Tenure denials

Thus far in this series, we've discussed clarity of tenure standards at time of offer, different universities' actual tenure standards, the tenure process itself, and life after tenure. In my last two posts in this series (I think), I'd like to discuss tenure denials and tenure appeals. In today's post, I'd like to focus on the former: that is, on tenure denials themselves. Given that tenure denials can be an important (if negative) event in a person's career, affecting their future career path and prospects, I think it may be important to discuss them and try to learn more about how and why they occur, as well as how those who have been denied tenure grappled with the situation. For although there are some online discussions of these matters, I have to confess that I can't ever recall seeing these issues discussed openly in academic philosophy.

Here, at any rate, are some potential questions:

1. When someone is denied tenure, what exactly were the grounds are provided to the person?
2. What level(s) did the decision emenate from (their department committee?, college committee?, Dean?, etc.)?
3. When a person has been denied tenure, how did they grapple with it personally and professionally? Did they appeal the decision? Did they leave academia? Move to a different academic position? What kind of position?
4. Do they have any advice for others, including advice for other scholars facing the situation, but also potential advice for family members and colleagues (in terms of providing appropriate care and support)?

Although I understand that these may be difficult issues to discuss, I do hope some readers choose to chime in--the aim being to potentially help current and future tenure-candidates (and their loved ones and colleagues) to better understand and think about answers to the above questions. On that note, notice that although questions (3) and (4) primarily apply to individuals who have faced tenure denial themselves, others (e.g. members of departmental or college tenure committees) may chime in on questions (1) and (2).

Anyone have any insight or experiences they are willing to share?

Comments

[Second hand]

No first-hand experience, but at my last job, before my time, someone was denied tenure, but not at the department level (can't remember if it was college tenure committee or dean). The department recommended tenure, I believe because they liked him, but he only had one publication, so it didn't get through.

Someone was also bizarrely denied tenure because the dean was in a discipline where publication counts are much higher, and he was apparently affronted that the woman went up early with "only" 6 publications. I don't think she appealed, because I think she got another better job in the same year, but I assume she would have done well on appeal.

[Joe]

I know of many cases of tenure denials. In some cases, people who have been denied tenure were lucky that they were able to secure a position (sometimes tenure-track sometimes a tenured one) at another institution. But it seems to me that there is a number of people who tried to keep in the field for a while (3-5 years) but ended up unable to secure a permanent position - partially, I take it, due to the increasing complexity of life (very often at that point with families), increasing teaching loads and a need to move around from one temporary job to another. I assume that everyone deals with these things in their own way. One sad aspect of this are the frequent denials of tenure at the very top departments to often highly deserving people (often because their institutions consider themselves to be so exclusive that most people, even if they do everything imaginable, simply are not the superstars - whatever that means - they are looking for). If those people were at most other institutions, they would probably pass with flying colors. But as is, they are left to rely on luck to secure another position or forced to leave academia. I wonder how much talent has been wasted in this way.

[What]

Joe,
I can only be so sympathetic for someone who is denied tenure at a very highly ranked school. After all, they can investigate this before hand. Years ago, I knew someone (not a philosopher) at a department at Harvard who was told that about 20% of the people get tenure. Knowing that she acting sensibly and moved before she was up for tenure. She is now at a fine job, as secure as can be. And one cannot assume that the person denied tenure at a top place would be as productive as they were if they were at a lesser place. As you move down the ladder your workload changes dramatically.

[AnonTT]

I haven't come up yet, but I can speak to a recent case in a department I know.

As to 1, the candidate told me that what they were told was that the letters weren't strong enough. The candidate's work straddles two disciplines, and the candidate was informally told by one of the senior faculty members that letter writers from neither discipline felt the candidate was doing exactly their kind of thing, which made for somewhat lukewarm support. Not in all the letters, but in enough, I guess.

As to 2, the candidate had department support, and the case was voted down at the university level (so, one level up from department).

As to 3, I can't really speak to how they grappled with it personally, but professionally, they're doing fine. They're in another TT job at another research institution.

[assist prof]

At my large, private R2, you receive a very brief letter saying you were either granted or denied tenure. If denied, the reasons are very brief. You have a very short time (I think a few days) to ask the provost for specific reasons why you were denied tenure (they must respond and have a few days to reply), and then you have 2 weeks to appeal directly to the president in written from. The president alone makes the final decision on the appeal.

Denials don't come from the department level, because if they did the person would be fired in a previous year (since there are pre-tenure reviews every year). But, you can get a lukewarm or mixed vote from your department which would hurt you. At that point the University Tenure Committee makes the ultimate decision, with input from the departmental committee, the chair, and the dean. Then the provost and president then sign off. They can also deny tenure, as happened years ago when a president went rogue and axed a large percentage of the folks who went up that year (that hasn't happened since).

One instance in my department the person left academia and seems very happy and successful, in another instance they appealed and won. Another left and got another TT job at a smaller school and is happy and productive, another left academia and I don't know what happened to them after that...

[DireProf]

I was denied tenure at my current institution and have appealed it to the academic senate.

I'm a biomedical researcher and work at an R1 university in the Midwest in a college that, in the past, had a 90%+ success rate for tenure. All of my annual evaluations were very positive. My mid-TT review was also "very positive" in the words of my Chair. All of the external reviewers recommended promotion with tenure. I came in with a big grant, got millions in funding, published in top-impact journals, got research awards at the Department and College levels--I did everything right.

What shot me down were politics and human nature. At the Department level, I've been told many faculty were jealous of my success. There were many blunders made by the Chair and promotion committee on me and my application (e.g., a year late informing the committee of my application going up this year, being left off emails to other TT faculty going up, etc.). Someone with a COI with me ended up on the promotion committee and trashed the discussion and summary with lots of fabricated accusations. The faculty believed it, and my case lost all credibility. At the College level, the reason given was not enough grant funding and obscure language about not meeting expectations. This was despite getting one of the highest honors from the college 2 years ago, and getting enough grant funding to sustain me and everyone in my lab. The actual reason is because I basically pissed off one of the associate deans because of protecting some new students who came into my lab under some pretty traumatic circumstances from another department. There are more politics and other issues I can't relate because I need to protect my anonymity.

On a personal level, it is not just infuriating. It is rage-inducing and actively traumatizing. I cannot check my email without becoming incredibly anxious, because of how negative and toxic things have become. Even aspects of my job I used to love (e.g., mentoring, grading, publications) are just things I do by going through the motions. I never intended to stay at this institution permanently, because it doesn't have the infrastructure I need. I chose it for family reasons and to get out of a toxic post-doc. To be denied tenure for reasons that were fabricated or based on misunderstandings I cleared up prior to tenure discussion.

So I'm hoping either I can land a new position (and have a few near-offer opportunities), get the appeal passed and the denial reversed, or ideally find a new position, have the appeal denied, take my institution to court, and force them to settle so I can get some compensation for the immense suffering I've gone through.