The Book as the Gold Standard for Tenure and Promotion in the Humanistic Disciplines

With funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Committee on Institutional Cooperation conducted a study (June-November, 2003) to determine the extent to which publication of a scholarly monograph is essential for faculty to receive tenure in the humanistic disciplines…. Among the major findings are the following:

• With the exception of scholars who are doing ?creative work? or whose work is in certain subfields of Anthropology, department chairs expect a faculty member to have published (or have in press) a scholarly monograph prior to consideration for tenure.
  
• Department chairs are not willing to abandon the scholarly monograph as a standard for promotion and tenure.
  
• Only in History departments does a majority of faculty believe a book should be required (with rare exceptions) for tenure in their departments. Faculty with tenure and faculty who have not yet achieved tenure are similar in their views about this issue.
  
• Most of the faculty members surveyed do not feel a book length manuscript is necessary to present their scholarship.
  
• Department chairs and junior faculty have different perceptions about the type of support provided by the department to untenured faculty.
  
• The publication record of faculty achieving tenure has increased since the 1970s, suggesting that requirements for promotion and tenure in CIC schools have increased.
  
• Nearly one-fourth (24.5 percent) of the faculty report being asked for a subvention for one or more books. Respondents differ in their perspectives about subventions with some quite accepting of the practice and others concerned about the implications of providing subventions.
  
• Junior faculty have numerous concerns about the process of getting their work in print, including issues of market forces, time between submission and response and the changing profile of presses.
  
• Faculty members are beginning to examine electronic publications as an outlet for scholarship. A small number of departments have formally considered how electronic publications should be evaluated.
  

An analysis of these findings is contained in the full report to be distributed prior to the December 2, 2003 meeting of CIC provosts and LAS deans. —Leigh Estabrook —The Book as the Gold Standard for Tenure and Promotion in the Humanistic Disciplines

The graphics on this page are broken, unfortunately.

Via MGK.

Update, 18 Sep: Shortly after I brought the broken graphics to Estabrook’s attention, the webmaster got the message and fixed them.