Wybrane aspekty funkcjonowania uniwersytetu badawczego w Stanach Zjednoczonych

Abstrakt

Considering the diversity of higher education institutions in the United States, any examination of operations of American research universities needs to be focused on the specific university and the specific scientific discipline pursued within its framework. Based on the author’s personal experiences, gained during thirty-five years of employment as a faculty member in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Penn State University, University Park, which is thought to be an adequate representation of a quintessential research university in the United States, this paper considers select aspects of procedures involved in faculty hiring and then performance evaluation, obtaining tenure, as well as promotion to higher academic ranks.  The goal of this paper is to present factual information exemplifying select procedures adopted by a major research university in the United States. The paper is not meant to express the author's opinion concerning reported procedures nor to compare them with procedures established at the research universities in other countries.