Preparing P&T dossiers that include research/teaching/extension

scholarshipDayton M. Lambert, Agricultural & Resource Economics

Presentation prepared for the 4th Annual UTIA P&T Workshop, May 19, 2015

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Task given to me…

“How to organize, present, and summarize dossier for research and teaching…”

“In 15 minutes, describe preparation and presentation of the P&T dossier…”

Dossier – what is it?• “a file containing detailed records on a particular person or subject”

– Merriam Webster

• “a collection of papers or other sources, containing detailed information about a particular person or subject, together with a synopsis of their content”

– Wiki encyclopedia

• “dossier…contain[s] factual information…that appears in the curriculum vitaeas well as evaluative information such as peer evaluations of teaching and summaries of teaching evaluations”

– UT Faculty Evaluation Manual

Organization (It’s no secret)…

• UT sets tenure track faculty up for success

• Faculty Evaluation Manual - Read Appendix B (http://provost.utdev2.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/10/Manual-for-Faculty-Evaluation-2014.pdf)

• FEM Appendix B is unambiguous– If you are unclear about an instruction, seek guidance

immediately– Peers, mentors, department heads…

UT Faculty Evaluation Manual, 2012: Most Frequently Used Words

Word Cloud generated with http://www.wordle.net/

The “burden of proof” (FEM, p. 16) is on us…

Word count in dossier (21,325)

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Word count proportion

4%

33%

53%

9% 1%

Section A Section B Section C

Section D Residual

…to communicate what we’ve done, what we’re doing, and that we’re doing what’s expected of us

Statement of Responsibilities in Dossier:

Dossier Word Cloud:

Word Clouds generated with http://www.wordle.net/

Communicating what you do in your dossier

• It’s simple…read and follow Appendix B(http://provost.utdev2.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/10/Manual-for-Faculty-Evaluation-2014.pdf)

• Seek guidance, feedback periodically (2x/year)– Typos, format (Peers, Mentor, Most recently tenured)– Content, clarity, structure (Mentor, Most recently tenured)– Candidate statements - develop by year 2 (Mentor)– The dossier format should be finished by second review

• This takes time – don’t rush at the last minute!

Support I find critical

• Mentorship– Invaluable for feedback on dossier

– Content, expositional clarity

– Time use direction, and in general, advice

– Peer teaching reviews

• Peers and recently tenured faculty provide “concrete” examples/roles

• Teaching evaluations (year 3, organize in year 2)– Committee assigned by department head (3-4 members)

– In class evaluation

– Constructive and detailed feedback, use it…

Candidate statements can be a difficult task

• A biosketch of your professional outlook, philosophy, and accomplishments

• Contextualize statement into the land grant mission (Teaching, Research, and Extension)

• Balance personal philosophy with personal statements

• Link Statement of Responsibilities with record and philosophy

• Enumerate productivity– Discuss numbers and trends in statement, but do not “self-evaluate”– Impact factors, citation counts, tables documenting collaborative

efforts, network matrix…– Haven’t ever seen figures in a dossier, although they’re not on the list

of Do Not’s

Quantify your productivity

Publications, proceedings, Projects and grants

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Articles published in refereed journalsPapers published in conference proceedings

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121518212427

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Count Cumulative

94 peer review journal articles319 citations*Avg. citation/year: 21.27*Avg. citation/item: 7.6*H-index: 10*

*Web of Knowledge

Published items each year Citations each year

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Turn intangibles (like “social capital” or “networks”) into talking points

Network: http://academic.research.microsoft.com/

One researcher’s perspective…• Publish research

• Collaborate; department, UTIA, UT, other universities, government agencies

• Cultivate social networks

• Matriculate students

• Put time where appointment is, and keep track of everything– Research – clear what needs to be done, and how to track– Teaching – also clear, but more “moving parts” to track– Time accounting more challenging for Extension– Easy (expected?) to say “yes” - if unclear, ask department head or mentor

• Summarize work in tabular form for dossier, look for growth trends

• Read and follow Appendix B of the Faculty Evaluation Handbook