Assistant to Associate Professor Promotion – Faculty Perspective – Dr. Hoff

​My experience in the promotional process from assistant professor to associate professor in the diagnostic physics section was multi-faceted.   On the one hand it was extremely time-consuming to collect and put together the teaching portfolio and associated paperwork, all while following various old and new promotions guides.   On the other hand, it was enjoyable to work with colleagues and resources to put the package together, giving me perspective on my achievements as a faculty member at UW.

Some things went well: the unique position of clinical PhD faculty in my section was reflected on in my summary statement, and the promotions committees fortunately seemed to take this into account is my assessment.  I also had many helpful and encouraging resources during the process, including Kalpana Kanal, Jerry Jarvik, Paul Kinahan, and administration personnel (especially Nathan Bell), who each provided support both emotionally and in package preparation that enabled the application to go through with minimal obstacles.  The things that didn’t go well: there was a plethora of “promotion guides” from the UW, School of Medicine, and Radiology that obfuscated the process due to their relative inconsistencies, and required several weeks of work to comprehend and compile.  The final document then had to be revised several times due to confusion on the expected format.  Finally, it would be useful if there was more emphasis during faculty progress on obtaining lecture feedback.  Some departments and lectures had great feedback systems, others not so much.  Standardized feedback acquisition throughout the UW would simplify this process immensely.

Cheers

Mike