Tenure Upon Appointment

From the FSU Faculty Handbook, Section 5

TENURE UPON APPOINTMENT

FSU departments and colleges may recommend to the Provost and President via the Office of Faculty Development and Advancement that a faculty member hired at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor be granted tenure upon appointment at FSU. Typically, tenure should be requested prior to the appointment of the faculty member, and in no circumstances should it be requested any later than 3 months after the appointment begins. Petitions will be considered by a five-member subcommittee of the University Promotion and Tenure (P&T) Committee via each individual member’s secret ballot. Members of the subcommittee are appointed by the Vice President for Faculty Development and Advancement at the beginning of the fall semester and will serve for the duration of their terms on the University P&T Committee.

The standing subcommittee of the university-wide P&T Committee will review individual cases on an as-needed basis. Any member of the 5-member subcommittee may request a meeting of the subcommittee to discuss whether a candidate’s record meets the criteria for tenure in the candidate’s department. Recommendations from this subcommittee are reviewed and approved/denied by the Provost and the President.

The following evidence should be organized and submitted electronically to the Office of the Vice President for Faculty Development and Advancement (fda-approvals@fsu.edu) for distribution to the five-member subcommittee of the University P&T Committee for review.

Evidence to be compiled:

  1. Approval by the unit’s P&T committee via each individual member’s secret ballot.
  2. Approval by the unit’s tenured members via each individual member’s secret ballot.
  3. Approval by any other regular reviewing committee in the college or, if appropriate, by a subcommittee approved by the full committee via each individual member’s secret ballot.
  4. Approval by the department chair/school director (if applicable).
  5. Approval by the dean.
  6. An endorsement letter from the department chair/school director (if applicable) and dean that includes a.) detailed information on the candidate’s teaching, research, and service history; and b.) an explanation of why this individual is worthy of tenure upon appointment.
  7. If the materials do not include examples of the candidate's excellence in research or creative activity or excellence in teaching, the department chair/school director (if applicable) or dean must also explain and justify that absence in their endorsement letter.
  8. The candidate's CV.
  9. The candidate's one-page statement of their accomplishments over the last five years.
  10. The candidate's discussion of their teaching, research and service (no longer than six pages).
  11. Three outside letters of recommendation directed specifically to Florida State University. The department chair/school director (if applicable) or dean must certify that no professional relationships exist between the candidate and the external reviewer or must provide a justification that the external review letter contains an unbiased assessment despite such a relationship. Relationships include, but are not limited to, student-teacher (including dissertation committee chairs and members), colleagues in graduate school, former departmental colleagues, collaborators, and co-authors.

Any additional contents of the binder are left to the discretion of each dean, as different areas value different supporting documentation to make a case for granting tenure.

The first five items above should be completed on the Tenure Upon Appointment cover sheet. Other resources include the reasons for negative ballots and the reasons for negative ballots form.

Please direct questions to Melissa Crawford in the Office of Faculty Development and Advancement.

Updated February 2025.