Documents in Support of Promotion with Tenure to
Associate Professor for Dr. Gregory B. Newby

Executive Summary

SILS promotion and tenure guidelines specify, "to be considered for tenure, a faculty member must have demonstrated research ability, be committed to ongoing research, have a strong teaching record, and be recognized as a helpful and valued colleague who has consistently performed needed service within the academic professional community. Only those persons showing promise of continuing achievement in all three areas of research, teaching and service will be tenured" (Section V.B).

I have demonstrated research ability through research publications, sponsored research, and creation of research tools (software). Measurable productivity outcomes include:

• Since the third year review (Fall, 1999-present):
  • 8 refereed research publications, including 2 in JASIS&T and one in IP&M
  • 2 book chapters, including one research publication that was solicited for inclusion in a book
  • 5 non-refereed research publications, including TREC proceedings
  • Ongoing creation of IRTools (http://sourceforge.net/projects/irtools), more than 30,000 lines of code for large-scale research on information retrieval intended for researchers' use
  • Research funding of $1.1million, including $560,000 as sole PI and $530,000 as co-PI
• Since starting at SILS in Fall 1997, total productivity includes:
  • 12 refereed research publications
  • 7 non-refereed research publications
  • An additional $82,800 in research funding

My teaching evaluations have been consistently positive, and numerical scores from SIR reports are above the mean. Measurable teaching outcomes include:

• 7 initial course preparation or significant updates to courses (INLS 80, 102, 180, 181, 183, 187, 302), including three courses which had not been taught before (INLS 102, 183 and 187)
• 3 informal information retrieval seminars (Spring 2001, led by Robert Losee; Spring 1998 and Spring 1999 led by me)
• Current advisor to 3 PhD students, committee member to 2 others and 4 PhD graduates. Supervised successful completion of 32 Master's Papers and dozens of undergraduate and graduate independent study projects.
• Primary authorship of the initial planning document for the SILS Undergraduate Major (Spring 2001)
• Leadership in updates to the information technology curriculum including INLS 50, 80, 102, 181 and implementation of the SILS laptop requirement

Service activities have been varied within and outside of SILS. Highlights include:

• Internal service
  • Chair or member of the SILS Undergraduate Committee 1998-2000, 2001-2002 and 2002-2003
  • Member of other SILS committees (Personnel Committee, Information Technology Committee)
  • Numerous ad hoc activities, especially regarding technology planning
• UNC service
  • Member of the Administrative Board of the Library (1999-2002)
  • Member of the Faculty Information Technology Advisory Committee (1998-1999, 2002-2003)
  • Provost's Task Force on Undergraduate Education (2000-2001)
• External service
  • Refereeing for numerous journals and conferences
  • Conference program committee for ASIS&T, IRMA and others
  • Activity with Project Gutenberg to create and disseminate free electronic books

My demeanor within SILS has been to embrace opportunities to work with colleagues to improve our intellectual environment, and to positively impact the larger world we live in. Overall, I believe I have had a significant positive impact at SILS in the past 6 years, and exceed the guidelines for promotion with tenure to associate professor.