From left to right: Shuxiang Dong, Yanglong Hou, Qiang Sun and Xiaolei Wu

Recently, four College of Engineering (COE) faculty members, Shuxiang Dong, Yanglong Hou, Qiang Sun and Xiaolei Wu, were granted tenure by Peking University, after passing the required College and University procedures. They became the second batch of COE tenure-track professors to accomplish the promotion, with the first batch occurring in 2010, when seven professors were granted tenure.

The granting of tenure indicates that the four professors have made significant contributions in teaching, research, innovation and social service, during the terms they have served the university.

At Peking University, the decision to grant tenure requires numerous levels of approval, Executive Vice Dean Dongxiao Zhang explains. At first, seven nationally or internationally prominent academics in the candidate's field will be asked to review the candidate's application for tenure and submit a confidential report. Secondly, a College promotion and tenure committee of 5-7 members will review the reports and evidence of the candidate's accomplishments in teaching, research and social service, and then make a recommendation for tenure or denial of such. Afterwards, the College academic committee will vote based on the review of the recommendation and the candidate’s work report; while the College dean gives independent suggestion. Finally, the College’s recommendation is communicated to the university, where a university promotion and tenure committee is formed to evaluate the application and decide whether to agree or disagree with the college recommendation.

Since its reestablishment in 2005, COE has attained rapid developments and made remarkable achievements in faculty expansion, disciplines development, scientific research and students cultivation. It has recruited over 70 world class scholars, experts and young scholars. In particular, the tenure-track policy which COE has been implementing ever since its foundation has been shown fundamentally important for recruiting and retaining the best faculty and sustaining the fast growth of the College.