Please scroll down or click on the links below to read about this process.
a. Description
b. Search Flowchart
c. Steps
d. Dossier Checklist
(2) Reappointment of Senior Lecturers
(1) Appointment to Senior Lecturer
a. Description
These appointments are reserved for instructors who have demonstrated excellence in teaching, as well as extraordinary professional accomplishment in other areas, as indicated below. Senior Lecturers must meet one of the following criteria. Ordinarily, they have either:
1) Demonstrated that they are exceptional teachers and have taught within the tenured associate or full professor ranks at a university or peer undergraduate institution, with a commensurate scholarly record. Or,
2) Demonstrated a record of national leadership in innovation in pedagogy, with outstanding promise of continuing contribution, and in addition are exceptional teachers. Or,
3) They may be well-established, practicing artists with an artistic record equivalent to the scholarly achievement of a tenured associate or full professor, who have also demonstrated excellence in teaching.
Senior lecturers (with the exception, as appropriate, of appointments in the arts) must ordinarily hold a doctorate. Appointments are made for a term of up to five years and are renewable contingent upon review and approval of the divisional dean/SEAS Dean. Senior Lecturers are voting members of the faculty and have voting rights as senior faculty in the department, except on decisions relating to ladder appointments or to internal reviews for professors in residence, professors of the practice, and senior lecturers.
b. Search Flowchart: Senior Lecturer
Note: In the rare instance that an Associate Senior Lecturer is being considered for possible appointment to Senior Lecturer, please see the “Note” in 7D1c for the appointment process.
c. Steps: External Appointment to Senior Lecturer
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Step |
Explanation |
1 |
The department chair writes to the divisional dean requesting authorization for a search |
The search plan should address:
The divisional dean reviews individual requests in light of divisional priorities and resources (including space). If the search is authorized, the divisional dean will provide a written response to the department, setting out the conditions of the search. |
2 |
The department advertises the position and makes inquiries at other institutions |
The advertisement should ask all candidates to submit with their original application materials their teaching/advising statement and (as applicable) research statement or pedagogical innovation statement or artistic statement, and statement on diversity, inclusion, and belonging; the department may request the other teaching materials (and in art-making fields, the portfolio of creative work and significant reviews) only from the finalist.
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3 |
The department submits a short list of candidates for approval by the divisional dean |
The short list consists of candidates the department has determined are the most qualified for the job in terms of credentials, accomplishments, standing in the field, teaching experience, and field of expertise. To build the strongest pool for the short list, the committee should discuss in early and ongoing conversations how to attract diverse applicants, including women and minorities. The department sends the following to the divisional dean and the assistant dean for the division:
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4 |
If approval is granted, the department invites short-list candidates to campus for interviews |
Candidates meet with members of the department. The visits may include formal seminars, lectures, or master classes, as well as informal meetings with faculty, graduate students, and others. The assistant dean for the division should be given a list of dates of any seminars, lectures, or master classes. |
5 |
The department selects a final candidate and requests authorization from the divisional dean to solicit evaluation letters. With the request, the department should submit a draft of the letter soliciting evaluations and a recipient list (see Sample Table) |
The finalist’s dossier must include at least eight evaluative letters. The letter soliciting evaluations should include:
The recipient list (see Sample Table) should be in alphabetical order and include title/current rank, home institution, year of doctorate (if available), a link to the scholar’s website, email address, whether the scholar has been the candidate's Ph.D. advisor, postdoctoral advisor, or co-author, and the rationale for including each scholar on the list. It is expected that the list will be diverse, including gender and racial/ethnic diversity. |
6 |
The department sends the approved letter to the people on the recipient list, reviews the evaluative letters received, and drafts a case statement for the finalist |
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7 |
After reviewing all of the candidate’s materials, members of the department/SEAS area discuss the case and vote |
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8 |
After a favorable vote, the chair asks each voting member of the department/SEAS area, including those on the search committee, to write a confidential letter to the Edgerley Family Dean of the FAS |
These letters express the faculty members’ views on the appointment and will be included in the candidate’s dossier to be reviewed by the Committee on Appointments and Promotions (CAP). (For inclusion in the dossier, letters should be sent electronically to the ad hoc coordinator in the Office for Faculty Affairs, ryoung@fas.harvard.edu.) |
9 |
The case statement is finalized by the department chair |
The finalized case statement, prepared and signed by the department chair and the chair of the search committee, should include the following:
Note: The finalized case statement should be made available to the faculty in the department involved in the review. |
10 | The candidate’s dossier is prepared by the department and sent to the assistant dean for the division |
Note: The department should secure from applicants at the short-list stage (or from the finalist, if the department’s process does not include a short-list stage) a draft course title, course description, and syllabus for the course(s) that the candidate(s) intend to teach during their first semester, for approval. This information will be included in the finalist’s dossier. (Obtaining this information is not necessary for candidates who would be teaching established courses such as certain language or mathematics courses, etc.) Please securely send one electronic copy of the dossier to the assistant dean. Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer (e.g., Accellion Kiteworks, encryption, etc.), which can vary by user platform. For a full checklist of what the dossier should include, please see the dossier checklist. Note: The divisional dean/SEAS Dean and/or their designee and the Dean for Faculty Affairs and Planning can ask for changes to the dossier at any time. |
11 |
The Committee on Appointments and Promotions reviews the dossier |
The Committee on Appointments and Promotions (CAP) reviews the dossier and advises the Edgerley Family Dean of the FAS on whether the case warrants appointment. |
12 |
If the decision is favorable, the offer letter is issued by the divisional dean |
Once approval for the appointment has been granted, the department should ask the individual during the hiring process to confirm the department’s understanding of what the course title, description, and syllabus are. The offer letter (drafted in consultation with the divisional dean by the Office for Faculty Development) contains information on title, appointment, salary, responsibilities, etc. The Office for Faculty Development makes any revisions to the offer letter. When appropriate, the dean for faculty development will work with a center, institute, or initiative to develop a supplementary letter for the candidate that describes the resources available through the Center. The candidate's acceptance of the offer must be made in writing to the divisional dean. |
13 |
If the offer is accepted, the appointment is processed in the Aurora system by the Office for Faculty Affairs |
OFD submits all documentation for processing, with the exception of the original I-9 form and any necessary payroll documents, which the FAS financial administrator or the department administrator delivers to Central Payroll. The department administrator will remind the faculty member to sign electronically the Harvard University Participation Agreement by the start of their appointment. |
Note: In the extremely rare instance that an Associate Senior Lecturer is being considered for possible appointment to Senior Lecturer, the department follows the process in the table above, with the following differences: It is not necessary to advertise the position, create a short-list, arrange a campus visit, or (in the case statement) address the Departmental EEO Report and compare the candidate to other candidates. In addition, in lieu of the candidate submitting a teaching chart as described in Step 2 above, the department should compile the candidate’s summary teaching chart, and feedback should be gathered on the candidate’s advising, as described in Step 2b below.
2b |
The department compiles a summary teaching chart and gathers information on the candidate’s performance as an adviser of undergraduates |
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In addition, instead of the letter requirements noted in Steps 2 and 6 above in the external appointment process, departments should observe the letter requirements noted in Step 6b below.
6b |
The department sends the approved letter to the people on the recipient list, reviews the evaluative letters received, and drafts a case statement |
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After a senior lecturer has been appointed: In years where there is no scheduled review for reappointment, departments will assess teaching and performance of the senior lecturer on an at least annual basis and provide feedback to the senior lecturer, following departmental protocols.
d. Dossier Checklist: Senior Lecturers
Please securely send one electronic copy of the dossier to the assistant dean. Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer (e.g., Accellion Kiteworks, encryption, etc.), which can vary by user platform. For a full checklist of what the dossier should include, please see the dossier checklist. To facilitate storing and sharing of files, please name the file as follows: a) alpha-numeric characters only (no dashes, commas, slashes, etc.). b) [Last Name] [First Name] [Department Name] Sr Lecturer dossier [Month, Date, and Year of dossier submission, expressed numerically: XX YY ZZ]. E.g., Smith John Psychology Sr Lecturer dossier 1 4 15. c) If a dossier is revised and resubmitted, please repeat the original title, followed by “rev” and [Month of resubmission] [Date of resubmission] [Year of resubmission]. E.g., Smith John Psychology Sr Lecturer dossier 1 4 15 rev 1 15 15. Departments should retain documents according to practices recommended by Harvard Archives at https://grs.harvard.edu/ (please log in).
______1. Case statement (including department/SEAS area vote by name).
______2. The Departmental EEO Report displaying aggregate demographic data from the search, available through ARIeS. [not applicable to an appointment of an Associate Senior Lecturer to Senior Lecturer]
______3. The department’s request for authorization to search (in an external appointment) or to proceed with the process (in a possible appointment of an Associate Senior Lecturer to Senior Lecturer), and the divisional dean’s letter approving the request.
______4. Candidate’s curriculum vitae.
______5. Summary teaching chart and teaching/advising materials (e.g., teaching awards, representative course syllabi, list of undergraduates for whom the candidate has primary advising responsibility, and teaching evaluations).
______6. A teaching/advising statement describing philosophy and practices related to undergraduate teaching and advising.
______7. Course title, course description, and syllabus for the course(s) the candidate intends to teach during their first semester.
______8. As applicable, either a research statement, or else a statement about demonstrated record of national leadership in innovation in pedagogy, or else a statement describing the candidate's artistic achievement.
______9. Statement describing efforts to encourage diversity, inclusion, and belonging, including past, current, and anticipated future contributions in these areas.
_____10. A copy of the letter soliciting external evaluations and the recipient list (see Sample Table), indicating who did and did not reply.
_____11. At least eight evaluative letters.
_____12. In art-making fields, a portfolio of creative work and significant reviews of the work.
Note: The candidate should not solicit student letters, and any unsolicited student letters will not be included in the dossier.
(2) Reappointment of Senior Lecturers
Step |
Explanation |
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1 |
The department chair requests materials from the candidate during the penultimate year of appointment |
Materials should include:
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2 |
The chair requests divisional dean approval of a proposed review committee and, following this approval, appoints the committee |
The committee should consist of tenured colleagues who will evaluate the case, including a tenured faculty member from another department/SEAS area. The request should name the committee chair and other review committee members. |
3 |
The department compiles a summary teaching chart and gathers information on the candidate’s performance as a teacher and administrator, if applicable |
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4 |
The committee considers the case |
The review committee should take into account all aspects of the candidate’s job description, including the candidate’s teaching and advising; as applicable, either 1) research, or else 2) demonstrated record of national leadership in innovation in pedagogy, or else 3) artistic achievement; and service. |
5 |
The committee decides if the case is sufficiently strong to warrant reappointment, drafts a case statement, and reports its findings to the department |
The draft case statement for the candidate summarizes the committee’s conclusions, including the strengths and weaknesses of the case with regard to teaching and advising; research, or pedagogical innovation, or artistic achievement; and service (see Step 7 for all of the necessary elements of the final case statement). |
6 |
Members of the department/SEAS area review the materials, discuss the case, and vote on the reappointment |
This discussion should be in-depth and rigorous. If the department/SEAS area decides against reappointment, the department chair sends to the divisional dean the current dossier, including a record of the department vote, and a draft of the letter to the candidate and explains the department’s decision. After divisional dean approval, the department gives the letter to the candidate. |
7 |
After a favorable vote, the department sends the dossier to the assistant dean for the division |
Please securely send one electronic copy of the dossier to the assistant dean. Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer (e.g., Accellion Kiteworks, encryption, etc.), which can vary by user platform. The dossier should include:
Note: The candidate should not solicit student letters, and any unsolicited student letters will not be included in the dossier. Note: The divisional dean/SEAS Dean and/or their designee and the Dean for Faculty Affairs and Planning can ask for changes to the dossier at any time. |
8 |
The divisional dean, with a CAP subcommittee, reviews the dossier, and the divisional dean decides whether to approve the reappointment |
In some cases, the full Committee on Appointments and Promotions may be asked to review individual reappointment dossiers. |
9 |
Following approval by the divisional dean, the department issues the final signed letter to the candidate |
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