SLPTR Annual Report - 2017-2018

LFA Committee Annual Report

Committee Name                 Sabbatical Leave and Post-Tenure Review Committee Fiscal Year                                        2017-2018

Committee Chair                  Brian Rosenblum

Members                              

Karen Cook                            (2015-2017)

Michiko Ito                            (2016-2018)

Lyn Wolz                                (2016-2018)

Sherry Williams (Secretary)          (2017-2019)

Brian Rosenblum (Chair)               (2017-2019)

Standing Charges

Sabbatical

  • SLPTR reviews and evaluates the merit of each sabbatical proposal. It notifies each applicant in writing of its recommendation and forwards each recommendation to the Dean of Libraries, who reviews and evaluates the proposal before transmittal to the Provost for referral to the University Committee on Sabbatical Leaves for evaluation (see 8.1.1-8.2.7 of the Faculty Senate Rules and Regulations).
  • We received, reviewed and evaluated two sabbatical applications this year.
  • SLPTR addresses itself to matters of policy pertaining to the sabbatical leave system and reports its recommendations to the Dean.
  • No policy questions regarding sabbaticals came to our attention this year.

Post-Tenure Review

  • SLPTR reviews the qualifications and performance of all members of the library faculty who are scheduled to be evaluated for Post-Tenure Review.
  • We evaluated the files of the two faculty members scheduled for review.
  • SLPTR addresses itself to matters of policy pertaining to the post-tenure review and reports its recommendations to the Dean.
  • No policy questions regarding post-tenure review came up this year.

Note: The rest of the standing charges are procedural and do not result in reportable outcomes.

Special Charges

  • The committee received no special charges this year. The 2016-17 SLPTR report mentions that the 2017-18 committee would work on writing a best practices guide for a successful PTR file. This was not discussed or worked on during the 2017-18 year. It may be something for the 2018-19 committee to consider. (Refer to the FY2016 annual report for additional information.)

Other Activities / Accomplishments

General Committee Business

Our first meeting of the fiscal year was convened by LFSA liaison Lea Currie. We met on August 1, 2017. The Committee received and discussed a copy of the 2016-17 SLPTR annual report, reviewed charges, selected committee chair (Rosenblum) and secretary (Williams). It was noted that the PTR calendar was not available online. It was also unclear how many people were scheduled for PTR review. Rosenblum followed up with Mike Broadwell on both questions.

The previous SLPTR committee recommended that we hold our open meeting with PTR candidates and their supervisors earlier in the year, in August. However, after consultation with the two candidates and their supervisors, we determined that it was unnecessary to hold an open meeting and that questions regarding the process could be directed to the Committee at any time. (We received few, if any, questions.)

In Fall 2017, we reviewed two sabbatical applications. Committee members read the files on their own, and we met on October 9 to discuss the files in person and draft collaborative notes. We assigned individual committee members to draft the evaluative text based on the notes and then revised and finalized the text via email. Both proposals were approved the University and the candidates will be going on leave starting in summer 2018.

In Spring 2017, we reviewed two post-tenure review files. Committee members read the files on their own, and we met on January 30 to discuss the files in person and draft collaborative notes. We assigned individual committee members to draft the evaluative text based on the notes and then revised and finalized the text via email.

Dean Kevin Smith noted that he appreciated the excellent reports the committee wrote since he uses them in making his decisions concerning sabbatical applications and post-tenure review

Potential Charges / Recommendations for Future Committees

  • Though our committee determined it was not necessary this year, a preliminary PTR informational meeting in August may still be advisable to hold in the future, especially if there are 3 or more candidates under review. If there are a smaller number of candidates, it may be simpler to talk to them individually.
  • The 2016-17 committee recommended the development of a best practices guide for a successful PTR file. In addition to being posted on SLPTR’s webpage, share this information at the fall PTR meeting. This may be something for future committees to consider.
  • Repeated from last year’s recommendation: We recommend that the list of library faculty members coming up for post-tenure review be kept up to date by Libraries’ HR since an accurate list is necessary both for the PTR process and for LFA election.

Does the Committee’s portion of the Library Governance website need updating or correcting?

Yes. There are some incorrect dates and some older minutes/annual reports are missing.

Does the Committee’s portion of the Library Governance Code need updating or correcting?

Not as far as we can tell.

Prepared by:       Brian Rosenblum (chair)