Path to Promotion Webinar Series and Office Hours for Academic Specialists
Webinar Series
Making Your Case: Tips for Preparing Your RPC Materials for the 2025-2026 Academic Review Cycle
Reappointment, promotion, and award of continuing status are not endpoints, but milestones in an ongoing academic journey. The Office of the Provost’s review of each RPC recommendation concentrates primarily on the evidence of the Specialist’s effectiveness in the performance of academic duties, where substantive and sustainable achievement is demonstrated. In this three-part series Academic Specialist Advisory Committee (ASAC), Promotion and Compensation Subcommittee Co-Chair Mahmoud Parvizi, Specialist – Research-Continuing, shares helpful information, advice, and resources for preparing a compelling dossier.
Session 1 (11/17/2025, 10:00am-11:30am): Understanding the Process and Timeline
In this session we briefly review the RPC process and timeline, share tips and resources for collecting, organizing, and submitting dossier materials to your department/unit on schedule; as well as provide ample opportunity for in-depth Q&A with an ASAC Specialist who submitted dossier materials on schedule in the previous review cycle.
Session 2 (12/01/2025, 10:00am-11:30am): Preparing Your Dossier
In this session we briefly review the components, format, and constraints of the dossier. We then share tips and resources for crafting your reflective essay, completing the form on progress and excellence, and formatting your linkable materials; as well as provide ample opportunity for in-depth Q&A with an ASAC Specialist whose dossier materials were successfully submitted for review in the previous cycle.
Session 3 (12/15/2025, 10:00am-11:30am): Demonstrating Your Achievement
In this session we briefly review the expectation for demonstrating substantive and sustainable academic achievement in the areas identified in your appointment assignments. We then share tips and resources for employing multiple methods to demonstrate the quality and quantity of outcomes and creative efforts that impact the university’s mission and the people it serves; as well as provide ample opportunity for in-depth Q&A with an ASAC Specialist whose review resulted in a successful award of continuing status in the previous cycle.
Register to Attend One or More Sessions
Office Hours: A Learning Community for Academic Specialists
This learning community builds upon the Path to Promotion webinar and workshop series from spring 2024. In it, specialists from around MSU and across functional areas gathered to study the reappointment, award of continuing status, and promotion processes in the academic specialist appointment system. Across five one-hour discussions, we covered the components of a successful dossier and the timeline and workflow of the review year. We focused on strategies for preparing a successful review, from a specialist’s arrival on campus to submission of the dossier.
View or review the corresponding Path to Promotion webinar recording from Spring 2024. Each webinar recording suggests some tasks to complete and concludes with a list of resources to review.
Virtual office hours are available for specialists looking for meaningful personal connections and mentoring. Office hours will not include substantial exposition on the topics covered in the 2024 webinar series; the goal is to provide mentoring to specialists pursuing reappointment, promotion, or award of continuing status. Whether you are new to MSU and the specialist system or have been in your specialist role for several years, it’s never too early to start planning your path to promotion.