Parent to a College Student | Tandean Rustandy Esteemed Endowed Chair, University of Colorado-Boulder | PhD Project PAC 15 Member | Professor, Alliance Manchester Business School | TUM Ambassador
On soliciting external letters for tenure (or be prepared). I was recently asked ‘how do u know who to suggest write my external evaluation for tenure. External evaluations, or letters, are used in many countries to inject fairness into faculty hiring and retention processes. The idea is, that the evaluator is (a) not tied to your uni and (b) not tied to you, so they can write a reasoned and dispassionate assessment of your work. So the process is fair, most uni’s will ask a candidate for promotion to suggest evaluators and then will add additional letter writers. In theory, the idea is great. In practice, it is most often great. Most evaluators want to be reasonable, support junior faculty, and will only write tough letters if someone has failed to perform by reasonably objective metrics. Usually, the school that requests the letters will provide some kind of information on what those metrics should be. Who you suggest is important, bc this is your opportunity to shape your evaluation- beyond what you have done in the classroom, publication, and service - often it’s your last input into the process. So take it seriously. So what should you look for? If asked to suggest letter writers? First, you need people that your school defines as credible. That usually means they have the rank, they work at a place that is considered a peer or better, and they have recently published well. The evaluator should be well known. Second, you need to sort out the appropriate rank and peer school part. To do so, you really need to talk to your colleagues in advance. They will give you a feel for what makes sense for your school. At my place, we want evaluators who come from peer institutions, often hold name professorships, and who have global reputations. Other places focus more on content expertise or are less picky about professorships. It varies - so know your local context. Third, know that most desirable letter writers are booked months in advance - and most just do a few a year. So you want to be prepared with your list of recommendations, when asked - so the uni can ask a letter writer quickly - and you optimize the chances you get who you want. Fourth, you do want a letter writer who knows your topic. Generally, the letter writer will be asked to assess the quality of your work, its impact and trajectory. You want the assessment to by at least one person who appreciates the challenges of publishing your topic. Fifth, know that not all letter writers are kind. You will want to work with your advisor or a senior mentor, & ask them about the person’s reputation as a letter writer. There is a quiet grapevine about letter writers. They will know! Finally, know that if you recommend non-credible evaluators, it is not appreciated. You want to be appreciated. So don’t just pick people that you know or have heard are easy letter writers. Pick credible people. Good luck!