Originally approved by the Faculty of the Department of Philosophy, 9/19/18. This revised version was approved on 9/1/21.
As indicated in the Faculty Handbook (http://www.bu.edu/handbook/appointments-and- promotions/classification-of-ranks-and-titles/), a Lecturer in the College of Arts and Sciences is a faculty member appointed primarily to provide instruction for a stated term of full-time or part- time service, as specified in the appointment letter. The basic qualifications and standards expected of the Lecturer vary among the University’s Schools and Colleges but the title reflects strong teaching ability and a relevant basis of scholarly work or professional expertise and achievement. Generally, a Senior Lecturer meets the requirements for appointment as a Lecturer, and has demonstrated excellence in teaching for at least five years; a Senior Lecturer/Master Level demonstrates the same after five years of teaching at the Senior level (thus at least ten years total of continued teaching at BU).
The Department of Philosophy conforms to general CAS policies and timelines for lecturer promotion; the criteria below are specific to promotion within the Department of Philosophy. If the Department decides against promotion, the candidate may appeal the decision to the CAS Dean. (https://www.bu.edu/cas/faculty-staff/faculty-staff-handbook/faculty-personnel- matters/cas-lecturer-promotion-process/)
Promotion to Senior Lecture
Lecturers who will have completed five years of full-time service at Boston University by August 31 of their review year are eligible to apply for promotion to Senior Lecturer. Decisions about recommending Lecturers for Senior Lecturer status to the CAS review committee will be made by a vote of the full tenured/tenure-track faculty in the Department and any existing Senior Lecturers in the Department, based on the recommendation of a departmental review committee. While the following should not be construed as a check-list, relevant considerations for promotion to Senior Lecturer involve the following:
1. Excellence in teaching
2. Service and leadership within the Department/University
3. General scholarship, service to and leadership in the profession
1. Excellence in teaching is the primary consideration in the Department’s review of a Lecturer for promotion. The Department will review excellence in teaching in a holistic way, including attention to a Lecturer’s preparation for class, clarity in communication skills, effective course coordination and TF management, curriculum development, and sustained efforts toward improving pedagogy over the course of their teaching career at BU.
Review will include:
- Syllabi of courses taught and other teaching materials provided by the candidate;
- Information on the number of students taught, range of courses offered, and oversight of
TFs in these courses;
- Student evaluations;
- Letters from individual students;
- Observations by tenured faculty members in the department (candidates will be visited by
tenured faculty on a regular basis each semester, with ordinarily at least eight reports on
file by the time of promotion review);
- A statement of teaching philosophy prepared by the candidate.
In assessing Lecturers for promotion, the Department will consider not just the record of a candidate’s past teaching accomplishments but also their potential to make significant contributions through teaching and other important departmental activities in the future.
2. Service and Leadership within the Department/University
A record of service to the department, college and university beyond teaching (such as evidence of Department and University-level committee work, student advising, and work with students beyond the classroom) will count favorably toward promotion; however, an absence of significant service will not count against the Candidate in being considered for promotion to Senior Lecturer.3. General scholarship, service to and leadership in the profession
While the primary task of Lecturers is teaching, the Department recognizes the important connection between teaching and research. The application for promotion requires minimally a cv, research statement, and dossier of recent publications, but a candidate is welcome to submit wider research materials as part of the review if relevant. High-quality research will count favorably toward promotion; however, an absence of such research will not count against the Candidate. Likewise, evidence of wider service to and leadership within the profession (including, but not limited to, successful applications for grants and fellowships, participation in and organization of conferences and workshops, service on national or international committees or funding agencies, etc.) will be considered relevant for purposes of the review.Promotion to Senior Lecturer/Master Level
Senior Lecturers who will have completed five years of full-time service at Boston University at the rank of Senior Lecturer by August 31 of their review year (i.e., at least ten full years total of teaching at BU) are eligible to apply for promotion to Senior Lecturer/Master Level. Decisions about recommending Senior Lecturers for Senior Lecturer/Master Level status to the CAS review committee will be made by a vote of the full tenured/tenure-track faculty in the Department and any existing Senior Lecturers at the Master Level in the Department, and based on the recommendation of a departmental review committee.
Expectations for promotion to Senior Lecturer/Master Level are for an appropriately higher level of teaching and service to the Department and University; while there is again no specific checklist, materials related to the three areas mentioned above for the Senior Lecturer level of review will all be relevant at this higher level of review.