By Jim Doyle

Dear Macalester Students, Many of you have recently received a request from the Associate Dean of the Faculty to complete a letter that will be used in the tenure and promotion evaluation for one of your professors. You may also receive a request from the chair of a department asking for a letter. In the summer and fall, some of you will receive a similar letter asking for feedback on faculty undergoing pre-tenure review or promotion to full professor. We ask that you please take the time to respond to all of these requests. Your input into this process is essential. These letters are one of the most important means by which a faculty member’s teaching is evaluated by the Faculty Personnel Committee (FPC), which is the committee that has the responsibility for making reappointment, tenure and promotion decisions. Your comments are taken very seriously by FPC, and it is very important that we hear from as many students as possible in order to get a complete and balanced view of a faculty member’s teaching. This is your opportunity to make a crucial contribution to Macalester College that will benefit future students for decades to come.

Thank you in advance for your participation in this process.