VIII. Procedures for Term Appointments (Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Lecturer [3-Years])
B. Procedures for Promotion to Assistant or Associate Professor by Investigator Criteria
1. Candidate must complete her/his curriculum vitae and bibliography using the format described in section XV.
Note: In keeping with Harvard Medical School guidelines, which recommend a maximum number of publications or scholarly communications on which appointments should be judged, the department head, in consultation with the appointee, should circle on a candidate's bibliography two to five items for assistant professor and five to seven for associate professor. The candidate's curriculum vitae should be seen as a dossier of the individual's activity; the items highlighted should be those considered as having a significant impact on the candidate's field.
2. Department head prepares a letter of recommendation that includes the following items:
a. Description of the position that the individual would occupy if promoted and the relationship of the position to the rest of the department. This description should allow subsequent readers of the recommendation to understand the major responsibilities of the department or division and the role of the candidate in that group.b. Description of the individual's experience and accomplishments in the following areas (as appropriate):
1) Teaching. Include an account of specific teaching and supervisory responsibilities (e.g., medical student, graduate student, postgraduate student, or continuing education) along with any summaries of evaluation reports available. Original evaluations should be retained in Department Head's office. Indicate the candidate's role (e.g., course organizer, lecturer, section leader).
2) Research activities. Describe the candidate's research with specific attention to contributions to the field. Is s/he leader of the team, originator of the ideas, principal investigator of funded research, or a member but not leader of the team? Note membership in organizations emphasizing excellence in research and any awards. Comment on the quality of the candidate's publications. Do they make a significant addition to the knowledge in the field? Do they summarize the state of the art? Do they analyze existing data to provide new insights? Do they describe current knowledge to make it available to a wider audience?
3) Clinical activities. Comment on the candidate's clinical skills and responsibilities in the department. Cite any evidence for the recognition of clinical strengths inside and outside the Boston medical community (e.g., invitations to participate in clinical activities in other medical schools and hospitals, membership in professional organizations emphasizing excellence in clinical specialties).
4) Administration. Indicate any leadership role in the department, affiliated institution, or medical/dental school programs and committees. Does the candidate participate in any national organizations, professional societies, study sections, or policy-making/advisory groups?
3. Letter from the executive committee of the department is prepared if there are any dissents or abstentions. This letter includes the reasons for either dissents or abstentions. If there are none, signature of the chairperson or the secretary of the executive committee on the Form for Initiation of First Term Appointments and Promotions will be sufficient.
4. Documentation is provided of the initial search and affirmative action in cases of promotion to assistant professor from a first HMS or HSDM appointment as instructor in order to assure that the intent of searches for all first appointments is met. This request applies only to instances where the first appointment was at the instructor level. It does not apply to persons initially appointed as a resident, clinical fellow, or research fellow (postdoctoral fellow).
5. Letters of evaluation are requested by the department head or the departmental search committee, not by the candidate. The department head comments on any significant issues raised in the letters of evaluation. (Click HERE for sample letter.)
a. Assistant professor. At least two letters of recommendation are required from faculty members inside the department and two letters from outside the department and discipline (inside or outside HMS). At least one of the four letters should be from outside HMS, and at least one outside letter should come from someone who is not a former colleague, mentor, collaborator, or co-author of the candidate.
b. Associate professor. At least two letters of recommendation are required from inside the department as well as four from outside the department, including at least two from outside the University. At least one outside letter should come from someone who is not a former colleague, mentor, collaborator, or co-author of the candidate. For basic scientists in clinical departments, letters should be sought from basic scientists knowledgeable about the research field, as well as from clinicians who can assess contributions to the clinical specialty.
6. Copies of publications/scholarly communications on which the proposed appointment should be judged are provided.
a. Two copies each of two items for appointment to assistant professorb. Two copies each of five items for appointment to associate professor
Attribution of credit on multiauthored papers: In those cases where the candidate has selected (as one of the two best papers to be reviewed for assistant professor or one of the five best papers to be reviewed for associate professor) a paper in which s/he is a middle author, the candidate must describe to the department head her/his contribution in the following terms cited in the "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals":
- conception, or design, or analysis and interpretation of data
- drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content
- final approval of the version to be published
- contributions to collaborative research in a given field (as reflected in a set of up to three pages)
The candidate's description may be included in the letter of the department head or attached as a separate submission.
If possible, the candidate should also annotate all the selected papers to indicate why the work is important and what impact it has had on the field.
7. Letter from the department head, addressed to the Dean, and accompanying documentation should be sent to: Office for Faculty Services, Gordon Hall, Room 010, Harvard Medical School.
8. Documents are checked in the Dean's Office and distributed to members of the Promotions, Reappointments, and Appointments Committee. Two members of this committee review the documentation for appointment to assistant/associate professor. A departmental representative is present to respond. The committee deliberates and renders a recommendation to the Dean.
9. Dean makes a final recommendation and transmits it to the President of Harvard University.
10. Recommendation is considered by the President and Provost on behalf of the Governing Boards of Harvard University. Final approval is rendered by the President and Provost.