P&T Soliciting External Reviews for Research Faculty

DATE

NAME
ADDRESS
CITY, STATE, ZIP

Dear NAME:

[CANDIDATE FULL NAME], a Research [ASSISTANT or ASSOCIATE] Professor in the [DEPARTMENT OF X¹] at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is undergoing review for promotion to the rank of Research [ASSOCIATE or FULL] Professor. As part of this review, we require letters of evaluation from highly qualified scholars outside of our university. On behalf of my colleagues, I write to ask if you are willing to assess the work of Professor [CANDIDATE].

The Research Professor track at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln was created to provide a career track for non-tenure-track faculty whose primary contributions are to the research mission of the university. Faculty of Research can be appointed to multi-year terms with no time limit on their aggregate length of service. They are also represented in Faculty Senate and voting rights as faculty with the exception of personnel issues involving tenure-line or Practice faculty. The nature of assigned duties for Faculty of Research can vary significantly.

We seek an independent evaluation of:

• the quality, significance, and impact of the candidate's research contributions.
• the candidate's trajectory and prospects for continued scholarly growth and achievement.
• the candidate's national or international reputation, if appropriate to the nature of their work; and
• other factors you think may be of importance to us in evaluating the candidate's capabilities, accomplishments, and reputation.

The deadline for submitting the actual review letter will be [DATE GIVEN THE UNL AND COLLEGE PROMOTION AND TENURE SCHEDULE²]. Your letter would become part the official promotion file. This file will be evaluated by a faculty review committee within our department [ALTER THIS PHRASE IF JOINTLY APPOINTED], the College Promotion and Tenure Committee and Dean, the Executive Vice Chancellor, and the Chancellor. Enclosed you will find copies of a current CV and the waiver signed by the candidate in connection with this review.

We hope that you will agree to help us. If you agree to take part in this evaluation, we will provide you with a link to a folder containing the candidate's complete file. Should you agree to provide a review, my follow-up correspondence will include information about the expectations associated with [CANDIDATE's] position. I know that writing reviews is time-consuming, and I thank you for your help. If at all possible, could you let us know by [DATE] if you will be able to help us assess {NAME OF FACULTY's} work?

Thank you for considering this request. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

[NAME]
[TITLE, e.g., “Professor and Chair"]

Cc: [CHAIR OR DIRECTOR OF SECOND UNIT IF JOINT APPOINTMENT]