A report by the American Sociological Association suggested sociology professors’ social media presence should factor into decisions about promotion and tenure.
Using Twitter and Facebook to spread academic studies enables researchers to reach a wider audience, the report states. The report also suggests researchers write op-eds to newspapers, publish blog posts and solicit media attention for their studies to spread their knowledge to a broad audience.
Recognizing time constraints on professors, who are expected to teach and conduct and publish original research, the ASA recommends incorporating public communication criteria as only a portion of tenure and promotional decisions.