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Last year we celebrated promotion of 33 A&P educators in the 2022 class (38 in 2021). Now is the time to gear up for 2023.

Thanks to Terri Fisher, we have tried to anticipate everything you need to know and organized it online to help you navigate the pathway forward. It is found at https://extension.osu.edu/policy-and-procedures-handbook/vi-promotion-and-tenure/ap-promotion-instructions-extension-educators

A previous post covered the key dates. This one is focused on your three-page narrative.

Your three-page narrative can be thought of as a written response to the age-old interview question, “Please tell us a little about yourself and why you are interested in this job?” Below is how you might respond to such a question in writing:

Describe your role as an Extension educator – What are your focus areas? Who are key partners? How do you spend your time? Put this in the context of the specific A&P rank you currently hold described in the General Expectations for A&P Educators.

Describe some of the most significant accomplishments you have made in your current rank for the various dimensions of your role – What impacts have you made in teaching? How have you engaged in applied scholarship? What differences have your service contributions made? (Check the General Expectations Table to see all of the various dimensions of an Extension educator role).

Describe how you plan to build on what you have accomplished in your current rank in the context of the expectations of the new rank you are applying for. What do you want to do with your key partners? How do you want to continue to grow your expertise and reputation within your focus areas? How will you continue to actively serve and to what ends?

In applying for promotion, you are not only applying for a new rank, but you are also applying for a new role with higher level expectations. The goal of the three-page narrative is to help you think through your work, the difference you have made, and how you want to continue to grow and challenge yourself.

For the 23 A&P educators who are promotion candidates in the 2023 class, February 1 is the first due date for these narratives. We typically aren’t in the habit of thinking, talking, or writing about ourselves in this way but doing so has value. Each of us, our positions, and our work are unique. The narrative is designed to help us better tell our unique story. Regardless of your plans for promotion, how are you using the three-page narrative to help you grow as a professional?