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(IV.) B. APPOINTMENT TO THE PERMANENT INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF

1. Recommendation: Timing
   1. Members of the Faculty initially appointed to the rank of Instructor shall complete fourteen semesters of service at Smith College before joining the permanent Faculty. The recommendations of the department and the Committee on Tenure and Promotion shall be made during the academic year in which the individual's fourteenth semester of service is completed.

   2. Members of the Faculty initially appointed to the rank of Assistant Professor or Associate Professor or whose rank was changed to Assistant Professor during the initial year of appointment shall complete twelve semesters of service at Smith College before joining the permanent Faculty. The recommendations of the department and the Committee on Tenure and Promotion shall be made during the academic year in which the individual's twelfth semester of service is completed.

   3. Promotion to the rank of full Professor carries tenure.

   4. Each semester of service prior to the tenure recommendation shall be counted in the probationary period. In addition:
      
      • A year spent in absence (sabbatical or leave of absence) shall upon request be counted as part of the probationary period.
      • A one-semester sabbatical or leave of absence shall upon request be counted as part of the probationary period.
      • A year spent directing a Smith Junior Year Abroad Program or serving in a full-time administrative capacity at the College shall upon request be counted in the probationary period.
      All such requests must be received by May 1st of the academic year in which the sabbatical, leave of absence, administrative or JYA service occurs.

   5. Tenure track faculty members who become parents during the probationary period will automatically receive a one-year extension of the probationary period. Tenure track faculty members who wish to decline the extension will notify the Provost by March 1 in order to be considered for tenure in the fall of that calendar year.

   6. A member of the Faculty may petition for a one-year extension of the probationary period prior to the tenure decision for one of the following reasons: serious illness, unusual personal responsibilities, academic or administrative responsibilities during a substantial part of the probationary period that are considerably beyond the normal load for the department or the College, or that undergo substantial change during the probationary period. Such a petition must have the approval of the department, shall include explicit waivers of paragraphs a and b above, and shall be submitted no later than September 15 of the academic year of the normal tenure decision to the Committee on Tenure and Promotion, which shall approve or disapprove it.

   7. Candidates who are being considered for permanent appointment shall be notified in writing of the nature of the departmental recommendation no later than December 1 of the academic year during which the recommendation is made.

   8. At each rank, if the decision of the Committee on Tenure and Promotion is against tenure, an individual whose existing appointment extends only to the end of the academic year in which the decision is made shall receive a terminal appointment for one additional year.

2. Recommendations: Department Procedure
   1. Throughout the remainder of Section IV.B. the department shall be understood to mean those members of the department eligible to vote on the recommendation.

      All permanent members of the department shall meet and determine whether or not a candidate shall be recommended by the department for appointment to the permanent staff, except that no ex officio member of the Committee on Tenure and Promotion shall participate or vote in this meeting.

   2. All department members on sabbatical leave or leave of absence or directing junior years abroad shall be sent notices of all department meetings in which they are eligible to participate and at which personnel recommendations are to be discussed. Such members who intend to vote are urged to attend all meetings and may vote only if they are present at the meeting when the final discussion and vote occur. (See also II.B.2.d.). An absent member not voting may submit his or her written opinion to the department and to the Committee.

   3. Outside evaluations of the scholarly and/or artistic work of a candidate for tenure shall be required as part of the review by the department and by the Committee on Tenure and Promotion. The relevant procedures are specified in IV.B.2.d. and e. If such outside evaluations of the candidate's work have been secured within the two years preceding the review for tenure, the solicitation of additional outside evaluations may be dispensed with if the candidate, the department and the Committee on Tenure and Promotion so agree.

   4. The candidate and the department, in separate memoranda, shall each submit to the Committee on Tenure and Promotion the names and complete addresses of four outside referees, listed in descending order of preference. The Committee shall solicit evaluations from two on each list, in the indicated order of preference, reserving the others as substitutes for any preferred referees who are unable to comment. After consultation with the candidate and the department, the Committee may also solicit additional referees. The names of those who have agreed to comment shall be communicated by the Committee to the candidate and to those members of the department eligible to vote on the candidate's tenure. All evaluations shall be made available to the Committee and said members of the department, but not the candidate, and are to remain confidential.

      All outside referees shall be informed of these procedures. Should any letter from an outside referee fail to arrive in time for consideration by the department or the Committee, either body may proceed to its decision without it.

   5. The material to be reviewed by outside referees shall include a copy of the candidate's curriculum vitae, prepared by the candidate. The department and candidate shall make every effort to agree upon the scholarly and/or artistic material to be reviewed. Should the two parties be unable to agree, the Committee on Tenure and Promotion shall decide the disposition of any item in dispute.

   6. A candidate who is being considered for tenure shall have the right, at his or her request, to meet with the Committee on Tenure and Promotion at a regular meeting and shall have the right to communicate in writing with the Committee.

   7. By December 1, the Chair of the department will provide the candidate for tenure and the Committee on Tenure and Promotion with a letter that records the department's recommendation on tenure and the vote taken in the department meeting, and summarizes the reasons offered by various members of the department for their votes or abstentions. However, the names of these persons shall remain confidential. In addition, each member of the department who voted or abstained shall write a letter to the Committee on Tenure and Promotion stating the reasons for his or her vote or abstention. A person being considered for tenure shall have the right to see a copy of each such letter, except for the name of the writer, which shall remain confidential. The candidate shall also have the right to communicate in writing and/or in person with the Committee on Tenure and Promotion.

   8. For all cases of a divided vote the Committee on Tenure and Promotion shall meet with the members of the department who voted and are available. An opportunity is thus provided for all positions and opinions to be heard at first hand.

3. 1. If, after the procedures described above have been completed, the department or any member who has voted on the tenure recommendation in question should communicate to the Committee on Tenure and Promotion, orally or in writing, any opinion or evidence that differs substantially from those accompanying the original recommendation on tenure, then the Chair of the Committee shall send a letter to both the Chair of the department and the candidate and to all members of the department who had voted summarizing the new opinion or evidence. The names of the persons who have presented such new opinion or evidence shall remain confidential. The candidate shall have reasonable opportunity to respond in person and/or in writing to the Committee.

   2. If the original departmental recommendation shall have been unanimous, and if the new opinion or evidence demonstrates that the department is no longer unanimous in its recommendation, then the Committee on Tenure and Promotion shall follow the procedure specified in IV.B.2.h.

   3. In the case of a divided departmental vote, if the new opinion or evidence is communicated to the Committee on Tenure and Promotion in writing, the candidate shall be furnished with a copy, save that the name of its author shall be stricken.

4. Recommendations: Committee on Tenure and Promotion
   1. No elected member of the Committee on Tenure and Promotion shall participate in the Committee's vote or discussion on a member of his or her department.

   2. Recommendations of the Committee on Tenure and Promotion concerning tenure shall be communicated to the individual concerned at the earliest feasible moment and no later than June 1 of the year in which the decision is made. If the Committee's recommendation is negative it shall be accompanied by a written statement of the reasons for the Committee's decision. If the recommendation is not in agreement with that of the department, a written statement of the reasons for the Committee's decision shall be sent to the department Chair.

   3. Recommendations of the Committee on Tenure and Promotion concerning tenure shall be communicated to the Board of Trustees by the President.

   4. If the Committee on Tenure and Promotion recommends appointment to the permanent staff and the Board of Trustees so appoints, the decision shall be communicated in writing to the person affected, who shall thereinafter enjoy tenure of office subject to conditions herein stated.