This repository contains materials and information regarding my academic promotion process at Delft University of Technology since I began there as an assistant professor (UD2, salary scale 11-6) on August 1, 2020. This follows a similar repository I shared for the promotion process for my Assistant Professor of Teaching position at the University of California, Davis from 2015-2020: https://github.com/moorepants/lpsoe-merit-and-tenure. I share these materials to be transparent and to possibly help or inform others going through the same or similar processes.
I began on the "Tenure Track" process which was introduced at the 3mE faculty sometime in the 2010s. This process was introduced over the prior more traditional Dutch academic process before that where you could possibly be promoted from Universitair docent -> Universitair hoofddocent -> Hoogleraar (which are still technically our titles in the new process). I switched to the "Academic Career Track" process from the "Tenure Track" process in mid-2023 as the prior process is being phased out.
- Tenure Track
- You begin with a temporary contract of 6 years which can be made permanent by granting you "tenure" by the end of the 5th year. After about 2.5 to 3 years as an assistant professor you write a vision statement and make a presentation in front of a midterm evaluation committee. The committee is made up of the faculty's director of education, your immediate supervisor (a full professor), the department manager, and three full professors from other departments in the faculty. This committee provides a written letter informing you if you are on track for the tenure process, what things to work on for improvement, and possibly a recommendation of when you may want to consider requesting for tenure and/or promotion to associate professor. In the 5th year, you ask for your department chair (and possibly immediate supervisor if they are different people) to write a letter of support to the Dean of the faculty for your evaluation. If the Dean agrees you then submit a CV, vision statement, list of references to the Dean and the promotion evaluation committee. The promotion evaluation committee (loopbaan commissie) is comprised of full professors in the faculty and possibly some full professors from outside the faculty. You present your accomplishments and vision to them and they then ask you questions. This committee sends a recommendation for whether you should be kept as a permanent employee and if you should be promoted to associate professor. The Dean then makes a decision based on the advice of the committee. If you are not given a permanent position, you then have 1 year to find another job with some undefined assistance from the university. If you are granted a permanent contract, you may also be granted a promotion to associate professor, but that is an independent decision. If you are granted a permanent contract but not promoted to associate, then you are given advice on what to improve and typically a recommended time when to return to the promotion evaluation committee for a revaluation.
- Academic Career Track
- Apparently, Dutch law does not allow temporary contracts for long durations so the Tenure Track process was converted to the Academic Career Track process in 2023. The differences are that you are given a permanent contract after 18 months employment with minimal assessment and the promotion committee only evaluates you on promotion to associate. The evaluation for promotion to associate now falls in the 5-8 year range and the midterm evaluation is about at the same time ~2.5 years. It is not entirely clear what happens if you are not promoted after 8 years, but it seems you will be moved to a non-professor career track and may not retain the assistant professor title.
- Midterm
- [Vision Statement](midterm-vision-statement.rst)
- Loopbaan
- [Vision Statement](associate-vision-statement.rst)
- [CV](jkm-loopbaan-cv-2023-11-01.pdf)
- [References](references.rst)
- Midterm committee evaluation, April 24, 2023 (7 years, 8 months as asst. prof; 2 years, 9 months @ TU Delft)
- Following the interview, it was communicated that I was right on track and that I should request promotion assessment when I "am on speed with publications from TU Delft" and acquired funding for one or two PhD positions. Additionally, it was suggested I have more focus when presenting my research, get to know the organization and way of working in Dutch academia better, to proactively strengthen my leadership, and to take advice from other Americans who have been promoted here.
- Promoted to UD1 from UD2, Monday, May 1, 2023
- Passing the midterm and teaching qualification courses (which I gained exemption due to 5+ years teaching experience prior to TUD) cause me to be promoted from asst. prof 2 (UD2) to asst. prof 1 (UD1). This gave me a salary scale of 12, step 3.
- Request to go in front of the promotion committee, Monday, May 1, 2023
- Following the midterm results, I requested to go before the promotion committee as soon as possible given that I had 8 years of accomplisments and experience as an assistant professor. My chair and supervisor agreed and wrote a support letter to the Dean. I met with the committee chair and the Dean and they agreed to let me proceed with the interview with the committee.
- Switch to Academic Career Track, 2023
- I had the option to switch tracks and I did (sometime after the midterm) and signed a new permanent contract.
- Promotion committee evaluation, December 11, 2023 (8 years, 3 months as asst. prof; 3 years, 4 months @ TU Delft) and Promotion decision January 22, 2024
- I was denied promotion to associate professor with the primary feedback that I did not follow the recommendations given to me at the midterm evaluation.
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Copyright 2020-2024, Jason K. Moore