53 - Balancing Profession with Ego

Summary

While there are many challenges facing a developing scholar, one of the most salient issues is achieving tenure, or long-term institutional commitment. Of course, tenure is a consequence of being an effective scholar, educator, and colleague. To an individual, tenure provides a sense of security and the opportunity to pursue a research and educational agenda that may diverge from mainstream emphases, and thus to take on new risks and adventures. From an administrator’s perspective, such as that of a dean, and the personal perspective I’m presenting in this case, tenure represents a number of commitments made by an institution to a faculty member. Financially, tenure represents an investment in an individual easily amounting to $5.5 million in salary (conservatively based on 20 years of $200,000/year) and an additional $3 million in benefits in today’s dollars. Depending on specialization, a business school professor may be expected to earn $8–10 million in salary and benefits during a post-tenure career.

In terms of research, a positive tenure decision commits a faculty slot for a career that will both expand and limit the organization’s ability to respond to new market demands. A faculty member whose research remains stagnant and non-evolving commits critical resources of a university over a very long period in ways that might have been otherwise deployed. On the other hand, an innovative and dynamic scholar and educator who commits to an institution can create tremendous success and impact for a university.