The Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA) works with faculty candidates to create a dossier for review and recommendation vote, and decision by the Appointment, Promotion and Tenure (APT) Committee, School of Public Health (SPH) faculty, dean, Office of Executive Vice President and Provost, and Board of Regents in accordance with the appropriate UMN and SPH policies and procedures.
Questions about the promotion and/or tenure process in the School of Public Health should be directed to the Office of Faculty Affairs at sph-ofa@umn.edu.
Important Dates & Communication
April 17, 2025: Workshop for Promotion Candidates (RSVP)
April 25, 2025: Intent to Pursue Promotion
July 31, 2025: Dossier submission deadline
SPH Promotion & Tenure Memo 2025-2026
Promotion and/or Tenure Schedule
The Promotion and/or Tenure schedule provides a general schedule by month of the activities including workshops, working sessions, dossier due dates and deadlines for the review process. Dates are subject to change according to completion of actions.
Promotion Workshops and Sessions
Workshop for Promotion and/or Tenure Candidates
April 17, 2025 | 12:30-1:30 pm (The session will be recorded.) | RSVP for the workshop
Faculty candidates considering promotion are required to attend the SPH Workshop for Promotion and/or Tenure Candidates. Hosted by Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, this workshop informs about the process and requirements for promotion and/or tenure. Invitations will be sent via email and added to faculty calendars.
Office Hours & Working Session
1:1 Working Session: Meet with OFA Senior Administrator during a 30-minute working session to discuss individualized questions and review dossier documentation. Sessions are available from June through July. Select an appointment time.
Faculty Dossier Manual
The guidelines detailed in the Faculty Dossier Manual reflect the organizational structure of dossiers requested by the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost and implemented by the School of Public Health to provide for consistency among faculty dossiers.
Dossier creation is the responsibility of the faculty candidate. Division support is available to assist faculty with the construction of the dossier. The SPH Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA) oversees the creation of dossier materials and the dossier construction process before confirming that the dossier meets the required standards for the review process.
The Faculty Dossier Manual is arranged like a dossier and includes instructions and templates (see Guides and Templates section) for the required documentation in each section. The manual is organized into two parts:
- How to create and prepare materials before constructing a dossier.
- How to construct and submit a dossier for the review process.
Policies and Procedures
The promotion and/or tenure process in the SPH is governed by the University of Minnesota Board of Regents Policy on Faculty Tenure and the Procedures for Reviewing Candidates for Tenure and/or Promotion: Tenure Track and Tenured Faculty. The SPH criteria for promotion and/or tenure are specified in the Academic Faculty Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Policy (7.12 Statement) or the SPH Contract Faculty Appointment and Promotion Policy which governs all contract (term) faculty appointments.
- Board of Regents Policy Faculty Tenure (.pdf)
- UMN Procedures for Reviewing Candidates for Tenure and/or Promotion: Tenure-Track and Tenured Faculty
- School of Public Health Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Policy (7.12 Statement)
This document describes the standards and procedures which will be used to evaluate candidates both for appointment to the faculty of the School of Public Health and also for continuation, promotion and tenure - SPH Contract Appointment & Promotion Policy
This document describes the standards and procedures which will be used to evaluate candidates both for appointment to the contract faculty of the School of Public Health and also for promotion.
FAQs: Promotion Dossiers
Q: What are key things candidates should work on when preparing for requesting promotion?
A: Seek input about your readiness for promotion from mentors (formal and informal), representatives on the Appointment Promotion & Tenure Committee, and your division head. Ask what aspects of your work across all three missions stand out and should be highlighted in your narratives. E.g. “What do you feel is compelling about my work, in all 3 missions, that I should emphasize in my narratives?”
Q: Will my dossier be compared with my peers who are requesting promotion at the same time as I do? Will this affect the review process?
A: No, your dossier will not be compared with others going up for promotion at the same time. This is strongly discouraged at the UMN. Each dossier is reviewed and discussed independently at all levels of review.
Q: Can I ask my external reviewers to write a letter of support for my promotion?
A: No. The Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs initiates the request by reaching out to the external reviewers identified as suitable by the APT Committee.
Q: Should my promotion dossier narratives be different from my tenure track continuation narratives?
A: When requesting promotion to Associate Professor (whether tenure-track or contract), your narratives should convey to the reader a sense of your trajectory: the accumulation of accomplishments, how they are interwoven (e.g., how your research impacts your teaching and vice versa, how your service roles reflect recognition of your expertise), and how you are directing that momentum forwards.
Q: Should I write my narrative, role and details in the dossier in third person or first-person tense?
A: All information should be written in the first person.
Q: May I include external reviewers who are emeritus faculty?
A: Yes, if the emeritus status began relatively recently (e.g., within 2-3 years). We suggest that you have no more than one such individual listed in your top 10 potential external reviewers and no more than two to three total on the list. If one emeritus faculty member agrees to write a letter, we are unlikely to request a letter from another emeritus faculty member.
Q: May I include external reviewers from government agencies (e.g. NIH, EPA, CDC, etc)?
A: Yes, external reviewers may have positions at government agencies. Their current position must be of a status or position considered to be at least equal to the rank being considered. If the potential reviewer recently held a tenured appointment at an academic institution, then moved to a government agency, and the agency allows their writing of reviews (NIH historically has not). We suggest that you have no more than 1 non-academic individual in your top 10 external reviewers and no more than 2 to 3 total on the list. If one non-academic agrees to write a letter, we are not likely to request a letter from another non-academic. This non-academic letter is acceptable and will be counted as an additional letter beyond the four minimum letters required.
