For faculty members of the department of Religious Studies, the criteria for evaluation of scholarly engagement will be interpreted as follows:

Evidence of active participation in scholarly discourse must be demonstrated through some combination of the following: published scholarly writings, conference papers, invited lectures, active scholarly involvement in conferences, the receipt of grants, continued relevant academic training or re-tooling, leadership in appropriate professional organizations at the regional or national level, digital humanities projects, or significant progress on on-going research.

The Department of Religious Studies considers publication a crucial means of demonstrating scholarly engagement. Evidence of publication would normally be expected for appointment without limit or for promotion to full professor. A publication is normally defined as:

  1. An academic book published or in press on a relevant topic by a reputable press.
  2. A scholarly article on a relevant topic published in a reputable academic journal.
  3. A chapter on a relevant topic in an academic book published by a reputable press.
  4. A scholarly article on a relevant topic published in a reputable print or digital academic journal and/or website.
  5. An edited volume, a translation and/or commentary, book reviews and review essays published in a reputable print or digital academic journal and/or website.

There is no strict numerical standard regarding publications.  The department cares more about the quality than the quantity of a reviewee’s published work. A few excellent pieces are infinitely preferable to multiple mediocre ones. In all cases, candidates must show that their published work makes a significant contribution to one of the primary fields of the candidate's expertise.

Although publishing is an important element of the criteria of evaluation for tenure and promotion-so much so that we find it unlikely that an unpublished candidate would be successful-the department does not want to send the message that publication in and of itself is sufficient evidence of scholarly engagement.  Candidates for tenure and promotion should also be able to show evidence that they are engaged intellectually with the world "off the Hill" through the other types of activities listed above.

January 2019