AURAK Provost Hosts Promotional Teatime

The American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK) Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Success and Provost, Professor Stephen Wilhite, hosted “Tea with the Provost” to gain faculty feedback on faculty promotion procedures and policies.

AURAK faculty gathered at multiple round tables to address updates for the policies and procedures concerning AURAK’s promotional process. “I want to give you a chance to talk,” Professor Stephen told faculty as he laid the groundwork for the teatime. The target of the discussions was to establish policies and expectations that will remain consistent in faculty annual evaluations, contract renewals, and promotions. Professors identified positive features of the proposed changes, problematic areas, and described in detail any additional changes they would like to see made to the policy. Professor Wilhite and other administrators circulated through the room talking with each table as they discussed proposed changes to the present promotional policy, such as the documentation of self-narratives concerning their teaching and service assignments, qualitative and quantitative expectations for research publications, and exceptions concerning professors not linked to academic schools.

The Faculty Promotion Policy Task Force has met six times since late last Spring semester renovating this policy, and Professor Stephen hopes that the new policies will be ready to take effect in either the Spring or Fall semester of 2020.

“Hard work should be rewarded consistently and fairly,” stated AURAK President, Professor Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim. “This policy will determine career advancement for professors while employed at our institution, so it is only natural that the faculty should be involved in the process of updating these policies and expectations and have input concerning the procedures by which their hard work will be evaluated in order for the system to be comprehensively fair for all parties.”