In 2021, APA’s Board of Scientific Affairs and the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology established a task force to examine the systemic barriers and inequities that affect the evaluation of psychological scientists of color under review for promotion and tenure decisions. The task force prepared the APA Task Force Report on Tenure and Promotion for Faculty of Color (PDF, 1.5MB)opens in new window, Executive Summary (PDF, 109KB)opens in new window, and A Suggested Blueprint for Academic Administrators (PDF, 105KB)opens in new window. The report was endorsed by the APA Council of Representatives in August 2023. The report delves into various aspects, including pitfalls leading to unsuccessful tenure decisions, and systemic barriers and biases affecting promotion and tenure evaluations for psychology faculty of color. These include considerations like the candidate’s scholarship, variations in service expectations, journal gatekeeping, negative attitudes towards specialty journals, and bias in teaching evaluations.
This report offers guidance and recommendations for internal and external reviewers, as well as promotion and tenure committees to enhance awareness and understanding of systemic disparities within psychology. In addition, A Suggested Blueprint for Academic Administrators was created to offer guidance to administrators for fostering systemic change within their respective institutions.