The Chronicle

Professor of Experimental Psychology Peter Holland was recently named chair of the Appointments, Promotions and Tenure Committee.

He replaces Professor of English Karla Holloway, who left the post in order to devote time to her position as director of the African and Afro-American Studies Program.

Holloway, who chaired the committee while serving as interim director of the AAAS program, was appointed this summer to a three-year term as director of the program.

The APT committee is responsible for assisting the administration in making decisions concerning the appointment, promotion or tenure of staff members. After receiving information from an applicant's department chair, the committee debates the merits of the applicant and discusses his role at the University, Holloway said.

The provost attends all meetings and considers the discussion, along with the committee's final vote, when making his recommendation to the president and board of trustees.

Committee member Robert Hochmuth, professor of mechanical engineering, praised Holloway for her leadership. Holloway gave all the committee members the opportunity to express their viewpoints, he said, adding that "she was a natural leader."

Holland, who was a member of last year's committee, expressed similar sentiments about his predecessor. He said he was impressed by how hard she and the rest of the committee worked on each applicant's file. "I hope I can do half as well as she did," he said.

Appointed by Provost John Strohbehn to chair the committee this year, Holland stressed that his role in meetings would center on fostering extensive discussion between the committee members.

"The point here is to serve as a moderator between good people," he said, explaining that the main goal of the committee was to give the provost as much information and as many viewpoints as possible so that he could make an informed recommendation to the president.

While the committee does not have student representation due to concerns about confidentiality, the group considers professor evaluations completed by students at the end of the semester as well as letters written by students, Holland said.

"We pay quite a lot of attention to teaching and consider it quite heavily," he said.

Robert Erickson, professor of experimental psychology and colleague of Holland, said faculty could rely on Holland to give their applications a "deep, intelligent, sensible reading" during his term as chair. "I can't think of a better person for the job," he said.

Strohbehn was unavailable for comment.

Misty Allen contributed to this story.

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