the candidate qualified to be promoted or to be placed on continuous appointment”? (CRR 320.035.A.2). The Provost Call Letters were also revised to state that “Individuals and committees at all levels of review (i.e., departmental committee through Chancellor) may solicit whatever additional information they deem appropriate, from within and outside the University, to evaluate the candidate under consideration in the areas of teaching, research, and service.”
Therefore, a candidate’s promotion dossier can be expanded at any stage in the process, creating enormous opportunities for abuse.
While the MU AAUP Chapter does not in any way endorse these recent revisions, we ask that if these revisions are retained in something along their current form, that the promotion process be as transparent and fair as possible.
To that end, we request that the following sentence in the Provost Call Letters—in both the tenure-line and NTT versions—be revised from:
“If additional materials are solicited at any level, those should be added to the case packet and the candidate should be notified about the addition.”
to:
“If additional materials are solicited at any level, those must be added to the case packet and the candidate mustbe notified about the addition.”