Office of the Provost

August/September: Senior mentors assigned.

Fall Semester: Welcome meeting hosted by provost.

February: Reappointment prompt - Faculty Affairs (Provost’s Office) emails assistant professors due to be considered for reappointment the following year. A prompt is also sent to their department chairs (chairs’ deadline is October 1). Reappointment candidates agree with their respective chairs a deadline (before October 1) by which they submit their materials to their chair. Candidate materials include the following:

1.  an up-to-date CV indicating clearly what has been published (with exact citations), and what has been accepted for publication, submitted or is in progress;
2. a brief intellectual statement covering scholarship (a summary of accomplishments and scholarly activities, and a statement of future scholarship); teaching (approach to teaching that may include a reflection on student evaluations); and service (to the department, the university and to the profession);
3. a list of courses taught;
4. course syllabi (sample paper topics and exams, or other examples of assignments); and
5. copies of scholarly publications (manuscripts and/or other relevant creative work).

March: Meeting with dean(s) to discuss reappointment process.

May 1: Deadline for requests to postpone reappointment decision owing to FMLA - A faculty member who has been granted medical or parental leave for a minimum of seven weeks may postpone for two semesters a scheduled reappointment decision. The faculty member must notify the dean of such postponement requests by May 1 of the calendar year in which the department is scheduled to begin its deliberations.

October 1: Deadline by which department submits to the dean the candidate’s reappointment materials, including department’s recommendation and summary of recommendation (for candidate).

January 1: Per the Faculty Handbook, the dean must notify third-year assistant professors whether or not they have been reappointed no later than six months before their appointment is due to end.

Theodore and Jane Norman Junior Faculty Research Leave: Full-time, tenure-track faculty from eligible departments, whose normal teaching load is at least two courses per year, and who have been reappointed, are eligible for a semester of paid research leave. This is typically taken in either the fourth or fifth year.

February: Tenure Preparation Prompt - Faculty Affairs emails assistant professors due to be considered for tenure the following year. A prompt is also sent to their department chair(s). The emails outline the process and the materials required for the dossier.

March: Meeting with dean(s) to discuss tenure process.

May 1: Deadline for requests to postpone tenure decision owing to FMLA - A faculty member who has been granted medical or parental leave for a minimum of seven weeks may postpone for two semesters a scheduled tenure decision. The faculty member must notify the dean of such postponement requests by May 1 of the calendar year in which the department is scheduled to begin its deliberations.

September 15: Deadline for submission of dossier to Deans - Deadline by which department submits to the dean complete tenure dossiers, including department’s recommendation and summary of recommendation (for candidate), and letters from external evaluators. Upon verifying that the dossier is complete, the dean will send the summary of the department’s recommendation to the tenure candidate. If candidates wish to submit a written response to the summary, they must do so within ten working days of receiving it.

Please note: this is the deadline by which the department must submit the entire dossier, including its recommendation, to the dean. Assistant professors should be in touch with their department chair shortly after receiving the tenure preparation prompt email to agree on a reasonable deadline (before September 15) by which they should submit their elements of the dossier to their department chair. 

May 31: Deadline by which the dean must notify tenure candidates of the outcome of their case - Before May 31 of the seventh year in rank as assistant professor at Brandeis, the candidate must be informed by the dean in writing either that tenure and promotion have been granted, effective in the year following the decision, or that tenure and promotion have been denied. In cases where tenure and promotion have been denied, the candidate will receive a one-year, non-renewable appointment as assistant professor outside the tenure structure, to take effect in the year following the decision.

Composition of the ad hoc committee

An ad hoc committee for a tenure case typically comprises:

1. four Brandeis faculty (at the rank of tenured associate professor or tenured full professor), one of whom will be designated committee chair by the dean; and
2. two external scholars from the candidate’s

The candidate’s departmental representative will be present at the beginning of the meeting to answer any questions the committee might have about the dossier. The dean is also in attendance.

The ad hoc committee meeting

The ad hoc committee can take place any time between October and May. Tenure candidates should not attach any significance to the time they (may) have to wait before receiving news on their case as it is simply a matter of scheduling. Ad hoc committees are unique to each candidate; they can take time to arrange and are by necessity staggered throughout the year.

The date, location and membership of the committee remain confidential.

The ad hoc committee’s recommendation

Upon receiving a signed recommendation from the ad hoc committee, the dean will notify the department of the ad hoc committee’s recommendation. 

In the Event of a Positive Recommendation from the Committee

If the recommendation is positive (and the dean concurs), the dean will forward the committee’s recommendation, along with a letter of endorsement to the provost. The provost will in turn forward their recommendation to the president who submits it to the Board of Trustees for official approval. When the decision has been approved by the Board of Trustees, the dean will send a congratulatory letter to the candidate and to the department chair.

In the Event of a Negative Recommendation from the Committee

If the recommendation is negative (and the dean concurs), the dean will forward the recommendation and a letter of endorsement to the provost. The dean also submits a written explanation of their decision to the department and to the candidate.

In the Event that the Dean considers rejecting the Committee’s Recommendation

If the dean is considering rejecting the committee’s recommendation, they will convene a meeting with the university members of the ad hoc committee. The dean will then submit a written explanation of their final decision to the provost, accompanied by all relevant materials. The dean also submits a written explanation of their decision to the department and to the candidate.