Chair’s Review for reappointment (Lecturer-Track, Multi-Year)

By mid-fall, TRAC will complete an assessment of the positions of those lecturer- track faculty in the penultimate year of a multiyear appointment in terms of the ongoing, demonstrated need for teaching in the lecturer’s area of instruction and the availability of resources as authorized by the FAS Dean’s Office to support the position. Department chairs will be consulted in the course of these assessments. If the ongoing need for the position is affirmed, TRAC will inform the relevant department chair that the review may go forward.

The chair, in consultation with department faculty, decides whether the department and the candidate would be better served by a full reappointment review. If so, the department would follow the procedures for a lecturer-track full reappointment review. Similarly, if the candidate believes that they and the department would be better served by a full reappointment review, they may request one. The candidate would need to make this request in writing to the relevant Sr. Associate Dean not later than November 15. If a full reappointment review is elected, the chair or their successor, in consultation with department faculty, will decide whether the subsequent review will be a full or chair’s reappointment review.

Before the end of October, the chair—or their designee drawn from the department’s ladder or eligible instructional faculty (an instructional faculty member who holds a rank senior to the candidate under review)—requests from the faculty members under review a curriculum vitae, all syllabi from the past five years to which the candidate has substantively contributed, and a brief report on accomplishments, activities, and goals, using the Materials Request Letter. The candidate may request that a department faculty member other than the chair conduct the review. The candidate would need to make this request in writing to the relevant Sr. Associate Dean not later than November 15.

The chair (or their designee) also reviews course evaluations and consults with the heads of other programs and units, as appropriate, on all extra-departmental activities. Classroom observations are optional. Chairs’ assistants may retrieve course evaluations through the OCE Faculty Dashboard, where they should select the OCE TAC Report on the top right hand corner of the page, type in the candidate’s name in the Instructor field, wait for the Term box to be filled in (it automatically selects the most recent fall/spring terms, up to 8), and click Search. For each course in the list, click the course number link, and save that course’s evaluations page as a PDF. If a chair’s assistant does not have access to the Dashboard, the department chair should contact the Registrar’s Office at evaluate@yale.edu to request access for the chair’s assistant.

Before the end of February, the department chair meets with the candidate to discuss their performance as a teacher as well as their other accomplishments and goals. If another faculty member in the department has conducted the review, the chair attends the meeting as well. After feedback has been conveyed, the chair advises the candidate that their multiyear reappointment must still be voted on by the department and, if the vote is affirmative, the case would then be forwarded to the FAS Dean’s Office for final disposition.

If a multiyear reappointment is recommended, the chair then presents the candidate’s case at a department faculty meeting, which is immediately followed by a vote, using the Department Faculty Vote Form. As in all such cases, the department conducts a secret ballot vote. All ladder faculty are permitted to vote. Consistent with department practices, instructional faculty of higher rank than the candidate under review, may be permitted to vote. For a reappointment to be approved, the candidate must receive affirmative votes from a majority of those present and eligible to vote. Absentee ballots may not be accepted, counted, or recorded. The department chair notifies the FAS Dean’s Office of the outcome of the vote.

If a chair’s reappointment review reveals serious concerns about the candidate’s performance, the chair, before meeting with the candidate, consults with the FAS Dean’s Office. The chair may, in consultation with the FAS Dean’s Office, reappoint the candidate for one additional year beyond their current term-end date. In doing so, the chair, in addition to taking steps to remediate the identified concerns, would then require a full reappointment review in the academic year immediately following the completion of the chair’s reappointment review. In this instance, the FAS Dean’s Office drafts a letter for the candidate for review by the chair, indicating the department’s decision and noting that a full reappointment review will take place the following year. Before the letter is sent, the department chair meets with the candidate to convey the outcome of the review. The chair informs the FAS Dean’s Office once the meeting has taken place. Following approval of the letter, which must be co-signed by the chair and a relevant dean, the FAS Dean’s Office sends it to the candidate, with copies to the chair and OFAS.

If the department has voted in favor of reappointment, before the end of March, the department submits the following materials as a single PDF document to TRAC for  final review. The PDF should be sent to the relevant senior associate or assistant dean, with a copy to fas.dean@yale.edu, with the subject line: TRAC Reappointment Dossier, [Candidate’s Name]:

1. Department Faculty Vote Form
2. Candidate’s CV
3. Candidate’s report on accomplishments, activities, and goals

For a recommended reappointment in arts practice for a duration of three years or longer, TRAC will review the recommendation from the perspective of teaching resources, and the Creative Arts Advisory Committee (CAAC) will make the final decision on the reappointment. CAAC will also review short-term reappointments beyond six years in cumulative duration.

If TRAC approves the recommended reappointment, the department chair consults with the FAS Dean’s Office regarding length of term, salary, and other conditions of the appointment. The FAS Dean’s Office drafts a letter of reappointment for the candidate for review by the chair. Following approval of the letter, which must be co-signed by the chair and a relevant dean, the FAS Dean’s Office sends it to the candidate, with copies to the chair and to OFAS.

The department’s chair’s assistant (or equivalent) processes the candidate reappointment in Workday (referring to the Workday Training website), and submits the supporting documents to faculty.admin@yale.edu according to the FAS Chart of Required Documents.