Articles

Tenure Traps

By: Phillip J. Trobaugh

"March Madness" does not only refer to the NCAA Basketball tournaments. It also refers to the anxiety-inducing rite of passage many professors face this time of the year when tenure fates are decided. While most are adept at the tenure application process, there are a number of tenure traps that can cause a denial. This article provides five smart tips for smart academics.

1. Time Tables
If you are faced with a tenure or promotion denial, be aware of any deadlines for appeal. Generally, before a lawsuit can be initiated, one must exhaust any internal remedies. If a deadline to appeal has been missed, it could have serious consequences in any subsequent litigation. Know the tenure appeal rules and follow them.

2. Procedural Points
Often, it is not enough to allege in an appeal that a procedural step was overlooked by the institution. The crucial inquiry here will be whether the failure had a substantive negative result on the tenure bid.

3. By the Numbers
Sometimes a tenure denial is based on lack of sufficient publications. One way to overcome this, in a public institution, is to gather the applications of other recently tenured faculty to examine the number and types of publications, as a way to make the desired comparison.

4. Mission Fits
One maddening tenure denial justification is "lack of mission fit" with the institution. This is sufficiently vague enough to mean almost anything. This type of rationale might be code for a particular type of recognized, illegal discrimination.

5. Sympathy Sells
Aside from the procedural pressure a faculty member could bring with an appeal, there is some potential political pressure too. Handled correctly, rallying sympathetic students, faculty, parents and alumni can help you with your cause.

Sometimes the tenure application and appeal process can feel like a game, one with real-life consequences. If you or someone you know has had their tenure denied recently, contact one of our attorneys in the Education Law Department of Mansfield, Tanick & Cohen.

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Phillip J. Trobaugh is chair of the Education Law Department, and has assisted many faculty members with tenure and promotion issues. Other members include: Marshall H. Tanick, Theresa J. Ayling, Steven H. Parson, and Charles A. Horowitz.