RUL 05.67.10 – Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure Standards and Procedures

Authority: Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost

History: First Issued: October 27, 1999. Last Revised: August 1, 2017.

Additional References:
Office of the Provost RPT Website

1. Introduction

This rule provides information regarding the responsibilities of faculty members in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences, including expectations for reappointment, promotion and tenure. Standards of the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences are supplemental to and consistent with NCSU POL 05.20.01 – Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion and Permanent Tenure. The Board of Trustees grants approval of tenure.

Hereafter in this rule, “senior faculty” refers to tenured full professors, and “junior faculty” refers to tenured or tenure track assistant professors and tenured or tenure track associate professors.

2. Areas of Faculty Responsibility

Faculty members in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences faculty have professional responsibilities that reflect the university’s land-grant heritage of teaching, research, extension, outreach and professional service, mentoring and economic development.

2.1. Research:

Published refereed journal articles, books and book chapters, patents, software programs, abstracts of papers presented at professional meetings; funded grants, contracts, cooperative agreements and memoranda of agreements; research committees served; recognition by peers (awards); and other areas advancing the base in food research-serving as peer-reviewer of manuscripts and research proposals, member of proposal review panels, and serving on editorial boards.

2.2. Teaching:

Courses taught, student credit hours generated, undergraduate advising, graduate program committees served, post-doctoral supervision, academic affairs committees involved, teaching awards, publications, grants/contracts, classroom/teaching innovations, software developed and other efforts advancing the base in Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences instruction.

2.3. Extension:

Industry training and assistance programs, agent training and program assistance to county staff or other public agencies, applied research, published works including extension publications, popular articles, newsletters and papers presented, electronic material (distance instruction-web and/or video, computer software, television, radio), grants and contracts, and other innovative approaches to increasing the extension Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences contributions – innovative programs, leadership or linkages established and interdisciplinary activities.

2.4. Outreach and Professional Service:

National, regional, university, college and/or departmental committees, memberships, offices held, other roles in professional and honorary societies, honors and professional recognitions, fellowships and visiting lectureships, university representative within the community in civic, educational and other events.

2.5. Mentoring:

The department views faculty mentoring as an obligation of all faculty. Typically, a senior faculty will establish the mentor/mentee faculty relationship with a new faculty member with shared disciplinary interests or appointments. Mentoring relationships also evolve among faculty outside of common disciplinary interests and/or appointments and often takes place among faculty of equal rank. Interestingly, due to the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of the field of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences, it is not uncommon for a junior faculty to mentor a senior colleague in their disciplinary specialty. Formal reporting of mentoring activities and quantification of impacts are always difficult for the mentor. However, during times of faculty review, reappointment, promotion and tenure, written or verbal support is often given by those who have benefited from the mentoring process.

2.6. Economic Development:

Activities associated with moving innovations into the marketplace that yield quality of life enhancements and economic development are regarded as important. These involve asset management and commercialization of innovations that are products of research, teaching and/or extension. Prototype development, innovation licensing, knowledge transfer (text books, distance education programs, etc.) into the marketplace, and efforts associated with university management of these assets are examples of these activities.

3. General Standards

Typically, faculty will have primary responsibilities in two areas: teaching and research, research and extension, or extension and teaching. In all cases of dual responsibilities, one area will be prominent. In reappointment, promotion, and/or tenure considerations, the department head and the Departmental Voting Faculty (DVF) will consider the faculty member’s overall contributions; however, the expected level of scholarly achievement is described in the Statement of Faculty Responsibilities. The scholarly expectations associated with the secondary area of responsibility are not diminished with respect to quality, but reflect the percent of effort assigned with respect to quantity.

All faculty are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner that results in positive outcomes from interactions with students, staff, other faculty, and stakeholders. All faculty are expected to participate in departmental, college, university, and community service. Industry outreach through technology transfer and education, activities in economic development, as well as mentoring within the academic community, are expectations that vary in degree relative to individual responsibilities. These activities are given full consideration for reappointment, promotion and tenure decisions.

4. Standards for Reappointment as Assistant Professor

To be reappointed as Assistant Professor, the individual must demonstrate ability or definite promise in Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences teaching, research, extension, and participation in university, college, and ability or willingness to participate in university, college and departmental affairs that will lead to promotion to Associate Professor with tenure. These achievements may be in microbiology, chemistry, nutrition, engineering, and/or technology in keeping with the Statement of Faculty Responsibilities.

5. Standards for Associate Professor with Tenure

To be promoted to associate professor with tenure, a faculty member must first meet the standards described above for reappointment as an assistant professor. Furthermore, the individual will have demonstrated recognized ability and potential for distinction in Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences teaching, independent research, and/or extension, commensurate with their Statement of Faculty Responsibilities. Also, the individual will have demonstrated the ability to manage or direct activities at the departmental, college and /or university level that contributes to the well-being of the institution. The DVF must be assured that there is a reasonable expectation that the candidate will continue to build their national and international reputation through significant contributions to the field.

6. Standards for Professor

To be promoted to professor, a faculty member will have met the standards described above for promotion to Associate Professor with tenure. Furthermore, the faculty member will have demonstrated a record of distinguished achievement in teaching, research or extension commensurate with their Statement of Faculty Responsibilities. The DVF must be assured that the faculty member has a national and international reputation for excellence in her/his field and that they will maintain this reputation through significant contributions to the field.

7. Procedures for RPT Review

The Departmental Voting Faculty (DVF) of the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences will review the performance and progress of faculty without tenure and tenured assistant and associate professors annually. This occurs in late September or early October. Reviews conducted at the times mandated by the University Academic Tenure Policy as referenced above and other reviews for promotion will follow section B below. All other reviews will follow section A below.

7.1. Procedures in Years of Non Mandatory Review

Assistant and Associate Professors will be reviewed annually in September or October at a meeting of the DVF. The department head or a designee shall appoint, prior to July 1, a DVF member to present information about the faculty member under review at the DVF meeting. The DVF member will also schedule a meeting with the faculty member to update pertinent information and to permit discussion of the faculty member’s programs, problems, and concerns. Future plans and directions should receive special attention. The DVF member will prepare a one‑page summary for use at the DVF meeting. The DVF member will summarize his/her observations, and the progress of the faculty member will then be discussed by the DVF. Pertinent observations and comments by DVF members will be summarized by the department head and communicated to the faculty member. This discussion will generally take place during the annual review with the department head.

If the faculty member is not recommended for promotion, promotion with tenure, or tenure (in the case of a hiring as Associate Professor), this will be communicated to the faculty member with an outline of the general reasons.

If the DVF recommends that the faculty member be reviewed for promotion to Professor, early promotion to Associate Professor with tenure, or tenure (in the case of a hiring as Associate Professor), the procedures in section VII.B. will be followed, unless the faculty member under consideration requests that their case not go forward.

If the faculty member under review interrupts the process after it has started, the faculty member may request the department head to appoint a different committee of three DVF members to summarize information and make recommendations for the next review by the DVF. The same committee shall not serve for more than two reviews in succession for the same faculty member, although an individual member may serve again.

7.2. Procedures in Years of Mandatory Review

In years when mandatory review occurs for reappointment, promotion or tenure, the department head or his designee shall appoint, prior to July 1, a committee of three DVF with one member designated as chair. No more than two should have primary responsibilities from the same area (research, teaching, or extension).

The committee will be provided a completed dossier supporting the proposed action. The committee chair or the committee as a whole will schedule a meeting with the faculty member to update pertinent information and to discuss the faculty’s programs, problems, and concerns. In addition, for promotion consideration, the committee will consider input from external evaluators as prescribed in the VII. C. below.

The committee will prepare a one‑page summary for the DVF meeting. At the end of the summary to the DVF, the committee will present a recommendation for the DVF to consider and act upon. After discussion of the committee recommendation, DVF will vote by secret ballot. Results of the ballot shall be tabulated by the department head and one other DVF member whom he designates. Pertinent observations and comments by DVF will be summarized by the committee chair and become a part of the dossier.

7.3. Use of External Information.

The review and evaluation of any faculty member (candidate) for promotion to associate professor or professor or for tenure will include evaluation input from knowledgeable individuals who are not part of the departmental faculty.

The committee appointed by the department head or his designee to review and evaluate the faculty member for promotion or tenure will develop a list of distinguished individuals capable of evaluating the candidate and his/her professional competence. The candidate will be requested to supply names, listed in order of preference. Letters will be solicited at the discretion of the department head from at least five (with more than six discouraged) knowledgeable individuals/scientists with at least two being from the list suggested by the candidate. Individuals will first be contacted by the department head or designee to determine their willingness to submit a letter of evaluation. A letter will be sent by the department head to those individuals who indicate a willingness to submit letters of evaluation, along with the candidate’s dossier and five to six publications (if applicable). This should occur by the end of August. All letters received will be included in the information available to the DVF during the review process and to the department head for preparing the appropriate documentation for consideration by higher administration.

In addition, the department head may also make telephone contact with the individuals submitting letters to secure additional information and/or clarification.