Eligibility Criteria for external evaluators

  • The review committee will meet and decide on a list of arms-length evaluators. The candidate may—but is not required to—suggest no more than three evaluators and may identify potential evaluators not to be contacted. This is explained in the candidate solicitation letter from the department.  A minimum of six external letters is required
  • Fully Arm's Length = NEVER COLLABORATED WITH CANDIDATE 
  • Evaluators must be of equal or higher rank than that for which the candidate is being reviewed.

  • Collaborators (with the exception listed below), supervisors, and present or former departmental colleagues are not considered arms-length. For internal candidates for promotion, colleagues at UNC-CH and NCSU are also not considered arms-length. Members of the Duke community, including the Board of Trustees, are not considered arms-length

  • For appointments or promotions to Associate Professor with Tenure, NONE of the letter writers may have been colleagues or collaborators in the past seven years. Also, NONE of the letter writers may have been former supervisors or students of the candidate.

  • For initial appointments or promotions to Full Professor, AT LEAST FOUR of the external letter writers must have never collaborated with the candidate. The remaining evaluators may have been colleagues or collaborators on shared projects the most recent of which must have been completed and published more than seven years ago. Such a relationship must be clearly explicit.