PurposeFaculty promotion is important for retention and has implications for diversity. This study provides an update on recent trends in faculty promotion in U.S. medical schools. MethodUsing data from the Association of American Medical Colleges Faculty Roster, the authors examined trends in faculty promotion over 10 years. Promotion status for full-time assistant and full-time associate professors who started between 2000 and 2009 inclusive was followed from January 1, 2010 to January 1, 2019. The authors used bivariate analyses to assess associations and promotion rates by sex, race/ethnicity, department, tenure status, and degree type.
The number of faculty in academic medical centers, and clinical enterprises in particular, has expanded profoundly over the past several decades. During this expansion, the prevalence of tenure systems and the actual numbers and proportions of tenured positions in U.S. medical schools have garnered much attention. Some commentators have remarked that tenure, as a system, is vanishing from schools and that the opportunity for tenure-track appointments is declining, especially for clinical faculty. 1 This Analysis in Brief presents data on the current status of tenure systems, the changing distribution of clinical M.D. faculty on tenure-eligible tracks, and trends in numbers of these positions over the past quarter century. Methodology The data for this analysis are derived from multiple sources. First, data come from the Faculty Personnel Policies Survey, a survey fielded by the AAMC on the personnel policies of all U.S. medical schools accredited by the LCME (Liaison Committee on Medical Education). This triennial survey includes items on the prevalence of tenure systems and types of faculty eligible for tenure. The data presented herein come from various administrations of the survey, including the most recent 2008 fielding. Second, data come from the AAMC Faculty Roster-a national database tracking the characteristics of more than 95 percent of full-time faculty at U.S. medical schools. Third, data for newer schools come from policy documents and personal correspondence with institutional faculty affairs staff. Results Survey results indicate that tenure systems as a whole remain wellestablished in U.S. medical schools. Since 1994, the percentage of schools with tenure systems has remained steady. 2 In 2008, only seven of the 126 LCME-accredited schools (all of the schools fully accredited at that time) did not offer tenure:
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