tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post5181058559426562177..comments2024-03-28T18:17:00.135-05:00Comments on Computational Complexity: The Tenure system is broken but not in the way that you think (Anon Guest Post)Lance Fortnowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06752030912874378610noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-13958955285428350132018-09-11T21:03:45.145-05:002018-09-11T21:03:45.145-05:00I am the anonymous poster. I do take letter writin...I am the anonymous poster. I do take letter writing seriously -- so seriously that I give my actual opinion even if that opinion is negative. All I'm saying is that I've never seen it matter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-53214034266206430172018-09-11T20:20:47.797-05:002018-09-11T20:20:47.797-05:00I completely agree with Lance. Tenure is not auto...I completely agree with Lance. Tenure is not automatic, even after letters are requested. At least in my experience, promotion committees scrutinize letters extremely carefully, looking for specific evidence of research quality/impact that may only be visible to experts in the candidate's subfield. And yes, I've seen cases denied after letters were submitted. As Lance says, take your letter-writing seriously, or you may hurt someone's career.JeffEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17633745186684887140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-81059271321872170212018-09-11T13:15:11.201-05:002018-09-11T13:15:11.201-05:00The value of the letters may depend on how the uni...The value of the letters may depend on how the university structures its P&T process. At the two I have worked at, candidates are reviewed at some stage in the process by faculty from other disciplines. These faculty, in my experience, take the external letters seriously.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-59951832246124930252018-09-11T12:45:55.968-05:002018-09-11T12:45:55.968-05:00This is a provocative suggestion! It sure would be...This is a provocative suggestion! It sure would be useful to know what the tenure rate really is, although that's a bit complicated. What fraction of faculty hired into untenured positions go up for tenure? What fraction of those that go up ultimately receive tenure? What are the details of a faculty member's scholarly record, etc. that predict whether they will seek tenure? What details predict whether the department endorses that request for evaluation (regardless of how the department ultimately votes)? Etc. The value of tenure letters may be low in the end because so much of the information they contain is actually available through other sources. Or, they may be low-information for most people, but crucial for a small subset of faculty, e.g., those who work on controversial or unpopular ideas, or who have unusual records.<br /><br />Anyway, this is a good topic to think about, but I'd suggest we not rush to throw them out before really understanding what the data say about them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-18607460200999050122018-09-11T12:39:06.682-05:002018-09-11T12:39:06.682-05:00It's just not true that promotion and tenure i...It's just not true that promotion and tenure is automatic at most schools and weak letters are often the cause for a decline. Nobody likes to advertise the ones that don't make it so you don't hear about it as much. So take your letter writing seriously or you may hurt someones career. Lance Fortnowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06752030912874378610noreply@blogger.com