Faculty Promotion Research Articles

Gender gap in faculty promotion.

We examine the gender gap in faculty promotion at the University of Geneva. After building a new measure of research quality that has no gender bias (i.e. men and women have, on average, the same level of research quality after we control for disciplines), we find that conditional on research quality, discipline and place where the PhD was obtained, women are 11 percent less likely to get promoted. The gender gap is almost three times larger for promotion from assistant to associate professor, suggesting that the mechanism at play is stronger for junior faculty. The gender gap is explained by the fact that an equal increase in research quality leads to a smaller increase in women's probability of promotion.

Impact of a New Departmental Awards Program on Faculty Engagement and Promotion

Abstract Background Many academic institutions recognize contributions to individual departments by awarding faculty departmental awards for their achievement in service, teaching and scholarship. Before 2019, our department had teaching awards chosen by residents, but there were no awards given to the faculty by peers for academic accomplishments. The objective of this abstract is to present the impact of the newly implemented departmental awards on the promotion and academic advancement of our faculty. Design Based on the already established awards in other departments within the School of Medicine a committee of six faculty members proposed six annual awards: Educator Impact, Outstanding Service, Outstanding Citizenship, Mentoring, and Basic and Clinical Science Publications. The committee defined activities and eligibility for each award category (for example, faculty could not receive the same award within 3 years). The categories and eligibility criteria are distributed to all faculty (around 120) each year. The first call for nominations occurred in 2019. Assessment of the awards program included the number of nominators and nominees each year and the impact on recipients’ academic advancement and recognition. Results In 2019, 17 faculty nominated 16 other faculty for the six awards. These numbers grew steadily, and by 2023, 42 faculty nominated 28 other faculty for the awards. The awards have been included in the curriculum vitae of five faculty who have been promoted to either the Associate Professor or Professor level and six faculty inducted into our institution’s Clinical Distinctions program. During the five years this awards program has existed, two faculty received two awards in different categories, whereas the remaining 26 awardees each received one award. Anecdotes from faculty during this time have been overwhelmingly positive. Conclusion Based on the increased engagement of faculty nominating their peers and the overall impact of the awards on faculty promotion and clinical distinction recognition, the new departmental awards program has been very successful.

Scholarly impact of student authorship in urology research

BackgroundH-index is an indicator of research productivity considered in faculty promotion. We examine trends in female authorship and effect of student authorship on H-index of principal investigators (PI). MethodsAuthor gender, degree, designation as student, PI, or other, were recorded from Journal of Endourology from 2011 to 2020. PI Scopus H-index was recorded. PIs were classified into having student authors (SA) or not (nSA). Analysis conducted with IBM SPSS. ResultsOf 819 total articles, 26 ​% had SA. Articles with SAs increased from 22.2 ​% in 2011 to 31.1 ​% in 2020 (p for trend<0.01). There was an increasing trend in female authorship overall (R2 ​= ​0.84). PIs with SA had a significantly higher mean H-index than those without, across all years (SA ​= ​30.91, nSA ​= ​27.45, p ​= ​0.025). ConclusionsStudent authorship is increasing and positively benefits PI H-index. Female authorship is increasing overall within urology. Encouraging mentorship and student research can enhance and support female student interest in urology.

Promotion and Tenure Database Creation and Utilization: A 12-Year History.

Trends in faculty demographic composition, promotion success, and retention are important considerations in Academic Health Centers (AHC). This paper reviews the design, implementation, and utility of a faculty promotion and tenure (P&T) database (PROMO/TE©) over 12years in a large southwestern academic health center. Review of the system design, portfolio creation, P&T tracking, interface with other faculty databases, and lessons learned will be offered. PROMO/TE© was developed to improve the P&T packet creation, application, and review process in one College and was expanded to other colleges at the AHC. The PROMO/TE© system is integrated with Workday® and FACFACTS© to track trends in recruitment, attrition, and P&T trends across gender, underrepresented minorities, and other subgroups. PROMO/TE© has several advantages including improving communication, transparency, uniformity, and efficiency in the P&T packet creation, application, and review process. Increased cost savings ($217,198 annually) were noted with elimination of hard copy packets and decreased time spent. The first college reviewed 743 dossiers in the PROMO/TE© system since its creation in 2012 and there has been on average a 10% increase in P&T approvals since its inception. PROMO/TE© facilitates and tracks trends in the P&T process and has many benefits as well as significant cost savings. PROMO/TE© serves as a potential model for other institutions.

The impact of gender and underrepresented minority demographics on nationwide academic radiation oncology faculty promotion.

162 Background: The US is a diverse country with 13.6% of the population identifying as African-American, 19.1% as Hispanic or Latino, and 50.4% female according to the most recent US Census. Per demographic data from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) (the largest US organization of radiation oncologists), 28% of radiation oncologist members identify as female, 4% as African-American race, and 4% as Hispanic/Latino ethnicity; additional data has indicated the rate of URM radiation oncologists in US comprehensive cancer cents to be 5%. This data objectively indicates that females and URMs are underrepresented in the field of radiation oncology compared with the gender and racial/ethnic diversity of the US population. There is minimal data regarding promotion rates in academic radiation oncology, with virtually no data focusing on promotion rates among females and URMs. The primary objective of this study was to assess the relationships between gender and URM status in academic promotion of radiation oncology faculty. Methods: A database consisting of radiation oncologists from 51 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers from 2019 was accessed in September 2023 to assess academic promotion in a four-year timespan. Data regarding the gender, graduation year, institution, URM identification, and professional rank of radiation oncologists ranked as junior faculty was collected. URM was defined as African-American race and/or Hispanic ethnicity and was collected via self-described internet depictions, interviews, and facial recognition as previously described (PMID 30996695). Junior faculty status was defined as instructor/assistant professor. An online search was then conducted to identify the 2023 academic rank of previously identified faculty, focusing on promotion status from junior to senior faculty or from associate professor to full professor. Regression analysis was performed using a generalized linear mixed model to assess the impact of gender and URM status on promotion, with statistical significance defined as p &lt; 0.05. Results: In an analysis of 554 radiation oncologists comprised of 203 women (36.7%) and 21 URMs (3.8%), 338 (61%) received promotions. Analysis revealed that neither female gender (odds ratio 1.02, 95% confidence interval, 0.68 – 1.52; p -value 0.94) nor URM status (odds ratio 0.57, 95% confidence interval 0.19 – 1.71; p -value 0.32) was significantly associated with promotion. Conclusions: These findings indicate that radiation oncologist gender and URM status may not be associated with academic promotion. However, given the small URM sample size and odds ratio of 0.57, it is possible that this study may be underpowered to adequately assess URM status on promotion. Further studies involving longer time intervals will provide much needed additional data regarding academic promotion.

‘My research agenda may never recover’: pandemic work-life demands and obstacles to career advancement for faculty mothers

ABSTRACT Historically, university systems have maintained gender inequities that facilitate promotion and advancement for Caucasian men, while creating barriers to career advancement for women and marginalised groups. Significant obstacles have existed for faculty mothers who have attempted to fulfill responsibilities as both mother and worker, particularly amid the COVID-19 global pandemic. The purpose of this study is to explore how, during the health crisis, faculty mothers perceived their experiences to impact their research productivity. Based on demographic and open-ended questionnaire data from 134 study participants in the United States, the findings suggest that as supportive duties demanded participants’ prompt attention, research was pushed to the side, resulting in perceived threats to faculty mothers’ careers. Given the value many institutions place on publications in the hiring, tenure, and promotion process, decreased or stalled publications could result in career repercussions. Specifically, participants viewed losses in research productivity as hindering job mobility for adjuncts and instructors; creating barriers to tenure and promotion for tenure-track faculty; and stalling career advancement for tenured faculty.

Calculator for predicting the probability of faculty promotion in an academic medical centre

ObjectiveThe academic medical centre (AMC), with over 2200 faculty members, annually manages approximately 300 appointments and promotions. Considering these large numbers, we explored whether machine learning could predict the probability...

Implementing a multidimensional faculty promotion matrix at Saint George University of Beirut Faculty of Medicine

This paper outlines the development and implementation of a multidimensional faculty promotion matrix at Saint George University of Beirut Faculty of Medicine (SGUB FM). The matrix, designed to provide a comprehensive and equitable evaluation of faculty across multiple dimensions, is anchored in six pillars: Research, Clinical Practice, Teaching Effort, Administrative Effort, Community Work, and Extra Degrees and Awards. These pillars encompass diverse components, including publication output, clinical activities, teaching responsibilities, administrative roles, community engagement, and additional qualifications, with each metric normalized using z-scores for fair comparison. This matrix analyzed the CVs and relevant documents of 112 faculty members, demonstrating its efficacy in providing equitable evaluation regardless of gender or rank. The results showed no significant differences in promotion rates among various faculty ranks, highlighting the matrix’s fairness and impartiality. The study also explores the relationship between faculty ranks and various performance metrics, revealing patterns in research productivity, clinical practice, and community engagement that escalate with higher academic ranks. SGUB FM's approach aligns its curricular designs and instructional implementations with international benchmarks, particularly those set by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), ensuring global standard compliance while catering to the institution's unique context. The matrix serves not only as an evaluation tool but also as a catalyst for faculty excellence and professional development. This case study offers valuable insights for medical institutions developing inclusive promotion criteria and emphasizes the importance of holistic evaluation frameworks in fostering academic excellence and professional growth.

INTERACTIVE EDUCATION ON SUSTAINABLE USE OF ELECTRICAL DEVICES

Education in GREEN electrical energy and production usage is essential for young people. Every consumer can do a lot if they use electrical devices wisely. This paper will present the design, intention and use of a didactical learning exhibit for middle and high school students during technical days on faculty and faculty promotions and for educational purposes. Our main goal is to introduce students to how some everyday electrical devices work, how much energy they use and how they can save as users. The most significant emphasis will be electromagnetic devices such as elevators and devices we use daily. We will use a professional approach and design for that purpose, but we will focus on presenting it on an interactive touchscreen and small examples of those devices. The content will be in graded expertise levels, from simple picture and animation calculations to the advanced picture and mathematical model presentations. The exhibit will be designed modularly so that content or presentation can change quickly and be made from recycled or sustainable materials as much as possible. KEYWORDS:Sustainable; Educational; Electricity; Electromagnetic devices; Interactive; Elevator; Exhibit

The Impact of Faculty Gender on Resident Evaluations of Faculty Performance in Emergency Medicine.

Gender bias impacts the promotion and tenure of female emergency medicine (EM) physicians and limits their ability to advance in academic rank.Many factors influence the promotion and tenure process including research, evaluations, opportunities for leadership, sponsorship, and mentorship. The goal of this study is to determine if resident evaluations of EM faculty differ by faculty gender. A quantitative analysis was used to examine 14,613 teaching evaluations of faculty by residents at a single academic center (The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus) in the years 2017-2019.Anonymized ratings of male and female faculty on a five-point Likert scale were compared using Fischer's exact test and adjusting for multiple comparisons. Male faculty were more likely to hold the rank of Associate Professor or Professor. When taking both faculty gender and rank into account, male Clinical Instructors and Assistant Professors had significantly higher evaluation scores by residents in the domain of resident autonomy than their female counterparts. Regardless of gender or faculty rank, the majority of faculty received scores greater than four. A significant gender difference was found in resident evaluation scores of faculty in the domain ofresident autonomyat the level of Clinical Instructor and Assistant Professor.Resident autonomy refers to the degree of supervision by faculty which evolves over time and is primarily based on level of training.This is important as it demonstrates a gender difference in scores that could be used to determine faculty compensation and promotion. Evaluation tools used for promotion and tenure of academic faculty should be evaluated for implicit bias and appropriate statistical analysis.

Pearls and pitfalls in letters of recommendation for neurology residency applications

Letters of recommendation are a cornerstone of residency applications. Variability and bias in letters exists across specialties, neurology being no exception. Studies done in other specialty fields assessing nuanced language uncovered key attention points for improvement and mitigation of bias, lessons from which should be applied in the field of neurology. We review common pearls and pitfalls in the letter solicitation, writing and reading process, with suggested best-practices for residency applicants, letter writers, and program faculty reviewers. We advocate for the thoughtful selection of writers, emphasis on highlighting professional skills, and attention to implicit bias. This discussion focuses on recommendations for US advanced or categorical neurology programs, but elements of this guidance may apply more broadly to fellowship and faculty promotion letters as well.

Traveling the road toward academic promotion for faculty with a DNP degree

There is a widely recognized need for nursing faculty in the United States. To prepare a practice-ready workforce, schools of nursing are hiring faculty with Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) preparation to ensure clinical expertise is embedded into curriculum by practice experts. However, nurses transitioning from clinical nursing to faculty positions require tailored support and guidance in navigating the academic environment. Preparation for academic promotion is essential to integration into an academic setting. Support in navigating the new environment is essential for building confidence, to lay a foundation for a successful transition, and ultimately retaining these qualified educators. This article provides strategies to support nursing faculty planning to embark on an academic career track and provides guidance on how to prepare these DNP-prepared faculty for career progression and future promotion along academic ranks. These strategies include school and institutional orientation, faculty development plans, mentorship, leadership development, and performance review processes.

An international panel perspective: Exploring nursing scholarship in academia

BackgroundBoyer's framework of scholarship, the basis of many academic models for faculty promotion, is comprised of the components of discovery, teaching, integration, application, and engagement. Yet, the scholarship component of application (containing goal-based clinical practice) is undervalued by many academic models. PurposeThis study explores the nursing activities currently qualifying as scholarship in several international academic models. MethodsUsing the Delphi approach, an international nine-member panel from seven countries participated in a six-question, structured brainstorming session to explore the nursing activities qualifying as scholarship by academic models. Follow-up sessions were attended by six panel members. ResultsPanel members reported that the nursing activities, which most often were recognized as scholarship, fit the scholarship components of discovery, teaching and integration but few fit the components of application or engagement. Although this project originally focused on clinical practice, far more recommendations for an academic model targeted the scholarship component of engagement. ConclusionAcademic models' lack of appreciation for the scholarship components of application (goal-based clinical practice) and engagement (partnering with community groups) discourages faculty from participating in these activities. Yet, these nursing activities demonstrate scholarship and are essential for the continued development of the nursing profession and discipline.

Invited African-American Radiation Oncology Grand Rounds Speakers: DEI or Die?

Invitations for grand rounds are typically used to evaluate faculty promotion in Radiation Oncology. To shed light on potential barriers to career progression, we conducted a study examining the racial and gender demographics of invited speakers and the inclusion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-related talks among African-American radiation oncology speakers. Radiation oncology programs in the US were contacted to obtain a list of speakers invited to their institution along with their topics presented between January 2021 and December 2022. Speakers were categorized demographically by race and gender; speaker demographics were determined by facial recognition and internet investigation. Non-faculty were eliminated from analysis. Talk topics were categorized as either DEI or non-DEI from the speaker's talk title. The Fisher's exact test was used for statistical analysis, with significance set at p < 0.05. A total of 252 invited speakers and their associated talk topics were obtained from 51 radiation oncology programs. Of these speakers, 98 were female (38.9%) and 16 were African-American race (6.3%). The invited talk topic was DEI-related in 7% of total cases. Among speakers not of African-American race, this was 4.2% (10/236); among African-American speakers, it was 50% (8/16). This difference reached statistical significance (p < 0.0001). A significant proportion of invited African-American radiation oncology grand rounds/visiting professor talks are focused on the topic of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), compared with less than 5% of non-African-American invited speakers. Targeted efforts to expand African-American representation in non-DEI topics are needed to ensure and expand diversity in Radiation Oncology.

Cross sectional study of Twitter (X) use among academic anesthesiology departments in the United States.

Twitter (recently renamed X) is used by academic anesthesiology departments as a social media platform for various purposes. We hypothesized that Twitter (X) use would be prevalent among academic anesthesiology departments and that the number of tweets would vary by region, physician faculty size, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding rank. We performed a descriptive study of Twitter (X) use by academic anesthesiology departments (i.e. those with a residency program) in 2022. Original tweets were collected using a Twitter (X) analytics tool. Summary statistics were reported for tweet number and content. The median number of tweets was compared after stratifying by region, physician faculty size, and NIH funding rank. Among 166 academic anesthesiology departments, there were 73 (44.0%) that had a Twitter (X) account in 2022. There were 3,578 original tweets during the study period and the median number of tweets per department was 21 (25th-75th = 0, 75) with most tweets (55.8%) announcing general departmental news and a smaller number highlighting social events (12.5%), research (11.1%), recruiting (7.1%), DEI activities (5.2%), and trainee experiences (4.1%). There was no significant difference in the median number of tweets by region (P = 0.81). The median number of tweets differed significantly by physician faculty size (P<0.001) with larger departments tweeting more and also by NIH funding rank (P = 0.005) with highly funded departments tweeting more. In 2022, we found that less than half of academic anesthesiology departments had a Twitter (X) account, and the median number of annual tweets per account was relatively low. Overall, Twitter (X) use was less common than anticipated among academic anesthesiology departments and most tweets focused on promotion of departmental activities or individual faculty. There may be opportunities for more widespread and effective use of Twitter (X) by academic anesthesiology departments including education about anesthesiology as a specialty.

Towards the National Higher Education Database in Indonesia: Challenges to Data Governance Implementation from The Perspective of a Public University

Higher education institutions in Indonesia are required to report their academic data to the national higher institution database (namely PDDikti) through a synchronization mechanism. Because the PDDikti database has been used as the reference for nationwide programs such as university ranking, diploma verification, faculty promotion, and tenure, academic data in their reports have to be valid, accurate, and up to date. Yet, data quality is an issue among higher institutions, while data governance is the heart of data quality. This paper investigates challenges encountered by a public university in Indonesia in implementing data governance and how to resolve them. The findings outline six main challenges in data governance implementation.

"Becoming a Person Who Does Self-Care": How Health Care Trainees Naturalistically Develop Successful Self-Care Practices.

Self-care is an ethical imperative for health professionals as it can mitigate the adverse effects of stress on professional functioning and health. Yet, there tends to be a lack of self-care among healthcare trainees and an insufficient focus on self-care in medical education. The objective of this study was to develop a grounded theory of how health trainees become successful self-care users. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 students in a variety of healthcare disciplines. Data were analyzed using grounded theory methodology. Health trainees underwent 4 iterative phases to become successful at self-care: Having a Wake-Up Call, Building Skills, Gaining Confidence, and Building an Identity. Our model also explained why some trainees were unsuccessful at developing self-care practices. We offer the first theory to explain how health trainees develop effective self-care habits. Understanding how self-care practices naturalistically develop has critical implications for developing interventions and curricula: By basing curricula about self-care on knowledge of what works, we have an opportunity to be more successful as educators. Indeed, other researchers have noted a lack of success in self-care and anti-burnout interventions for healthcare professionals. We conclude by discussing implications and recommendations for medical training and curriculum for health professions, including augmenting naturally occurring processes, linking self-care to personalized values, providing opportunities for deliberate practice, focusing on persistence with self-care, and faculty promotion and acceptance of trainee self-care.

Publication requirement for faculty promotion in medical institutions in India: 'Mind the gap'.

Background . We assessed the balance between the number of publications required by medical teachers and the publication space available in the Indian medical journals. Methods . The Medical Council of India (MCI) website, its guidelines and documents were searched and we extracted data on the number of medical colleges, undergraduate and postgraduate seats and faculty requirement. The required number of assistant professors and associate professors was calculated. The publication requirements were estimated according to MCI's February 2020 guidelines. A publication which satisfied the above guidelines for promotion was counted as 'eligible publication'. Indian medical journals indexed in any of the MCI-permitted databases were identified, and the number of eligible articles in them in 2019 was counted. Results . India has a total of 79 798 MBBS seats, 33 025 postgraduate seats and 4231 superspecialty seats in MCI-certified medical institutions and to teach them 35 285 assistant professors and 23 116 associate professors are required. Assuming that each publication could serve a maximum of 3 teachers, we will need approximately 50 696 eligible publications in the next 7 years. A search of applicable databases, identified 162 unique Indian medical journals of which 79 were indexed in PubMed/PubMed Central. Among the remaining 63 were indexed in DOAJ, 14 in EMBASE, 3 in Scopus and 3 were indexed only in WOSSCIE. These journals cumulatively published a total of 8508 eligible publications in 2019. Conclusion . The publication space in Indian medical journals is limited, thus there is a need to have a national medical repository such as MedRxiv to prevent publication in predatory journals.

Brain versus bot: Distinguishing letters of recommendation authored by humans compared with artificial intelligence.

Letters of recommendation (LORs) are essential within academic medicine, affecting a number of important decisions regarding advancement, yet these letters take significant amounts of time and labor to prepare. The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT, are gaining popularity for a variety of academic writing tasks and offer an innovative solution to relieve the burden of letter writing. It is yet to be determined if ChatGPT could aid in crafting LORs, particularly in high-stakes contexts like faculty promotion. To determine the feasibility of this process and whether there is a significant difference between AI and human-authored letters, we conducted a study aimed at determining whether academic physicians can distinguish between the two. A quasi-experimental study was conducted using a single-blind design. Academic physicians with experience in reviewing LORs were presented with LORs for promotion to associate professor, written by either humans or AI. Participants reviewed LORs and identified the authorship. Statistical analysis was performed to determine accuracy in distinguishing between human and AI-authored LORs. Additionally, the perceived quality and persuasiveness of the LORs were compared based on suspected and actual authorship. A total of 32 participants completed letter review. The mean accuracy of distinguishing between human- versus AI-authored LORs was 59.4%. The reviewer's certainty and time spent deliberating did not significantly impact accuracy. LORs suspected to be human-authored were rated more favorably in terms of quality and persuasiveness. A difference in gender-biased language was observed in our letters: human-authored letters contained significantly more female-associated words, while the majority of AI-authored letters tended to use more male-associated words. Participants were unable to reliably differentiate between human- and AI-authored LORs for promotion. AI may be able to generate LORs and relieve the burden of letter writing for academicians. New strategies, policies, and guidelines are needed to balance the benefits of AI while preserving integrity and fairness in academic promotion decisions.

The Association of Research Quantitative Measures With Faculty Ranks of Australian and New Zealand Dental Schools.

The scholarly productivity of a faculty member can be measured through several indicators including annual appraisals, feedback, and the number of publications per year. The present study aims to assess the association of quantitative research measures and academic ranks in Australian and New Zealand dental schools. It was an analytical observational cross-sectional study. Full-time faculty members working in Australia and New Zealand's dental schools were discovered on official websites. Various bibliometric parameters including h-index, total number of citations, total number of publications, and maximum number of sources of a single publication were analyzed. Spearman rank correlation was used to determine the correlation between bibliometric variables and academic ranks (lecturer, assistant professor, professor). The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare bibliometric parameters among departments (Basic and Clinical) and gender (male and female). Through the present search strategy, 207 full-time faculty members were identified, of which 12 were from New Zealand, and 195 were from Australia. Among them, 130 (62.8%) were male and 70 (33.8%) were female faculty members. There was a positive correlation of all bibliometric parameters with academic ranks (p = 0.001). There was no statistical difference between the two countries for academic parameters (p > 0.05). Male faculty members showed significantly higher academic productivity than female members in Australian dental schools (p = 0.001). These bibliometric parameters and other educational parameters can be considered for determining faculty promotions. These bibliometric parameters appear to be suitable metrics for assessing research productivity, impact, and visibility.