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CHAPTER 7 • TENURE 69

not enough permanent positions for all of

these scientists. Therefore, if more than two

people in the department are waiting for

tenure at the same time you are, your chances

for obtaining tenure are probably slim.

Government Influence

For state institutions, how much does the

state legislature influence tenure trends? Be

cautious if the position for which you are

applying is not a budget line item. Without

this protection, the position could be cut

without any consideration of your qualifica-

tions or productivity.

Influence from Outside the

Department

A department chairperson is responsible to

deans and other administrators who have

different agendas. While the chairpersons may

make promises in good faith, there are exter-

nal factors over which they have no control,

such as budgets and enrollments. These fac-

tors may prevent them from fulfilling promis-

es made to their faculty. One way to under-

stand better the external factors influencing

personnel decisions is to request appoint-

ments on one or two meaningful department

and university committees. The seats of power

and knowledge are on budget, facilities, future

planning and curriculum committees.

Where Do You Want to Be?

Is the institution a place where you want to

spend the rest of your personal and profes-

sional life? A person with tenure can become

frozen at an institution and community

because it then is very difficult to compete

for new faculty positions at higher levels,

unless you are willing to become an admin-

istrator or to change fields.

Joint Appointments

Avoid accepting a joint appointment with

a department with different standards for

tenure and promotion. The result of joint

appointments is that neither department

gives the joint appointee its full support or

considers them a full-fledged member. In

addition, the joint appointee is often expect-

ed to perform two full-time jobs. Such

appointments are often driven by budget

problems and cobbled together out of

necessity rather than career development.

This is a serious conundrum for cell biolo-

gists with joint appointments in basic sci-

ence and clinical departments, where tenure

expectations are often incompatible.

All Politics Are Local

While e-mail and other forms of

telecommunications have eased profes-

sional and social isolation, tenure and pro-

motion decisions are made by the small cir-

cle of colleagues with whom you interact

every day, not predominantly by the world

outside the university. At the same time, it

is important to become part of the outside

community life, and not focus solely on

internal politics.

Support Staff

Secretaries, bookkeepers, lab personnel,

maintenance and repair people can be of

immense help behind the scenes. Respect

their work and get your grades, budgets, pro-

posals and purchase orders in on time and in

the format required, no matter how arcane.

This advice also applies to other professional

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR CELL BIOLOGY

If more than two people in the

department are waiting for

tenure at the same time you are,

your chances for obtaining tenure

are probably slim.