Tip Sheet: Writing External Letters for Promotion and Tenure
You have been asked to be an external reviewer for a faculty member undergoing promotion and tenure outside of
IU, now what?
The 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.
Before 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.
When drafting your letter, consider the following for each of the areas of excellence:
Research
• What impact has the research of the candidate had on the state of the field?
• Is the candidate’s research addressing significant gaps in knowledge and/or clinical needs?
• Has the candidate established reagents/methods/datasets/clinical cohorts that are widely used in
your professional community?
• Is the candidate using research approaches that are state-of the-art for your field?
• Does the candidate openly share ideas and/or materials with others in the field?
Teaching
• Is the candidate involved in teaching and mentoring outside of their institution?
• Are the candidate’s trainees and students well-trained and prepared for the next step in their
careers?
• Does the candidate share training or didactic materials with others outside of their institution?
Service
• Is the candidate involved in national and international leadership? What is the impact of these
efforts on your professional community?
• How engaged is the candidate in the national committees and organizations in which they are
involved?
The next page provides a suggested outline that can be used as a reference when writing P&T evaluation letters.
Suggested Outline for Writing External P&T Evaluation Letters
PARAGRAPH
GOAL OF TEXT
SAMPLE LETTER – RESEARCH AS AREA OF EXCELLENCE
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.
2
Identify the promotion
pathway as stated in the
request letter and identify
that you are an arms-length
reviewer and how you know
the individual.
I am writing this letter of assessment of Dr. John Smith’s work to date in rank as
Assistant Professor of Medicine- Clinical to assist with determination of
promotion to Associate Professor of Medicine- clinical in the clinician scholar
pathway. I have no relationship with Dr. Smith and have not met him before. We
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.
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 clinician scholar pathway, Dr. Smith must
demonstrate that he has developed a national level of impact and recognition.
4
Outline how the candidate
meets the guidelines for
promotion in the area of
excellence. Please note, this
example the area of
excellence is research. At the
end of this document, we
have outlined possible items
to address in each area of
excellence.
Dr. Smith’s area of academic interest is in ________, and he does translational
and clinical research in this area. He is a principal investigator or sub-investigator
on three randomized controlled trials in this area. This is impressive, given that
this is such a rare disease. His CV demonstrates multiple criteria that contribute
to a national impact as outlined by the provided guidelines for promotion and
tenure: he has multiple grants (including a Path-to-K award); He has 17
publications in rank, including 10 as first author. He has been an invited lecturer
to three international meetings. His scholarship accomplishments are very
impressive.
5
Paragraph regarding teaching
accomplishments to meet
criteria outlined in
requirements (if needed).
From a teaching perspective, Dr. Smith is highly rated by learners who work with
him. He has mentored multiple learners at all levels (fellows, residents, and
students). He has documented multiple peer evaluations of teaching that are
highly rated. He developed an online curriculum for __________.
6
Paragraph regarding service
accomplishments to meet
criteria outlined in
requirements (if needed).
From a service perspective, he has developed a multidisciplinary clinic, which is
rare and unique, and I wish we had one of those here. He is associate director of
clinical services for the division and has helped to spearhead the creation of
multiple clinical innovations.
7
Summary paragraph- be sure
to adhere to the specifics of
the letter regarding
mentioning whether or not
they would be promoted at
your institution (some want
this and some specifically do
not want this).
In the charge letter for this evaluation, I was asked specifically not to comment
on whether Dr. Smith would be promoted at my institution, and I will adhere to
these guidelines. But I can say that Dr. Smith is the mold of faculty member I
would bend over backwards to hire and retain.
