Overview

Curators’ Professors must be reviewed every five years, and a determination made by the Chancellor as to whether to renew for an additional five years. Renewal decision should be made based on continued and sustained excellence on the part of the faculty member. Information on renewals is submitted to the Board for awareness.

Guidelines

The following are a set of guidelines to be used by the four UM System universities in evaluating Curators’ Professors for renewal every five years. These guidelines should represent minimum standards, and do not prohibit the universities for instituting additional requirements, reviews, etc.

1. Sustained Excellence:
Curators’ Professors are selected based on their demonstrated excellence in research or, in the case of Curators’ Teaching Professors, teaching and learning. These accomplishments are detailed in an executive summary, internal and external nomination letters, the nominee’s CV, and other supplemental materials (i.e., Academic Analytics). These original materials should serve as a foundation for the review. In general, it should be considered whether the faculty member has maintained a high level of excellence on par with when they were originally nominated and approved. Some normal fluctuation in productivity over time may be appropriate, but a theme of continued excellence should be clearly evident in the review.

2. Service to the University:
The Collected Rules and Regulations state that Curators’ Professors “should be fully integrated in the department, with such departmental responsibilities as may be determined by the chair and the appointee. However, each Curators’ Distinguished Professor is a resource for the entire University and should be expected to contribute to the entire University,” including other departments, colleges, and UM universities. As part of the 5-year assessment, evidence that the Curators’ Professor has engaged in these kinds of activities should be evident in the candidate’s materials.

3. Commensurate Productivity and Excellence
As stated in the Collected Rules and Regulations, Curators’ Professorships are five-year appointments that come with additional responsibilities, and such appointments are not necessarily intended to run the full duration of a faculty member’s career. In reviewing a Curators’ Professor eligibility for an additional five-years, the universities should evaluate the performance of said faculty relative to more recent appointments.

All renewals of Curators’ Distinguished Professors will be reviewed at the June Board of Curators meeting as an informational item during the closed session of the Academic, Student Affairs, Research and Economic Development Committee.

The review will be handled in RPT and the following items will be needed from the CDP or CDTP to complete the review packet.

1. 1-5 page executive summary of accomplishments in the preceding 5 years as well as plans for the coming 5 years. In this section include a summary of activities that show the CDP or CDTP as a resource for the entire university; for example: lectures given on other campus, engaging in research across divisional lines (CDP), engaging in teaching across divisional lines (CDP and CDTP) and assisting in improving the quality of teaching at the university (CDTP).
   
   
2. An updated copy of the faculty member’s CV documenting productivity over the last five years.