Tenure Review Guidelines
Columbia employs a standing committee system to conduct a final University-wide evaluation whenever a school or department, including Barnard College but excepting the Faculty of Law and Teachers College, recommends a candidate for tenure. This evaluation is the culmination of a process of review involving multiple considerations of the nomination within the department and school. The purpose of the final review is to confirm that the earlier reviews were rigorous and substantive and that all candidates meet the same high standards, regardless of the school or department originating the nomination. By examining both the process by which candidates are nominated and their qualifications, the standing committee seeks to ensure a University-wide consistency in the evaluation of nominations to tenure and thereby to promote the appointment of faculty of exceptional quality and distinction throughout the institution.
The standing committee–the Tenure Review Advisory Committee (TRAC)–serves in an advisory capacity to the provost who determines whether the candidate should be recommended to the president and trustees for tenure. The University’s standing committee system of tenure review is administered on behalf of the provost by the vice provost for faculty affairs.
TRAC members
Richard Baer
Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology (in the Institute for Cancer Genetics)
Keren Bergman
Charles Batchelor Professor of Electrical Engineering; Scientific Director, Center for
Integrated Science and Engineering
Angela Christiano
Richard and Mildred Rhodebeck Professor of Dermatology and Professor of Genetics and Development
Alexander Cooley
Claire Tow Professor of Political Science at Barnard College; Director, Harriman Institute
Carmela Franklin
Professor of Classics
Ali Gharavi
Jay Meltzer, M.D. Professor of Nephrology and Hypertension (in Medicine)
Robert Gooding-Williams
M. Moran Weston/Black Alumni Council Professor of African American Studies
Ann McDermott
Esther Breslow Professor of Biological Chemistry and Professor of Biological Sciences and Chemical Engineering
Serena Ng
Professor of Economics
Michael Schudson
Professor of Journalism
Michael Ting
Professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science
Gina Wingood
Sidney and Helaine Lerner Professor of Public Health Promotion
Supplementary Committee Members
Beth Berkowitz
Professor of Religion, Barnard College
The Principles and Customs Governing University-wide Tenure Reviews policy governs TRAC’s review of all tenure nominations with the exception of those originating in Barnard College (read the Barnard College Tenure Guidelines). The procedures followed in evaluating candidates from Barnard College differ in some respects, as provided for in the inter-institutional agreement between the College and the University. Therefore, the process by which Barnard nominations are reviewed is described in a separate document