Addressing Disruptions in Faculty Work: For Unit Heads and Evaluators

The University of Maryland recognizes that some faculty have experienced disruptions to their research/scholarship, teaching, or service and has issued guidance for academic leaders on how to consider these disruptions in evaluative processes. Per this guidance, UMD faculty members can choose to describe the context and impact of external circumstances on their work, in both faculty activities reporting and in candidate statements submitted in promotion and review materials. Units heads and evaluative committees can provide contextual information regarding disruptions in general (e.g., general lack of funding for certain areas of research, COVID-19, etc.). If a candidate discloses specific disruptions to their work, the unit head and evaluative committee may provide more specific comments. This brief builds on UMD’s existing guidance by providing examples of how unit heads and evaluative committees can strategically describe the impact of external circumstances and some suggested guiding questions that evaluation committees may want to consider before they begin their review. 

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