The Academic Nomad: the top 10 ways to avoid tenure adapted from a presentation by Michael Hosokawa Associate Dean, UMC School of Medicine 3/20/02

The Academic Nomad characteristic career goals: 1. Associate Professor at Panhandle Community College 2.Associate Professor at Bo-Diddly Tech. 3. Former faculty member of a Research Oneinstitution

Are you an academic nomad? Do you 1. enjoy applying for jobs--it is like having pen pals? 2. have fun interviewing for jobs-- you meet new people? 3. enjoy packing/unpacking your belongings—like a scavenger hunt?

4.consider house hunting as an adventure? 5.keep the economy healthy by paying a realtor commissions? 6.think cleaning the oven and patching the walls are good for the soul? 7.keep your family from being bored by moving every few years?

8.clean the social slate and shorten the Christmas card list by saying goodbye to friends? You can always use Rent- a-Friend. 9.believe that being vested in a retirement plan is for the insecure? 10.think finding a new doctor, dentist, mechanic, and hair stylist is an entertaining challenge?

To be an academic nomad, you need to avoid tenure at all costs.

The Top 10 Ways to Avoid Tenure

10. Relax, you have six years before being reviewed for tenure--there’s plenty of time for scholarship.

The Top 10 Ways to Avoid Tenure 9. Put off updating your CV--save it for a time when you have nothing better to do--unless you don’t have anything to put on your CV.

The Top 10 Ways to Avoid Tenure 8.Adopt the attitude that research, publications and grants are the currency of higher education. After all, anyone can teach.

The Top 10 Ways to Avoid Tenure 7.If you’re an excellent, award-winning teacher, you can be tenured on the merits of your teaching alone.

The Top 10 Ways to Avoid Tenure 6.Your annual review is not important. You and your chair are too busy! So what if some faculty have a written summary of their reviews--your chair says you’re doing fine.

The Top 10 Ways to Avoid Tenure 5.Trust your chair when he reassures you that you will be promoted and tenured. If necessary, he will take care of things with the provost and the chancellor.

The Top 10 Ways to Avoid Tenure 4.Believe that your research is so wonderful that peer review is not possible. You have no peers. After all, who else is putting rats in a blender?

The Top 10 Ways to Avoid Tenure 3.Steer clear of those hot-stuff journals with their editorial boards and peer review. You can always get five articles published a year in the journals of last resort.

The Top 10 Ways to Avoid Tenure 2.Believe this: At the department level, my colleagues will review me favorably. At the college/school level, the dean has the final word. At the university level, the review is just a formality.

The Top 10 Ways to Avoid Tenure 1.Don’t read faculty handbooks or manuals. Policies, procedures and guidelines are boring.

Tips on P&T (promotion & tenure) Read the faculty handbook. You are ultimately responsible for your promotion and/or tenure. Peer review is important whether for journal articles, fine arts exhibits, performances or presentations. Teaching is valued. Student reviews and peer reviews are important.

As a faculty member at a research institution, scholarly productivity is expected including peer reviewed scholarship, grants and teaching. Serve on national committees, editorial boards, peer review panels, grant reviews, search committees--be a good citizen, but do not specialize in committees

Associate Professor: Consistent productivity, quality teaching and potential Professor: Consistent productivity, quality teaching and national/international recognition as an authority in your field