Every spring, Lee announces a group of professors who have received a promotion in rank. For most students, these ranks are indistinguishable, as they have little direct impact on their lives. However, for faculty, promotion from one rank to another affirms the job they have been doing for many years, provides opportunities for other types of advancement and includes a rather substantial raise in salary.

To help students understand, here is a bit of clarity:

The three major ranks of professors are Assistant, Associate and Full (also referred to simply as Professor) and are used at almost all universities nationwide. Moving from one rank to another, beginning with Assistant and ending with Full, is based on three criteria: teaching, scholarship and service. Teaching is fairly self-explanatory, as professors are judged by student evaluations and department chair observations. As Lee is a teaching institution, this category carries the most weight in promotion decisions.

Scholarship can take many forms, depending on the professor and discipline. The most frequent examples are publication and presentations at conferences. A professor of business, though, may illustrate her scholarship through consulting work she has done, while a professor in music might use performances to show his impact on the discipline. Overall, professors are expected to remain current in their fields so that they can then convey up-to-date techniques and knowledge to their students.

Service consists of two areas: service to the university and service to the community. Service to the university consists of departmental or university committee work that we are called upon to do, ranging from working on service learning to honor society sponsorships to advising. Service to the community is involvement in the community beyond Lee, whether that be through work in professors’ local churches or through any other type of community service.

Beginning professors start out at the Assistant Professor rank and can be promoted to Associate Professor after six years of experience in the field. Professors who are hired at Lee with years of experience from other institutions can come in at a higher rank or can be given credit for years at those other institutions. Thus, a new professor at Lee could be hired as an Associate or Full Professor, depending on his or her experience. If one is at the Associate Professor rank, promotion to Full Professor can come after 10 years of experience. Working the required number of years does not guarantee promotion, merely that a professor can apply for the promotion after that amount of time.

Earning a promotion validates the quality of work that a professor has done in his or her time at Lee. It is the institution’s way of rewarding those professors who are performing at high levels. They are important milestones in professors’ careers, and those who receive them should be duly proud.