The university-level faculty personnel committee (FPC) is an elected standing committee of the University of Oregon Senate. Membership on the FPC is restricted to tenured faculty at the rank of associate or full professor. Associate professors serving on the FPC are empowered to participate fully in the review of all cases for promotion, including those for promotion to full professor.

The FPC is responsible for the final, independent written report and vote in the promotion and/or tenure process for every candidate for promotion and/or tenure. Details about the FPC can be found on the University of Oregon Senate website.

Faculty Personnel Committee Report

The guidance provided for the school- or college-level personnel committee is fully relevant to the FPC. Specific guidance to members of the FPC includes:

• The FPC report should include some discussion of the candidate’s record of scholarship, teaching, and service, including the candidate’s discussion of contributions to equity and inclusion, but it is more akin to an “executive summary” than to a comprehensive overview.
• The provost will have access to the entire review file, so the FPC report should be a focused document that seeks to add new observations about the strengths and weaknesses of the case. The final section of the FPC report should capture the most significant points, questions, and concerns that emerged during the committee’s discussion.

Voting Summary

Following the discussion, each member of the FPC (unless recused or having a declared conflict of interest) casts a vote based on their individual evaluation of the strength of the case. The committee may determine the procedure by which votes are cast. These votes are recorded on a separate vote record sheet which does not become part of the permanent dossier. Only the final vote tally is included in the FPC report.

The vote tally will only be revealed to a candidate if they request access to that portion of the dossier allowed by the candidate’s waiver status. With rare exceptions, such requests come only from unsuccessful candidates for promotion and/or tenure. It is critical to avoid disclosing the details of the vote in order to protect the honesty and integrity of the review process.

Forwarding the Review File to the Office of the Provost

After the FPC concludes its discussion and completes its report and vote, the FPC chair provides the report and voting record to the Office of the Provost, which then finalizes the full review file and presents it to the provost for final analysis and decision.