Delivery-Date: Thu Jun 28 10:05:05 2001
Message-Id: <l0311071fb760dfb8f04a@[137.146.196.128]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 10:00:08 -0400
To: rjones@colby.edu
From: "Edward H. Yeterian" <ehyeteri@colby.edu>
Subject: Sixth Semester Review
Cc: djskrien@colby.edu

June 28, 2001

Dear Randy:

I recently completed my reading of the sixth semester review dossier
prepared by your committee.  I am in overall agreement with the positive
conclusion reached as well as with the specific points made in the
committee report.  I would like to add some comments to those of the
committee.

Your teaching is off to a very good start overall.  Many students seem to
respect your knowledge and appear to be able to relate to you as a person.
Several note that they find you open and helpful as well challenging and
clear.  Others suggest that there are ways in which you might consider
improving your teaching, e.g., by returning work in a more timely manner
and by distributing the workload more evenly across the semester (as much
as that can be done and still meet course goals).  There will be an
opportunity to show improvement as you teach some or all of these courses
again.  CS 352 appears to have come with some baggage from a previous
iteration and likely presents some special challenges as well as
opportunities.  In order to make the strongest possible case for tenure,
you will need to continue to make refinements in your teaching.

Your committee makes the case that conference proceedings represent an
appropriate, and appropriately rigorous, venue for your scholarship.  Since
this is not the most common situation in the context of promotion and
tenure at Colby, it will be important that your eventual objective outside
reviewers validate this situation.  I suggest that you be selective about
the conferences at which you present so that when your published work is
sent for outside review for the tenure consideration, the quality of the
places in which it has been published will be very clear to the outside
reviewers as well as to the Committee on Promotion and Tenure.  In order to
make the strongest possible case for tenure, you will need to continue to
be active, as you have been, and to place your work where it will have the
maximal impact in your field.  That said, I agree with your committee's
assessment that you are off to a very good start as a scholar at Colby, and
that you continue to use your affiliation with Soar Technology to
facilitate your productivity.

I consider service to be an important component of faculty life at all
stages of one's career.  I am pleased to learn that your have carried out
valuable service in your department and in your profession.  I hope that
you will become more involved in  College-level service in the next few
years.

In summary, I am pleased to accept your committee's recommendation for a
three-year contract (you will receive that letter shortly).  I hope that
you are able to continue to build on the very good start that you have made
as a teacher and advisor; to bring your scholarly projects to fruition in a
timely manner and in the strongest possible venues; and to expand your
service to the campus community while continuing to serve your department

Best wishes for the summer and for next year.

Sincerely,
Ed


-------------------------------------------------------------------
Edward H. Yeterian, Ph.D.
Vice President for Academic Affairs
  and Dean of Faculty
Colby College
4781 Mayflower Hill
Waterville, ME 04901-8847  USA

Phone:  207-872-3204
FAX:  207-872-3280
email:  ehyeteri@colby.edu