I did it.
I just committed myself to an intense scrutiny of my labors for the last three years.
I just committed myself to sift through every little piece of paper I had saved with the thought that I’d need this for some ambiguous process that proves my commitment to self-actualization as faculty of the university and stream those little proofs into a narrative arc that makes me out to be some kind of biblio-hero.
I just applied for promotion.
And here’s the best part, I’ve applied for my first promotion during the first time that the university is going paperless with the promotion process. This means that all the examples I can look at are not quite the same as what I’m going to create.
Yes, the principles are there. Yes, proving and explaining and narrating are the same. But the medium will be different. The pow-wows will be huddled over screens instead of papers.
There will be a learning curve for everyone involved. The candidate. The promotion committee. The library administration. The Provost’s office. Everyone’s learning.
This is going to be interesting.