Promotion and Tenure Task Force

The Promotion and Tenure Task Force will examine and update VCU’s promotion and tenure policies and practices. The Promotion and Tenure Task Force will begin working in September with the expectation that its final recommendations will be forwarded by January 2024.

This task force is critical to the pursuit of VCU’s strategic plan, Quest 2028, especially the plan’s first theme, Diversity Driving Excellence and its intention to, “nurture an institutional culture and climate that is diverse, inclusive, equitable and engaged.”

We have assembled a task force of diverse voices that can help us create a promotion and tenure policy that is modern, forward-looking, efficient, and transparent. As you know, promotion and tenure is critical to the career advancement of our faculty members. VCU’s current policy was written more than a decade ago. We aspire to update it to account for the broad array of accomplishments through which VCU faculty members create knowledge, serve students, and advance the university’s core mission.

Timeline details

Revised as of August 2024 
The term faculty task force report has been received and the tenure-eligible/tenured faculty task force report is expected to be received at the end of the first week of September. Details about the open forums being held in October will come in mid-September.

Revised as of June 2024
As the task force continues their work on this initiative, the timeline is being updated. Upon the receipt of final task force reports, they will be shared online sometime in August and open forums will be scheduled for early fall 2024.

Revised as of May 2024
Due to the extensive work required of the task force, the timeline has been extended. Task force reports for both, the tenure-eligible/tenured faculty and term faculty, are to be submitted at the end of the Spring 2024 semester (May 2024). These reports are to be shared online sometime in early July. As most faculty will be away for summer, the planned faculty open forums will be scheduled in early fall for input from faculty before moving forward. 

November 2023
The work of the task forces is moving along. Recommendations from both task forces will be shared with all faculty in spring. It will be followed by three open faculty forums for input. The collated input and recommendations will be shared with all faculty for additional insights. We expect this process to be completed at the end of the spring. We will return in fall to share with faculty the parts of the University P&T policy that may need to be revised/augmented. We will adhere to the policy process of taking that to the Faculty Senate, University Council, Cabinet and BOV.