Letter of Solicitation

Professor ________________________________
Department of ____________________________
University of _____________________________
City, State zip
 

Dear Professor ___________________________: 

I am writing to ask you to evaluate [Research] [Assistant/Associate] Professor ________________________ who is being considered for promotion to [Research] [Associate] Professor in the [Department/School/College] of _______________________ at the University of Washington, [Seattle/Tacoma/Bothell]. Your letter will be used in our [Department/School], [School/College/, Campus], and University review.  

You can access the promotion materials by selecting the “View Request” button in Interfolio where you will be directed to a page that asks you to confirm your acceptance of this request, and will then direct you to Professor  ‘s submitted materials. Departmental guidelines for promotion are available for your reference and included within the Interfolio materials.  Professor   has been expected to spend roughly [XX%] of their effort on scholarship and research, [optional for Research: [YY%] of their effort focused on teaching and mentorship, ]and [ZZ%] of their effort on service, leadership, and administration[, in addition to [WW%] effort on clinical responsibilities]. 

Please note that we do not require that you summarize the candidate’s educational or work history or otherwise enumerate information contained in the curriculum vitae. Please instead comment specifically on the significance and influence of the selected works included in the dossier, and the candidate’s trajectory and promise.  

Your letter, which we need to have no later than __________________________, should contain the following information: 

• How well and in which capacity do you know the candidate? 

• Your view of the significance, independence, influence, and promise of the candidate’s scholarship. Please include a description of the potential or actual impact of the candidate’s scholarly contributions on the discipline and related fields. 

• The degree to which the candidate has a national/international reputation. 

• Some comparison of the candidate’s accomplishments with others at a similar career stage in the same or related fields. 

• Any relevant observations about the candidate’s teaching/mentorship are welcome. 

• Your perspective on their service to the university and profession, administrative and leadership responsibilities are also welcome for our deliberations. 

Beginning in January 2025, faculty across the University of Washington experienced significant disruption to their federally funded research activities. Although the impacts of these disruptions are still evolving – and new disruptions to research are emerging – we ask that you consider this unprecedented time when evaluating research contributions since 2025, including the written components of this promotion packet. 

 [PARAGRAPH FOR INDIVIDUALS IN CLOCK-MANAGED RANKS ONLY: Please note that promotion and/or tenure clocks can differ among candidates for many reasons including, for example, family or sick leaves or other extenuating circumstances. Our expectations of a candidate for promotion/tenure do not change based on the length of their tenure/promotion clock.] 

Please evaluate this candidate without consideration of the number of years since [PhD/MD] or years in rank or years at the University of Washington.  You should consider the totality of the candidate’s accomplishments, their current trajectory, and how they compare to our promotion guidelines, rather than the rate or timeliness of the accomplishments. 

The opinions of outside reviewers are a necessary and valued part of the University of Washington’s promotion review process. Your letter will help us to document the external evaluation of Professor ___________________’s work. [OPTIONAL: Because I would like to include a statement about the referees when I forward their letters to our [Dean/Executive Vice Chancellor], I would appreciate it if you could return a copy of your bio sketch with your letter.] 

Under University of Washington policy, your letter, as part of the official personnel file, will be held in confidence. While not given access to it, the candidate and/or members of the public may be, upon formal request in accordance with the Washington State Public Records law, provided with excerpts of all such confidential evaluations in the candidate’s file without disclosure of the identifications of the evaluators. 

Interpretations by the courts of the Washington State Public Disclosure law have held that external letters of evaluation sought in the normal course of promotion reviews are exempt from disclosure. The University treats these letters as internal confidential documents and does not release them to the candidate nor others outside of faculty and administrators directly involved in the promotion decision process. We commit to retaining your evaluation in such confidence, except to the extent we are required to disclose its contents by adjudication or court order, and even then, we will make every effort to protect your personal identity. 

We recognize the time and effort such evaluation letters take and thank you in advance for your important contribution to the University of Washington. If you need further information about this request, please contact ______________ at ________. 

Sincerely,

Professor ________________________________
Department of ____________________________
University of _____________________________
City, State zip 

Dear Professor ___________________________: 

I am writing to ask you to evaluate [Assistant/Associate] Teaching Professor ________________________ who is being considered for promotion to [Associate] Teaching Professor in the [Department/School/College] of _______________________ at the University of Washington, [Seattle/Tacoma/Bothell]. Your letter will be used in our [Department/School], [School/College/,Campus], and University review.  

You can access the promotion materials by selecting the “View Request” button in Interfolio, where you will be directed to a page that asks you to confirm your acceptance of this request, and will then direct you to Professor   ‘s submitted materials. Departmental guidelines for promotion are available for your reference and included within the Interfolio materials. 

Teaching track faculty at the University of Washington are required to engage in scholarship and may choose to demonstrate this through publication. However, publication is not a requirement per the Faculty Code; rather, scholarship may be evidenced through other means such as, but not limited to, creation or use of innovative teaching or pedagogical methods; participation and leadership in professional conferences and associations; introduction of new knowledge or methods into course content, development of new courses, curricula, or course materials.  As a member of the teaching faculty, Professor   has been expected to spend roughly [XX%] of their effort focused on teaching, with [YY%] of their effort reserved for scholarship and [ZZ%] for service, leadership and administration. 

The University of Washington Faculty Code requires that instruction be judged according to core elements of effective teaching: aligned, inclusive and equitable, active and engaged, growth-oriented, and relevant.  This may be evidenced in course materials, the candidate’s self-assessment, and in student and collegial reviews. 

Please note that we do not require that you summarize the candidate’s educational or work history or otherwise enumerate information contained in the curriculum vitae. Please instead comment specifically on the significance, influence, and innovation of the selected works and materials included in the dossier, and the candidate’s trajectory and promise with respect to the provided promotion criteria guidelines. 

Your letter, which we need to have no later than __________________________ should contain the following information: 

• How well and in which capacity do you know the candidate? 

• Your view of the significance, influence, innovation, and promise of the candidate’s scholarship and teaching/mentorship. Please include a description of the potential or actual impact of the candidate’s scholarly contributions [For Assistant TP to Associate TP: outside their home unit / For Associate TP to TP: on pedagogy, their discipline, and/or related fields.]. 

• [include for Associate TP to TP: The degree to which the candidate has a regional/national/international reputation]. 

• Some comparison of the candidate’s accomplishments with other teaching-focused faculty at a similar career stage in the same or related fields. 

• Any relevant observations about the candidate’s service and leadership that you feel are useful for our deliberations. 

Please evaluate this candidate without consideration of the number of years since receiving their degree, or years in rank or at the University of Washington.  You should consider the totality of the candidate’s accomplishments, their current trajectory, and how they compare to our promotion guidelines, rather than the rate or timeliness of the accomplishments. 

The opinions of outside reviewers are a necessary and valued part of the University of Washington’s promotion review process. Your letter will help us to document the external evaluation of Professor ___________________’s work. [OPTIONAL: Because I would like to include a statement about the referees when I forward their letters to our [Dean/Executive Vice Chancellor], I would appreciate it if you could return a copy of your bio sketch with your letter.] 

Under University of Washington policy, your letter, as part of the official personnel file, will be held in confidence. While not given access to it, the candidate and/or members of the public may be, upon formal request in accordance with the Washington State Public Records law, provided with excerpts of all such confidential evaluations in the candidate’s file without disclosure of the identifications of the evaluators. 

Interpretations by the courts of the Washington State Public Disclosure law have held that external letters of evaluation sought in the normal course of promotion reviews are exempt from disclosure. The University treats these letters as internal confidential documents and does not release them to the candidate nor others outside of faculty and administrators directly involved in the promotion decision process. We commit to retaining your evaluation in such confidence, except to the extent we are required to disclose its contents by adjudication or court order, and even then, we will make every effort to protect your personal identity. 

We recognize the time and effort such evaluation letters take and thank you in advance for your important contribution to the University of Washington. If you need further information about this request, please contact ______________ at ________.
 

Sincerely, 

Professor ________________________________
Department of ____________________________
University of _____________________________
City, State zip 

Dear Professor ___________________________: 

I am writing to ask you to evaluate [Assistant/Associate] Professor of Clinical Practice ________________________ who is being considered for promotion to [Associate ]Professor of Clinical Practice in the [Department/School/College] of _______________________ at the University of Washington, [Seattle/Tacoma/Bothell]. Your letter will be used in our [Department/School/College], [School/College/,Campus], and University review.  

You can access the promotion materials by selecting the “View Request” button in Interfolio, where you will be directed to a page that asks you to confirm your acceptance of this request, and will then direct you to Professor   ‘s submitted materials. Departmental guidelines for promotion are available for your reference and included within the Interfolio materials. 

Clinical Practice Professorial track faculty at the University of Washington are required to engage in scholarship and may choose to demonstrate this through publication. However, publication is not a requirement per the Faculty Code; rather, scholarship may be evidenced through other means such as, but not limited to: creation or use of innovative teaching or pedagogical methods; participation and leadership in professional conferences and associations; initiatives in health care equity; novel interventions to improve the quality and safety of clinical care; introduction of new knowledge or methods into clinical practice; or innovative leadership in clinical practice. As a member of the clinical practice faculty, Professor   has been expected to spend roughly [XX%] of their effort focused on clinical practice, with [XX%] of their effort reserved for teaching and mentoring, [XX%] for scholarship and [XX%] for service, leadership and administration. 

Please note that we do not require that you summarize the candidate’s educational or work history or otherwise enumerate information contained in the curriculum vitae. Please instead comment specifically on the significance, influence, and innovation of the selected works and materials included in the dossier, and the candidate’s trajectory and promise. Departmental guidelines for promotion are available for your reference. 

Your letter, which we need to have no later than __________________________ should contain the following information: 

• How well and in which capacity do you know the candidate? 

• Your view of the significance, influence, innovation, and promise of the candidate’s scholarship and teaching/mentorship. Please include a description of the potential or actual impact of the candidate’s scholarly contributions [For Assistant CP to Associate CP: outside their home unit. / For Associate PCP to PCP: on pedagogy, clinical practice, their discipline, and/or related fields.]. 

• [include for Associate PCP to PCP: The degree to which the candidate has a regional/national/international reputation]. 

• Some comparison of the candidate’s accomplishments with other clinically-focused faculty at a similar career stage in the same or related fields. 

• Any relevant observations about the candidate’s teaching, clinical practice, service, and leadership that you feel are useful for our deliberations. 

Beginning in January 2025, faculty across the University of Washington experienced significant disruption to their federally funded activities. Although the impacts of these disruptions are still evolving – and new disruptions are emerging – we ask that you consider this unprecedented time when evaluating scholarly contributions since 2025, including the written components of this promotion packet. 

Please evaluate this candidate without consideration of the number of years since receiving their degree, or years in rank or at the University of Washington.  You should consider the totality of the candidate’s accomplishments, their current trajectory, and how they compare to our promotion guidelines, rather than the rate or timeliness of the accomplishments. 

The opinions of outside reviewers are a necessary and valued part of the University of Washington’s promotion review process. Your letter will help us to document the external evaluation of Professor ___________________’s work. [OPTIONAL: Because I would like to include a statement about the referees when I forward their letters to our [Dean/Executive Vice Chancellor], I would appreciate it if you could return a copy of your bio sketch with your letter.] 

Under University of Washington policy, your letter, as part of the official personnel file, will be held in confidence. While not given access to it, the candidate and/or members of the public may be, upon formal request in accordance with the Washington State Public Records law, provided with excerpts of all such confidential evaluations in the candidate’s file without disclosure of the identifications of the evaluators. 

Interpretations by the courts of the Washington State Public Disclosure law have held that external letters of evaluation sought in the normal course of promotion reviews are exempt from disclosure. The University treats these letters as internal confidential documents and does not release them to the candidate nor others outside of faculty and administrators directly involved in the promotion decision process. We commit to retaining your evaluation in such confidence, except to the extent we are required to disclose its contents by adjudication or court order, and even then, we will make every effort to protect your personal identity. 

We recognize the time and effort such evaluation letters take and thank you in advance for your important contribution to the University of Washington. If you need further information about this request, please contact ______________ at ________. 

Sincerely,