

Joining the Ranks: Demystifying Harvard's Tenure System - benmaraschino
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/4/11/scrutiny-tenure-harvard/

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plg
Getting hired into a faculty position (and often getting tenure, like at
Harvard) are increasingly becoming more and more like show business... a
really high ratio of qualified applicants to (scarce) positions ... and so
what ends up being deciding factors are often seemingly arbitrary, subjective,
or even unknown. "Fit" with the Department. "Significance" of the work.
"General consensus" of the committee.

We can complain and complain but what this means from a practical point of
view, for young and aspiring academics, is

1\. If you really want it, don't give up. Keep doing good work and keep
applying.

2\. If you care more about making money, do something else. Like in show
business and sports, the vast majority aren't getting super rich, aren't
getting famous. They ARE however living their dream, doing exactly what they
love to do.

3\. You will need to make an impression above and beyond the objective "facts"
that you list on your academic cv. You will have to be friendly. You will have
to impress on intangibles. Scientists are often not good at this.

4\. In today's environment academic Departments care about your potential to
bring money into the University (in the form of research grants). You will
need to hit this point.

5\. Your motivation (and validation) has to come from within. If you depend on
external reinforcement you will not succeed.

I see a lot of graduate students complaining about how difficult it is to get
hired into a Faculty position these days, how difficult it is to get research
grants, how difficult it is to get published in a decent journal. Not to be
TOO much of a grumpy old man, but like any highly skilled endeavour, it should
be difficult. 10,000 hours and all that.

Many, many young people end up in graduate school not because they are
intensely focused on scholarly work, and intend upon one day being a
Professor, because that's what they love to do, that's what they've always
wanted to do (this however WAS the case for me) ... rather many, many young
people end up graduate school because

a. they are in a holding pattern because they haven't yet attained their
actual goal, which is getting into a professional school (law, meds,
dentistry, mba, etc)

b. their grades are good and they "don't know what they want to do"

As a Professor, case a. doesn't bother me much, as long as they work hard, it
can be a win-win for supervisor and student.

Case b. bothers me a lot. Advanced, persistent scholarly work is an intense,
difficult, (rewarding) endeavour. If you're bored, or confused, please don't
"try" graduate school. It's not a hobby. It's a very specific undertaking that
is well suited to only a very small proportion of the population (even the
population of "smart people").

~~~
jamesrcole
> _I see a lot of graduate students complaining about how difficult it is to
> get hired into a Faculty position these days, how difficult it is to get
> research grants, how difficult it is to get published in a decent journal.
> Not to be TOO much of a grumpy old man, but like any highly skilled
> endeavour, __it should be difficult__. 10,000 hours and all that._ (my
> emphasis).

If we're talking about _should_ , then I think society should place more
importance on research -- it provides significant long-term value to society
-- and this should translate into more funding for research, and more research
positions being available. That is, it should be easier to get a research
position.

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sgpl
Link to single page view:

[http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/4/11/scrutiny-
tenure-...](http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/4/11/scrutiny-tenure-
harvard/?page=single)

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army
"Does the faculty balance necessitate someone of the candidate’s specific
field?" You'd think they could make that decision _before_ they offer a tenure
track position.

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jessriedel
> Following testimonies, the ad hoc committee deliberates: ... What about the
> candidate’s teaching? ...

I lol'ed. Then I checked the url and it made total sense. Thanks for the hard-
hitting reporting, Harvard Crimson.

> ...Harvard’s ad hoc process remains among the most thorough and fair tenure
> systems in higher education.

