Medical School Faculty Appointments

Promotion and Tenure Process

Medical school promotion and tenure decisions will be made equitably and in compliance with the policies and procedures of Northwestern University. Each department of the medical school has a promotions and tenure committee that advises the department chair.

Full-time faculty candidates recommended by their department for the award of tenure or for promotion to full professor will be reviewed by ad hoc committees selected for each case. The ad hoc committee report and full faculty dossier will be reviewed by the Clinical Council, Education Council, or Research Council, as appropriate for the candidate’s primary performance area. The reviewing council will recommend an action to the dean. After receiving advice from these review bodies, the dean either makes a decision not to award promotion and/or tenure or recommends promotion and/or tenure to the provost. In cases where the provost accepts the recommendation for promotion and/or tenure, the provost makes a recommendation to that effect to the Board of Trustees.

The dean appoints ad hoc committees. Senior faculty members, all of whom must be tenured to serve on a committee reviewing a tenure track candidate, are appointed to each ad hoc committee. Ad hoc committees seek written evaluations of candidates from external referees, some of whom can be selected from names provided by the candidate’s department chair and/or section head.

All candidates for other promotion actions, including contributed service faculty recommended for promotion to full professor, will be reviewed by the school’s standing Appointments and Promotion Committee. This committee recommends action on promotions to the dean who, in turn, either makes a decision not to promote or recommends promotion to the provost. In cases where the provost accepts the recommendation for promotion, the provost makes a recommendation to that effect to the Board of Trustees.

The promotion and tenure review process is illustrated in the diagram below.