HTML Preview Non Hscp Promotion Extramural page number 1.
Appointment and Promotion
Section UCD-220, Academic Senate Review and Advancement
Exhibit B, Language Required When Letters of Evaluation are
Solicited or Received
The Henry Task Force report on access to records alters the way in which we solicit letters of recommendation
and inform candidates of the contents of those letters. Extramural letters that are received after September 1,
1992, will be redacted to eliminate identifying information and given to the candidate in redacted form. As
indicated in the example below, redaction is defined as the removal of identifying information (including name,
title, institutional affiliation, and relationship to the candidate). Information contained either in the letterhead or
within and below the signature block of the letter will be redacted. The full text of the body of the letter will be
provided to the candidate if so requested. Writers should provide a brief factual statement regarding their
relationship to the candidate at the end of the letter, below the signature block. This brief statement will also be
redacted. Letters received prior to September 1, 1992, will be summarized for candidates.
[Remove, use or follow directions inside bracketed wording.]
E. Model format for letters soliciting extramural evaluations for promotion
Dr. _____ is being considered for promotion from _____ to _____ at the University of California, Davis.
Promotion to _____ in the University of California system requires demonstration of "superior intellectual
attainment" in both teaching and research [add rest of sentence for promotion to Full Professor:] and evaluation of
the candidate's professional activity and University and public service.
I am writing to you as an authority in the field to request your assistance in our review of this promotion. We would
appreciate your candid evaluation of Dr. _____'s scholarly contributions with particular reference to their originality
and significance [add rest of sentence for promotion to Full Professor:] and the extent to which they satisfy the
requirement for "superior intellectual attainment." We would also appreciate your comments on [his, her] standing
within [his, her] discipline and any other information you consider relevant. It would be particularly helpful to us if
you would compare [him, her] with others in [his, her] field who are at this stage in their careers. For your
convenience, I am enclosing copies of Dr. _____'s curriculum vitae and [his, her] [recent] publications.
Although the contents of your letter may be passed on to the candidate at prescribed stages of the review
process, your identity will be held in confidence. The material made available will lack the letterhead, the signature
block, and material below the latter. Therefore, we ask that you indicate your relationship to the candidate below
the signature block as well as any other information that you wish to include that might identify yourself. In any
legal proceeding or other situation in which the source of the confidential information is sought, the University
does its utmost to protect the identity of such sources.
We trust that you will provide your candid professional evaluation regardless of the changing status of the laws
protecting confidentiality in academic institutions. We look forward to your assistance.
[If possible, we hope to have your response by _____.]
With many thanks for your help.
Yours very truly,