Historical Studies Program Guidelines for Tenure and Promotion

Note regarding COVID-19 pandemic temporary program standard changes: Faculty members going
through the personnel process at any stage starting in September 2020 will likely have been negatively
impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic resulted in:

• Cancelled conferences, research grants, residential fellowships, and other funds.
• Libraries, museums, and archives have been closed or open with limited hours and
access further inhibiting research.
• Delays in review and publication of scholarly and creative work.
• A quick change to remote teaching in Spring 2020, potentially resulting in
problems with teaching/learning, student perception due to circumstances not
under the control of the teacher.
• A change to different teaching modalities for Fall 2020, including most faculty
having to move to hybrid or online teaching due to limited availability of large
classroom spaces and family and health constraints.
• Significant caregiver challenges.

In response to such challenges, the American Historical Association joined with 40 other academic
associations in making “recommendations for temporary adjustments in faculty review and
reappointment procedures in response to the sudden transformation of the teaching and research
landscape.” Like the AHA, we support “calls for limiting the use of student evaluations in the review
process of faculty and for adjusting expectations for scholarly productivity during a time when access
to libraries, archives, and other scholarly resources is difficult if not impossible.”¹

Furthermore, we note that although some COVID-related challenges affected all faculty members,
there is evidence that they have affected women and faculty of color disproportionately.² Faculty
members of color are also more likely to have been impacted by the illnesses or deaths during the
pandemic, due to its disproportionate impact on communities of color. Faculty with caregiver
responsibilities have been especially impacted, particularly women with younger children who have
experienced childcare and remote schooling challenges.
In line with Stockton’s Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on the Evaluation of Faculty and
Librarians in the Time of Covid-19 (Sept. 3, 2020) and revised Faculty Evaluation Policy II-10.5
(July 19, 2023), Historical Studies proposes revised Program Standards through at least 2025 to
ameliorate the negative, and uneven, impacts of the pandemic.³

Preamble
The Historical Studies faculty support the evaluation standards of both the University and School of
Arts and Humanities and intends for this document to further elucidate the areas of teaching,
scholarship, and service from the perspective of the Program. Candidates for reappointment,
reappointment with tenure, and promotion must refer to standards at all levels—the University, the
School of Arts and Humanities, and the Historical Studies Program—in preparing their materials for
consideration. 

______________________________________________________
1 American Historical Association (AHA), “AHA Statement Regarding Historians and COVID- 19,” April 2020.
2 Brooke Person Gabster, et. al., “Challenges for the Female Academic During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Lancet,
395, 102420 (June, 2020), Fernanda Staniscuaski, et. al.,“Gender, Race, and Parenthood Impact Academic
Productivity during the COVID-19 Pandemic: From Survey to Action,” bioRxiv, August 2020; Ruomeng Cui, et.
al., “Gender Inequality in Research Productivity During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” June arXiv, July 2020. 3 SFT, “Evaluation of Faculty and Librarians in the Time of COVID-19,” Memorandum of Agreement, Sept. 3, 2020.

Teaching
6.1 The criteria for teaching appear in 6.1 of University Policy II-10.5.The Historical Studies Program
recognizes these criteria as outlined in 6.1.1 through 6.1.3.4

Scholarly and Creative Activity
6.2 The criteria for scholarly and creative activity appear in 6.2 of University Policy II-10.5. The
Historical Studies Program recognizes these criteria as outlined in 6.2.1 through 6.2.4.The
following Program standards also apply. 

University and Community Service
6.3 The criteria for University and Community Service appear in 6.3 of University Policy II10.5.The Historical Studies Program recognizes these criteria as outlined in 6.3.1 through
6.3.5.⁵
 The following Program standards also apply.
6.3.5 Documentation of the impact and effectiveness of service might include items such as letters
detailing individual contributions from selected committee chairs or persons in leadership
positions of organizations. 

Expectations for Rank and Tenure
10.0 The criteria for expectations for rank and tenure appear in 10.0 of University Policy II-10.5.The
Historical Studies Program recognizes these criteria as outlined in 10.1 through 10.7.3.⁶ This includes:
10.1 Teaching/Clinical/Other Specialists (Non-Tenure-Track Position III; 10.1.1 through 10.1.3);
10.2 Teaching/Clinical/Other Specialists (Non-Tenure-Track Position II and I; 10.2.1 through 10.2.3);
10.3 Teaching/Clinical/Other Specialists (Non-Tenure-Track Position I; 10.3.1 through 10.3.3); and
10.4 Tenure-eligible Instructors (10.4.1 through 10.4.1.2.3)

Tenure in the Historical Studies Program should be based on the expectations outlined in the
University and School Standards, which include but are not limited to:

10.6 Promotion to Associate Professor in History should be based on the expectations outlined in the
University Standards, which include but are not limited to:

• Demonstration of excellence or continued improvement toward excellence in teaching. The
Historical Studies Program further recognizes as a component of teaching the ability to lead,
promote, and/or participate in successful credit-bearing experiences in international education
and engagement, meaning the application of principles, theories, and ideas to the larger world
beyond the classroom and scholarly communities. Toward that end, candidates going up for
tenure or promotion who have led opportunities including, but not restricted to, education
abroad, study tours, performances, and workshops in the United States and globally, may
include their efforts as a component of their file.
• Involvement in Program, University-wide, or professional service activities, and; 

⁴ Stockton University Policy II-10.5:“Faculty Evaluation Policy,” July 19, 2023: 6-7. 
 ⁵“Faculty Evaluation Policy:” 10-11. 
 ⁶“Faculty Evaluation Policy:” 14-16.

• A record of active and ongoing scholarship. Appropriate accomplishments might include a
book contract with a recognized press in one’s field or the equivalent in scholarly activity,
such as scholarly articles accepted for publication in peer-review journals, scholarly
periodicals, or edited volumes, book reviews, and presentations at conferences. It might also
incorporate community engagement and public history projects including but not limited to
grant writing and the creation and production of multi-disciplinary and/or digital media
projects, such as plays, websites, exhibits, or games. Evidence of scholarly productivity is
cumulative and may include publications and projects completed prior to appointment at
Stockton.

10.7 Promotion to Professor in History should be based on the expectations outlined in the
University Standards, which include but are not limited to:

• Leadership in teaching innovation.
• Leadership in Program, University-wide, or professional service activities, and;
• A record of active and ongoing scholarship that indicates excellence in historical scholarship and
recognition at the regional, national, international, or scholarly level. This might include
publication of a book and/or a book in press with recognized publishers in one’s field or the
equivalent in scholarly activity, such as the publication of scholarly articles in peer-reviewed
journals, scholarly periodicals, or edited volumes, professional presentations, or book reviews. It
might also include community engagement and public history projects including but not limited to
grant writing, or the creation and production of multi-disciplinary and/or digital media projects,
such as plays, websites, exhibits, or games. Citations in scholarly journals or media also indicate
recognition of such work.
• Evidence of scholarly productivity is based on publications and projects completed since the last
faculty promotion or range adjustment at Stockton.

Further elaboration about Program expectations for both tenure and promotion to Associate Professor and for
promotion to Full Professor appear in the table below. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of
possibilities, but rather to provide some concrete roads toward tenure and promotion that give an
approximation of how many of each type of works might be expected for a faculty member going up for
tenure, associate professor, and full professor.