Copyright (C) 1996 Dana Mackenzie
Reprinted With Author's Permission
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Chapter 7. Conclusion
For the person facing a tenure decision or the person, like me, in the uncomfortable position of challenging a tenure decision, here are some final words of advice.
- Long before the tenure decision, you should make a concerted effort to receive mentoring from other faculty in your department, and to find out what their expectations are. If there is no mentoring system in place, appeal to individuals to help. Also, suggest that department ought to implement a regular system of mentoring and evaluation.
- Remember that the actual reasons for the tenure decision may be different from the stated reasons; and remember that the perception of reality by the decision-makers is more important than the reality. If there are honest and ethical ways for you to tilt that perception in your favor, by all means do so.
- Do not assume that administrators know their jobs well, even the purely administrative parts. If they are capable of bungling a decision, they are also capable of bungling the procedures that they are ostensibly supposed to follow.
- If you fight a tenure decision, expect it to cost you a great deal of time and emotional energy. And then expect it to cost even more than you expected.
- Do not venture into the fray alone. You need an older, wiser, and better-connected advocate. In a small college, this may mean going outside your department.
- Watch out for changes in "the rules of the game," whether overt or hidden. If the new rules are set by the administration, they are unlikely to favor you.
- Watch out for excessive secrecy. Some secrecy is, of course, required to protect the confidentiality of evaluations. But too much secrecy serves as a cover for incompetence or worse. It never serves you, the faculty member being evaluated. Also, question the need for any secrecy that is imposed on you personally. For example, I believe that it was a mistake for me not to show my colleagues the text of the grievance panel's findings, even though it was marked "Confidential." The result was that the administration's interpretation of the dossier was the only official version they ever heard.
Do you know a colleague who was just denied tenure? It's one of the most shattering experiences one can have in academia, and your colleague would greatly appreciate any words of support you can offer, even if you don't know anything about the specifics of the case. Don't treat that person as if he or she had a contagious disease. Also, unless you know something about the case, go lightly on the "Those bastards, they don't know what they're doing" type of comment. Try to accentuate your colleague's positives rather than the administration's negatives.
Are you conducting a job search, and have applications from people who were denied tenure? In today's competitive job market, I know that there is a strong temptation to pass over any candidate who has any negatives on his or her record, such as an adverse tenure decision. Try looking at that candidate differently: this may be your chance to profit from another institution's huge mistake. You may be getting a very experienced professor who just didn't fit in that other place, or who was denied for reasons having little to do with his or her qualifications.
If you would like to comment on these essays feel free to e-mail me at mackenzi@cruzio.com.
Dana Mackenzie
mackenzi@cruzio.com