Dear Ms. Peppercorn:
Again I solicit your advice! I need
to write a personal statement that explains who I am as a scholar – not for
tenure, but for promotion from associate to full professor. A brief look on the web yields consistent
advice for those seeking tenure: write for three audiences (your Dean, your
reviewers, and your school’s committee); don’t presume that anyone will read
all of it; tell a story, don’t just annotate your cv.
There is less advice about the
process from associate to full. Many law
schools actually do not have that step, but some do and certainly those in
history departments face the task. Those of us in this betwixt-and-between
position are still unsure: do we sit at the kids’ table or with the grownups at
Thanksgiving dinner?
Tenure statements are supposed to
demonstrate our dogged pursuit of one Great Idea (singularity of purpose). But
those on the other side of the tenure divide know that much of our work is the
result of fortuitous circumstances, random discoveries, and archival detours.
How can I write a statement that
reflects the role of evolution and discovery and chance, and also actually get
promoted?
Peregrina (quandary #2)
Dear Peregrina:
Ms. Peppercorn’s first repeat
player! An elite category that entitles
you to frequent query status and all its many rewards (TBD). Tenure
statements seem more fraught than personal
statements for promotion, to this observer.
After all, you already have a permanent job, which should not be
downplayed – security is nice! Sadly,
there is no tenure for advice columnists.
That said, it is clear that promotion
statements matter, and that this is not the sort of thing one can safely “mail
in.” The exercise is designed to suss out scholarly maturity, forcing you, the
candidate, to explain why your most recent work should result in a step up in
prominence and responsibility. Some schools
have even held workshops on how to put together such a file, but not all
scholars are so fortunate. Ms. Peppercorn also recognizes that for some
scholars – such as those who are inclined toward modesty, or who see themselves
as part of a collaborative community – the promotion statement may be daunting
indeed.
Ms. Peppercorn has called upon three
sage advisers: the first a department chair, the second a senior scholar in a
history department, and the third jointly appointed in law and history. All have been through this stage at different
universities (two private and one public), and have helped others who have applied
for promotion. They agree that
productivity and growth, NOT a single big idea, are the keys. They also endorse the sense that evolution in
approach and ideas reflects the best in a scholar’s trajectory.
Here are the three answers I received
to your question:
1. When I advise people on the personal statement,
I say to think of it as a dynamic intellectual biography that clarifies the
trajectory and stakes of one's work, in a way that might not be apparent simply
from reading the work. Important to discuss all teaching and professional
service too, especially areas of leadership.
2. The
key is to show intellectual growth (and publications!) since tenure. In
other words, someone who is progressing from associate to full professor should
demonstrate that his/her scholarship has expanded and evolved since the
first book, presumably the one that secured tenure. Evaluations
committees want to see continued publication (in history, a second monograph)
and a scholar who continues to develop and produce.
3. I
do think it's important to create a narrative, to situate one's work in broader
scholarships and to mark its significance, and to note where one is headed as
well as where one has been. I don't think this requires that one have a
Hurst-like scholarly life-plan. I don't, frankly, think that makes for
the most interesting scholarship. For most a combination of life events,
place and nature of academic appointments, developments in scholarship, and
discoveries along the way shape and reshape even the best laid plans.
So, dear Peregrina, rest easy: your sense that you have changed since tenure accords
with the experience of these senior scholars.
Not only that, all three see the promotion statement as an opportunity
to situate yourself and your fine work in ways that others can understand, and
that show how you have changed as your work (and your experience as a scholar) has
unfolded over time. This is all good
news!
Onward!! Ms Peppercorn has great confidence in
Peregrina’s instincts, which have led her to exactly the right question.
Ms Peppercorn is now ready to take
other queries under advisement. Repeat
players encouraged.
