Trends in Academic Radiology Faculty Promotion in US Medical Schools

Background: Faculty promotion is important for retention in academic medicine and has implications for diversity. Purpose: We aimed to assess faculty promotion trends in academic radiology in US medical schools over time and assess variations based on gender and race or ethnicity. Materials and methods: Using the Association of American Medical Colleges faculty roster, full-time faculty appointed between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2009 (primary cohort), were followed for 14 years till January 1, 2024. Promotion rates and average time to promotion were compared by faculty track, gender, and race or ethnicity using bivariate analyses. Recent trends in promotions were assessed by comparing 7-year promotion end points between the primary cohort and a secondary cohort appointed between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2016. Results: The primary cohort included 2,497 faculty (182 instructors, 1,589 assistant professors, and 726 associate professors) from academic radiology departments, appointed between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2009. Clinical educator-track faculty had a marginally higher promotion rate (39.6% versus 36.4%, P = .116) but a significantly longer time to promotion (8.25 versus 7.4 years, P < .0001) versus those on traditional track. For clinical educator-track faculty, promotion rates over 14 years tended to be greater for women (42.3%) than men (38.3%, P = .12) across all ranks. The average time to promotion was significantly greater for women (8.9 years) assistant professors compared with men (8.2 years) (mean difference of 0.65 years, P = .013). For the more recent faculty cohort, rates of promotion over a 7-year period were higher (26% versus 15% for assistant professors, P < .001), and average time to promotion was shorter (5.7 versus 6.0 years for assistant professors, P = .002) across all ranks and for both men and women. Conclusion: Over time, promotion rates in US academic radiology departments have gone up and time to promotion has declined. Promotion rates for men and women are similar.