[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-281322-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":81,"doc-detail-281322-en":126},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","writing-external-letters-for-promotion-and-tenure","Writing External Letters for Promotion and Tenure","","Tip sheet provides guidance for serving as an external reviewer for faculty promotion and tenure outside an institution. It explains how external evaluation letters should convey the candidate’s impact across research, teaching, and service, aligned with invitation instructions and promotion criteria. The document lists key questions for assessing excellence in each area and introduces a suggested outline with paragraph goals and sample language covering reviewer credentials, promotion pathway identification, criteria understanding, and evidence-based evaluation.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/","Template",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/letters/","Letters",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/writing-external-letters-for-promotion-and-tenure/281322/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/writing-external-letters-for-promotion-and-tenure/281322.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":42,"@type":43},"\tWilliam","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-21","2026-09-16",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",17,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What is the main purpose of an external evaluation letter in promotion and tenure?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"It helps the promotion and tenure process assess the candidate’s impact in research, teaching, and service at their institution, professional community, and field.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"Why is it important to read the invitation letter and promotion criteria before drafting?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Because institutions may have specific requirements, including whether the external reviewer should state whether the candidate meets local promotion criteria.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What should an external reviewer consider when evaluating excellence in research, teaching, and service?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"For research, focus on field impact, addressing key gaps, established widely used methods or datasets, state-of-the-art approaches, and open sharing. For teaching, assess involvement in mentoring beyond the institution and preparedness of trainees. For service, consider leadership impact and engagement in national committees and organizations.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},281322,1789565481,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,89,94,99,104,109,113,117,122],{"id":85,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":86,"show_sort_weight":87,"slug":88},11,"Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":90,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":91,"show_sort_weight":92,"slug":93},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":95,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":96,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":100,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":105,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":55,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":114,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":115,"slug":116},18,30,"letters",{"id":118,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":119,"show_sort_weight":120,"slug":121},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":123,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":125},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":127},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":128,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":129,"doc_module":22,"category_id":114,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":130,"file_id":131,"file_url":132,"file_type":133,"file_size":134,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":26,"language":135,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":136,"faqs":137,"seo_title":138,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":80,"read_time":22},5909887254083,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","Tip Sheet: Writing External Letters for Promotion and Tenure  \nYou have been asked to be an external reviewer for a faculty member undergoing promotion and tenure outside of IU, now what?  \nThe main purpose of external evaluation letters is for those involved in the promotion and tenure (P&T) process to learn about the impact of the candidate’s research, teaching, and service at their institution, professional community, and field.  \nBefore drafting your letter, read the invitation letter and promotion criteria carefully, as some institutions have specific instructions. For example, some will ask for you to say whether or not the candidate would meet the criteria for promotion at your institution, while others will specifically ask you not to do this.  \nWhen drafting your letter, consider the following for each of the areas of excellence:  \nResearch  \n• What impact has the research of the candidate had on the state of the field?  \n• Is the candidate’s research addressing significant gaps in knowledge and/or clinical needs?  \n• Has the candidate established reagents/methods/datasets/clinical cohorts that are widely used in your professional community?  \n• Is the candidate using research approaches that are state-of the-art for your field?  \n• Does the candidate openly share ideas and/or materials with others in the field?  \nTeaching  \n• Is the candidate involved in teaching and mentoring outside of their institution?  \n• Are the candidate’s trainees and students well-trained and prepared for the next step in their careers?  \n• Does the candidate share training or didactic materials with others outside of their institution?  \nService  \n• Is the candidate involved in national and international leadership? What is the impact of these efforts on your professional community?  \n• How engaged is the candidate in the national committees and organizations in which they are involved?  \nThe next page provides a suggested outline that can be used as a reference when writing P&T evaluation letters.  \nSuggested Outline for Writing External P&T Evaluation Letters  \nPARAGRAPH GOAL OF TEXT SAMPLE LETTER – RESEARCH AS AREA OF EXCELLENCE  \n\n| 1 | Introduce yourself, the reason for the letter, and your qualifications to write the letter | This letter is an assessment of Dr. John Smith’s work to date in rank as Assistant Professor of Medicine to assist with determination of promotion to Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at Medical School College of Medicine. My name is Gabriel Bosslet, and I am associate professor of clinical medicine, assistant dean for faculty affairs and professional development, and Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship program director at Indiana University. I have served as chair of the Training and Transitions Committee for CHEST, as the section editor for the Training, Education, and Career Hub (TEaCH) of the CHEST journal, assistant editor of the ATS Scholar journal, and as president of the Association of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Program Directors. |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| 2 | Identify the promotion | I am writing this letter of assessment of Dr. John Smith’s work to date in rank as |\n|  | pathway as stated in the request letter and identify | Assistant Professor of Medicine-Clinical to assist with determination of promotion to Associate Professor of Medicine-clinical in the clinician scholar |\n|  | that you are an arms-length | pathway. I have no relationship with Dr. Smith and have not met him before. We |\n|  | reviewer and how you know the individual. | have not collaborated on any publications or any committees. I am familiar with his work strictly through review of his dossier provided to me for this evaluation. |\n| 3 | Establish that you understand the institution’s promotion criteria. | Because all promotion and tenure guidelines differ, I like to start these letters off with guidelines for promotion as provided with the request. To be promoted to Associate Professor-Clinical in the clini","cbCaijoWHLgRrsr5","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaijoWHLgRrsr5","pdf",152037,"English","# Tip Sheet: Writing External Letters for Promotion and Tenure\n## Purpose of external evaluation letters\n## Before drafting: invitation and criteria\n## Areas of excellence\n### Research\n### Teaching\n### Service\n## Suggested outline for writing external P&T evaluation letters\n## Sample letter structure (paragraph goals)","[{\"question\":\"What is the main purpose of an external evaluation letter in promotion and tenure?\",\"answer\":\"It helps the promotion and tenure process assess the candidate’s impact in research, teaching, and service at their institution, professional community, and field.\"},{\"question\":\"Why is it important to read the invitation letter and promotion criteria before drafting?\",\"answer\":\"Because institutions may have specific requirements, including whether the external reviewer should state whether the candidate meets local promotion criteria.\"},{\"question\":\"What should an external reviewer consider when evaluating excellence in research, teaching, and service?\",\"answer\":\"For research, focus on field impact, addressing key gaps, established widely used methods or datasets, state-of-the-art approaches, and open sharing. For teaching, assess involvement in mentoring beyond the institution and preparedness of trainees. For service, consider leadership impact and engagement in national committees and organizations.\"}]","Writing External Letters for Promotion and Tenure | PDF"]