This is certainly extremely worrying, and writing as someone who was in
a similar position last year I have a great deal of sympathy.
In fact the position may be worse than Dave Killick suggests. It is my
understanding that Gill's demotion is actually to a 0.3 "teaching
fellow". This means that technically she is only able to teach... so
cannot apply for funding, be a lead investigator or hold a funding
award. As a teaching fellow there is no requirement for research. This
is actually a very serious demotion and represents the loss of an
academic post in archaeometallurgy. It is a shame that this action has
been taken apparently on the basis of two or three reviews, rather than
looking at the wider body of Gill's work and her really significant
contribution to the field over many years.
I too would urge members of the list to read the paper in Historical
Metallurgy, and to write to the University as soon as possible.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Arch-Metals Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of [log in to unmask]
> Sent: 19 April 2010 16:26
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Please support Gill Juleff
>
> Many members of this list will know the archaeometallurgical
> work of Gill Juleff on wind-powered smelting in Sri Lanka,
> and some may know of her recent large project of excavation
> (with Lee Bray) that revealed for the first time the large
> scale of Roman iron smelting in south-west England. If you
> think as highly of her work as I do, then please write to
> protest the decision of the University of Exeter to demote
> her to a 0.3 time lecturer. This makes it impossible for her
> to continue as co-director (with Sharada Srinivasan) of the
> UK/Indian research project on crucible steel production in
> southern India, which has already completed one field season.
> Although she has been told by the Head of the Archaeology
> Department at Exeter that she can continue the research
> project, she will (as she has told me herself) need a second
> job to support herself and her daughter. This will mean that
> she cannot undertake fieldwork in India.
>
> The reason given for her demotion was that she had failed to
> achieve her research targets for 2009. These were (1) to
> raise 40,000 pounds in external research funds and (2) to
> publish two articles rated 3 on the British RAE scale. She
> raised 83,000 pounds (to support the crucible steel project)
> and had articles accepted in World Archaeology and Historical
> Metallurgy, both of which have since appeared (in each case
> with an image from her article on the cover).
>
> The decision to demote her rests on the rating of the
> Historical Metallurgy article, which two of three external
> reviewers rated as 1 ("of local interest only")on the RAE
> scale - the other reviewer rated it as 3. The World
> Archaeology paper was rated as 3/4 by one reviewer, 3 by the
> second and as 2 by the third. On this basis she was demoted.
> Gill obtained through her union representative copies of
> these reviews and sent them to me for my opinion.
> Although the identity of the reviewers had been deleted, as
> is proper, it is clear to me that none of the three has any
> substantial knowledge of the fields of archaeometallurgy or
> of South Asian archaeology.
>
> I invite members of this list to read the Historical
> Metallurgy paper (which has Paul Craddock as a co-author) and
> to consider whether this is of "local interest only". While
> you are at it, read the Word Archaeology too. If you
> consider, as I do, that these are both papers of
> extraordinary quality and very wide international relevance,
> then please write a letter of protest to:
>
> Dr. Steven Smith
> Vice-Chancellor
> University of Exeter
> Northcote House
> Exeter EX4QJ
> United Kingdom
>
