Reference/External Review Letters are an essential component of the tenure review upon hire. The purpose of reference/external review letters is to provide an evaluation of the candidate’s scholarly reputation and achievements in the discipline. See below information on minimum required letters:
- If the candidate is a full professor at a peer or aspirant peer institution, or has prestigious recognitions (e.g., National Academy member, Wolf Prize), the letters can consist of a minimum of three reference letters. These need not be arm’s-length, can be from a list generated by the candidate, and can be reference letters submitted as part of an application. Units can request more letters than this minimum or can request additional arm’s length letters.
- If the candidate is tenured at a peer or aspirant peer institution (associate professor), the letters can consist of a minimum of three reference letters. These need not be arm’s length, can be from a list generated by the candidate, and can be reference letters submitted as part of an application. The letters MUST address the tenure related questions included in the standard external reviewer letter. If this information is not included in the letters, units can use the TRUH Reference Letter Supplemental Information Request” form to gather this required evaluation. Units can request more letters than this minimum or can request additional arm’s length letters.
- If the candidate is not tenured at a peer or aspirant peer institution, the dossier must include a minimum of 5 arms-length external evaluation letters that represent a balance of reviewers generated from the candidate and the department. The requests should use the TRUH Standard External Reviewer Letter Template when sending out external evaluation letter requests