may have changed negatively impacting the environment.

Still others may use a move as a mechanism to garner early promotion, thinking that they may have achieved milestones ahead of schedule. If you truly deserve a vertical move to associate professor, then it may be OK to pursue it, but avoid using this latter approach just to advance your title. In any case, moving at this stage can be very disruptive – you are just establishing roots in your first position, and pulling them up will set you back at least a year. It may be the right move and the “grass may indeed be greener” in the new position, but just realize it is a significant decision, so get advice from those that know you best.

Approaching Promotion

Hopefully there is an organized process as part of the department academic development program to help walk you through the promotion paperwork process because it can be very demanding and confusing. One thing you can do to help yourself from the beginning is to establish a folder (either physical file folder or virtual computer folder) in which to place all information relevant to your promotion packet. You can place abstracts, manuscripts, invitations to speak at conferences, evaluations, etc., in this folder real-time so it doesn’t get lost and can be relatively easily organized for your application when the time comes. At the mid-career review, you can begin to organize this material, but keep collecting everything that may have bearing on your packet right up until it is submitted. A full discussion of the actual promotion application process is beyond the scope of this chapter and varies so much from institution to institution that I refer you to the information provided by your own institution locally.

A few important highlights are worth mentioning. In addition to having the foresight to be organized and collect information real-time, another semi-conscious way to do the same is to compulsively keep your curriculum vitae (CV) up to date. Much of the information from your CV can then be cut and pasted into the promotion packet template. Start organizing