Two frequently voiced concerns of faculty in the School of Medicine regarding promotions at Hopkins are: 1) uncertainty of the criteria used for promotion, particularly with respect to their breadth and inclusiveness, and 2) uncertainty of the promotions process itself. A committee chaired by Dr. Edward Benz was appointed by the Dean in February 1997 to review several broad issues involving promotions at Johns Hopkins. Draft versions of the Benz Committee report have been circulated for feedback, and have stimulated vigorous discussions of many relevant issues, including the criteria and process of promotion at Hopkins.

These two issues have also been considered at great length and depth by the PPC over the last decade under the previous chairmanships of Drs. Paul McHugh and William Agnew. This primarily has taken the form of ongoing and often lengthy discussions at regular PPC meetings, usually in the context of specific candidates under consideration, and in periodic PPC retreats devoted to specific aspects of these issues. In addition, focused reviews of the criteria and process used for promotion at Hopkins have been addressed by the PPC, most notably in the report by Dr. McHugh distributed to the faculty in 1992.

Since last September, the PPC has again focused considerable attention on these issues, as has been reported at each of the ABMF meetings. In October 1997, a retreat was held for current and recent members of the PPC, including previous chairs Drs. McHugh and Agnew, with three major goals. The first was to review the criteria for promotion to ensure that they continued to appropriately reflect Hopkins standards and core values. Second, was to critically review all aspects of the promotions process in order to identify and implement changes that could improve the quality and consistency of information received, as well as speed up the process. The third goal was to develop mechanisms by which the criteria and processes used by the PPC could be better communicated to both the faculty at large and department directors.

The attached report, including its Appendix material, is one of several outcomes from the recent PPC retreat that addresses these goals. The members of the PPC unanimously attest to the accuracy of this report, and hope that its broad distribution to department directors and faculty will help clarify the current criteria and processes used for professorial promotion at Johns Hopkins.

Fred Sanfilippo, M.D., Ph.D.
Baxley Professor and Director of Pathology
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Pathologist-in-Chief
The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Pathology 415 / 600 North Wolfe Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21287-6417

© 1998 The Johns Hopkins University. Baltimore, Maryland. All rights reserved.
Last updated 30Mar98 by dgips@jhu.edu