This document serves as a supplement to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Faculty Standards of Competence and Performance to provide additional expectations appropriate to the department’s discipline. It serves to clarify how the collegiate standards can be applied and evaluated within the department.

Department values statement

The Department of American Studies values interdisciplinary teaching and research that address the complexity of U.S. culture and society in both national and global contexts. We encourage teaching, scholarship, disciplinary work, and service that engage diverse communities and make a substantive impact beyond the university. As an interdisciplinary unit, we recognize and celebrate many forms of scholarship, including monographs, books, articles, public-facing writing and work, art, exhibitions, and other creative projects. We are committed to fostering an inclusive, collaborative environment for both faculty and students.

Basic expectations for all faculty

All tracks and ranks

Teaching

  • No additions or clarifications to the CLAS standards

Service

  • The Department of American Studies places a high value on engagement and therefore recognizes faculty involvement with constituency groups, such as professional associations, student organizations, or community partners, as service.

Tenure-track faculty expectations

All tenure-track ranks

Research

  • As an interdisciplinary unit, American Studies recognizes that scholarship may take a wide variety of forms. Traditionally, the department has preferred faculty work on large-scale, book-length projects. However, we also acknowledge that some faculty will maintain article-based portfolios depending on their disciplinary background, and that peer-reviewed articles often supplement the contributions made in book-length work. Other examples of scholarly work valued by the department include book chapters, book reviews, encyclopedia entries, edited volumes and special journal issues.
  • The department recognizes that co-authored work is common in some subfields and not others. The department will rely on the classifications used by CLAS to determine authorship. These are single author, major author, co-author, and minor author. Faculty members are responsible for annotating their own co-authored publications.
  • Faculty are expected to be working towards publication in reputable outlets.
    • A reputable scholarly journal is characterized by a commitment to rigorous peer review, high-quality production standards, and transparent editorial policies. Other characteristics include an active editorial board, inclusion in reputable indexing databases (e.g., Web of Science), and a history of publishing quality research relevant to the faculty member’s field.
    • A reputable book publisher is characterized by rigorous review standards, high-quality production standards, transparent editorial policies, and a history of publishing quality research relevant to the faculty member’s field.
  • Faculty may also be recognized for forms of public engagement that create knowledge about, for, and with diverse publics and communities. Publicly engaged creative scholarship often takes the shape of complex, collaborative projects involving both campus and community partners. These projects may lead to outcomes such as peer-reviewed journal articles, public performances, exhibitions, screenings, readings, community-based dialogues, or innovative teaching practices. They may also produce broader impacts, including policy recommendations.
  • On an annual basis, we expect faculty to demonstrate some marker of research progress. Examples include, but are not limited to:
    • Drafting a book chapter or journal article
    • Completing any of the activities indicating progress toward book publication in the CLAS Checklist document
    • Submitting a journal article or chapter for an edited volume
    • Presenting at a scholarly conference
    • Submitting a journal article or grant proposal
    • Acceptance of a journal article or grant proposal
    • Engaging in juried creative work
  • The department recognizes a variety of markers of increasing reputation. The following activities may serve as evidence for the development and maintenance of a national or international reputation:
    • Invitations to give talks or keynotes (e.g., at other institutions, local/state/national/international organizations, or conferences)
    • Disciplinary or other awards
    • Editing reputable journals or special issues of journals
    • Organizing conferences, workshops, or symposia
    • Serving as a panel respondent

Service

  • The following activities may be used as evidence of basic, annual professional service activities:
    • Editor of a book series for an academic press
    • Editor of an academic journal
    • Contributing editor to an academic journal
    • Serve as officer to a professional organization
    • Public engagement activities such as curator of a museum exhibit or organizer of public panels
    • Reviewer for an academic journal or an academic press
    • Reviewer for grant proposals

Assistant professor

No additional unique expectations beyond the basic expectations for all faculty and those for all tenure-track faculty ranks.

Associate professor

Teaching

  • Vary teaching portfolio strategically to meet departmental needs and reduce burdens on early-career faculty.

Research

  • No additions or clarifications to the CLAS standards

Service

  • The department generally expects associate professors to expand their service to include collegiate and university service in addition to departmental and professional service. However, it is not expected that associate professors engage in collegiate and university service each year. The following activities may be evidence of appropriate annual collegiate/university service for associate professors:
    • Any of the collegiate elected or appointed governing bodies (UEPCC, CCG, etc.)
    • Any of the university elected or appointed governing bodies (Faculty Senate, etc.)
    • Any collegiate or university review committee
    • Advisory board member for the Obermann Center/CSSI, etc.

Full professor

Teaching

  • No additions or clarifications to the CLAS standards

Research

  • No additions or clarifications to the CLAS standards

Service

  • The department generally expects professors to expand their service to include collegiate and university service in addition to departmental and professional service. However, it is not expected that professors engage in collegiate and university service each year. The following activities may be evidence of appropriate annual collegiate/university service for associate professors: 
    • Any of the collegiate elected or appointed governing bodies (UEPCC, CCG, etc.)
    • Any of the university elected or appointed governing bodies (Faculty Senate, etc.) 
    • Any collegiate or university review committee
    • Advisory board member for the Obermann Center/CSSI, etc.

Instructional-track faculty expectations

Assistant professor of instruction/practice

No additional unique expectations beyond the basic expectations for all faculty.

Associate professor of instruction/practice

Teaching

  • Vary teaching portfolio strategically to meet departmental needs and reduce burdens on early-career faculty.
  • Participate in professional development activities related to teaching and pedagogy.

Service

  • Engage in undergraduate student support activities.

Full professor of instruction/practice

Teaching

  • Participate in professional development activities related to teaching and pedagogy.
  • Contribute to discussions on effective teaching practices in the department, college, university, or broader professional community.

Service

  • Engage in undergraduate student recruitment and support activities.