SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
TENURE AND PROMOTION CRITERIA, GUIDELINES
FOR CREATIVE, PROFESSIONAL, SCHOLARLY ACHIEVEMENT
INTRODUCTION: PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT
Because the School of Communication requires both professional and scholarly expertise
from its faculty, it is important for tenure track faculty and tenured faculty seeking
promotion to understand what is considered adequate creative, professional, scholarly
performance. The following guidelines, summarizing priorities for each of the School’s
three Divisions, are intended to aid faculty by representing our best understanding of
standards important both for the School and for the University.
The guidelines are intended to be useful to faculty in setting their creative, professional,
scholarly agenda and in judging how to present and highlight their work in their annual
report and file for action.
Performance is assessed not only in terms of creative, professional, scholarly criteria but
also in teaching and service, both within the University and beyond. A faculty member’s
creative, professional, scholarly agenda should make him/her a stronger teacher, a better
resource for students, faculty, and the community, and keep him/her current in their field.
Faculty are expected to develop and pursue well-defined, ambitious agendas for creative,
professional, scholarly achievement that enable them to be productive continuously.
Faculty are expected to produce innovative, relevant work within the landscapes of
knowledge and practice in their fields, explain how that work advances their fields, and
demonstrate promise for continued growth. While each division/discipline identifies
specific benchmarks and measures of success, there are cross-cutting themes that define
tenure and promotion in the School of Communication, which values professional
achievement and innovation as well as scholarly research. Contract work is common for
professionals and payment does not affect its status as research; the decisive feature is
creative control. Faculty are encouraged to apply for external funding, but receipt of such
funding is not required for tenure.
SOC expects its faculty to be effective teachers, allowing students to acquire knowledge,
develop critical thinking skills, and become active participants in the learning process.
Faculty should be leaders in their fields, participating in conferences, associations, and
professional networks.
Engagement in the School and the University in the form of service is required of all
faculty, who must demonstrate a willingness to advance the academic agenda of the
Division, the School, and the University. In SOC, faculty are expected to attend regular
meetings of the appropriate Division, School-wide Council meetings, the annual retreat,
and events that showcase the School, its students, or its faculty. SOC faculty are expected
to attend University events, including Commencement and the annual Convocation.
At the time of tenure review, evaluation of the candidate’s performance, excellence, and
standing in the field will include letters from senior faculty at peer universities in the
candidate's field of specialization and, as appropriate, letters from prominent professional
practitioners, creative artists, and public scholars/intellectuals.
Each Division has developed and approved its own guidelines. The guidelines for the
Journalism Division are presented below:
JOURNALISM
The faculty of the Journalism Division of American University’s School of
Communication seek to excel in teaching, in research, and in service. All members of the
School’s Journalism faculty are expected to possess deep commitments to journalism and
to journalism education.
It is recognized, moreover, that all or nearly all members of the Journalism faculty will
have had extensive professional experience before entering the academy.
The School traditionally has valued both professional achievement and innovation and
scholarly research by its faculty — a tradition the Journalism Division has recognized
and long supported.
These guidelines recognize that creative/professional work and scholarly work typically
are separate types of activity, and that members of the Journalism faculty may — but are
not necessarily expected to — excel at both. It is expected, however, that a promotable
and tenureable member of the Journalism faculty will excel in one and demonstrate
familiarity with, and an understanding of, the importance of the other by such pursuits as:
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Joining, attending, and participating in the meetings and conferences of
professional and academic organizations important in the field (the Online News
Association and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass
Communication are two examples);
Keeping abreast of developments and trends in the profession and in scholarly
research in journalism by periodically reviewing the field’s leading trade
publications and scholarly journals;
Seizing opportunities in the School and the University to discuss and present
research findings; and
Demonstrating a recognized contribution to professional and scholarly
understanding of journalism and communication, including interdisciplinary
approaches.
It is further expected that members of the Journalism faculty will be consistently
productive in their creative, professional, scholarly pursuits. That is, the publication of
original creative, professional, scholarly work should be frequent and sustained.
It is vital for the faculty member seeking reappointment, promotion and/or tenure to
explain and delineate the impact and importance of his or her creative, professional,
scholarly work, and to demonstrate that its significance and value to the field are
recognized beyond American University. Demonstrated impact and significance weigh
heavily in decisions of reappointment, promotion, and tenure.
These guidelines recognize and embrace the distinctions between creative, professional,
scholarly work.
In both creative, professional, scholarly work, national publication typically is valued
more highly than regional or local publication. A national award is recognized as more
prestigious than a regional or local award. And work that demonstrates innovation,
adheres to high standards, and brings fresh insight to the field is especially valued both in
creative, professional, scholarly research.
Single-authored publications typically offer a clearer understanding of the faculty
member’s scholarly contribution. This is not to discourage co-authored works. In some
forms of research that are by nature collaborative, primary authorship can indicate a
leadership role in conceptualizing, conducting research, and writing.
In all cases of co-authored works, the faculty member is expected to explain the relative
roles and contributions of the respective authors.
Creative and Professional Work
These guidelines recognize that colleagues having extensive professional experience may
well choose to continue their practice after joining the Journalism faculty. The paths to
tenure and promotion are open for those colleagues who choose to emphasize creative,
professional work.
Professional journalistic work may take many forms, including book publishing,
newspaper and magazine writing, online publication, and emergent media, including
websites, mobile media applications, videos for online platforms, Web site design, video
and audio production, photography, and/or information graphics.
The forms of professional work described here typically require the faculty member to
gather, organize, evaluate, and present information. Often, this work is intended for
general audiences. It also may be work done across multiple platforms. It is typical for
journalists to be paid for such work, and payment does not affect its status for the tenure
file.
Whatever the form, professional, creative work should enhance understanding of
important issues and topics in the field, reach wide audiences, and ideally employ novel
analytical or interpretative approaches.
A single work of exceptional quality and resonance might, in exceptional cases, be
adequate for tenure and promotion. More commonly, though, faculty members seeking
tenure and promotion will develop a body of work that demonstrates depth or mastery of
an area of practice important and relevant to the field.
Additional indicators of performance, excellence, and standing include work that is:
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Printed by a national newspaper, magazine, or wire service;
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Published by a prestigious online outlet;
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Aired on a national commercial or cable network, public television, or radio;
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Aired in most major markets on a station-by-station basis; or
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Selected for and/or winning a national or international competition.
Other indicators of performance, excellence, and standing include:
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Election to prestigious professional organizations;
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Grant and contract awards; or
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Selection for review/inclusion in competitive writing residencies or professional
fellowships.
Scholarly Achievement
These guidelines also recognize the importance and value of scholarly research in
journalism and communication disciplines.
Evidence of original scholarly work typically consists of published books, chapters, and
articles, and peer reviewed journal articles as well as invited lectures and papers
presented at scholarly conferences.
Scholarly research typically emphasizes the analysis and critique of the performance of
the news media as well as trends in journalism and communication, using disciplinary
and interdisciplinary approaches. The methodology employed in original research may be
quantitative or qualitative.
A leading form of scholarly work in journalism is the book or monograph, published by a
publishing house of recognized stature. Also highly valued is a body of work comprised
of articles published in refereed scholarly journals.
Book chapters, articles in non-scholarly journals, conference papers, book reviews, and
review essays are valued, but regarded as complementary to books and scholarly journal
articles in tenure and promotion decisions.
Publication in electronic journals is valued, but the faculty member will be expected to
demonstrate the reputation and credibility of the host institutions, explain the process of
reviewing and editing, and make clear the electronic journal’s perceived value as
measured by links and citations.
Additional indicators of performance, excellence, and standing include:
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Reviews and other evaluations of the scholar’s publications and manuscripts;
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Citation of the work in the peer reviewed literature, in books, or major reports;
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Research awards, grants, and proposals;
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Papers presented at professional meetings, invitations to join panels at
professional meetings, invited lectures at other universities or government
agencies, and testimony before governmental or other official committees;
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Editorial positions with major journals;
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Professional honors, awards, and consultations;
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Service on expert advisory committees; and
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Authorship of government, foundation, or organizational reports.
Developing and pursuing a well-defined research agenda
Members of the Journalism faculty are expected to develop and pursue well-defined,
ambitious agendas for creative, professional, scholarly achievement — agendas that
enable them to be continuously productive.
The creative, professional, scholarly agenda should clearly identify the anticipated
contributions to enhanced understanding of the journalism profession and/or to the
scholarship of the field. Non-tenure track members of the Journalism faculty are
encouraged to seek the guidance and recommendations of tenured colleagues in
developing, shaping, and pursuing their agendas.
Expectations are that members of the Journalism faculty will build upon their
achievements over time, whether by developing a theme in articles into the subject of a
book or monograph, by seeing their research deepen in rigor and complexity, or by
broadening the scope and reach of their creative, professional, scholarly work.
The School traditionally seeks to promote and tenure faculty members who not only have
built records that are recognized as impressive and important but who also demonstrate
potential to extend and enhance their productivity and expand their work in the future.
Teaching
We expect that a tenure candidate will epitomize the Scholar-Teacher Ideal and will
demonstrate excellent teaching within the teaching unit and possibly both at the academic
unit and the University at large. Other measures include positive evaluations from
students, creative classroom approaches, innovations in courses and course work or
structure, engagement with students in the digital/virtual classroom environment, course
outcomes as they are reflected in regional or national and international recognition and
impact, creating collaborative teaching opportunities within SOC and at the University,
and participation in learning opportunities to improve teaching such as attendance at the
Ann Ferren Teaching Conference.
Service
We expect tenure candidates to play a collegial role with their colleagues in the School of
Communication and other schools of the University, for instance serving on committees
(in SOC and at the University level), helping in recruitment activities and in curriculum
development; and playing a collegial role within their field, for instance jurying,
presenting at conferences, or serving as reviewers for journals and books.
At the same time, we recognize that in all these areas, the candidate’s creative,
professional, scholarly work and teaching must take precedence, with the expectation that
tenured faculty provide significantly more service than untenured both to their academic
institution and their field.
In closing
These guidelines recognize the challenges facing faculty colleagues seeking or
anticipating tenure and promotion — challenges that may be pronounced for colleagues
new to the academy. As such, the guidelines are intended to be flexible, not rigidly
prescriptive.
At the same time, the faculty member is expected to take responsibility for learning and
understanding the culture of the academy and the expectations of the Journalism
program, the School of Communication, and the University. As such, faculty members
are encouraged to become well-acquainted with their tenured faculty colleagues and
discuss research-related concerns, issues, and opportunities with them. Collegiality is an
important component of the research process.