A not-so-polished but also not-so-jargon-filled explanation of what exactly is tenure...

Tenure is THE milestone for tenure-track faculty (it's even embedded in the name before you get it). But what is tenure? Great question. And, as you might have guessed from the tone of this intro, I'm doing a slightly different style and going very conversational about how I'd explain tenure to my higher education friends. So the post will have less links and resources, but more humor, metaphors, and reflections. Enjoy~

Tenure is essentially the recognition that you have made a significant contribution to your field, and in doing so, your institution gives you indefinite job security (though some states and schools are *cough* looking to revoke tenure, so there's that...). And to prove that you have made this contribution, part of the framing you have to do is through a "best, first, only" lens (thank you Dr. Morgan for this)

• Are you considered one of the experts (i.e., best) when it comes to talking about this topic?
• Are you one of the first to study this topic?
• Are you the only (or one of the only people) researching this topic? 

To be clear, these questions are WILD--not just in terms of having to frame my own work through these questions (when I barely enjoy hearing compliments) and what feels like a Christopher-Colombo-coloniality of claiming dominance, but also in the ways you have to assert that: YES, I am THAT GIRL and I DID in fact DO THE THING​... and here is my proof based on the articles I've published, the grants I've received, the citations, the impact factors... not to mention the teaching evaluations, service for the college and student committees I've done, and on and on. Yeah, you have to write narratives for not only your impact and significance with research, but also with teaching, and service. This then becomes the tenure dossier you submit, that then (depending on institutions) will be sent out to people who are called "external reviewers" (who don't know you that well) who essentially evaluate if you've made enough of an original, scholarly, contribution to the field. 

Then....it's a waiting game. After you submit the dossier, it goes through rounds and rounds of review. And like the leveling up of a Super Mario game, you can get knocked out at any level. My levels (after it went to the external reviewers) went to the school-level committee, to the dean, to the university-wide committee, to the provost, president, and board of trustees. (For public universities, you have one more level which is the state). And then at some point after 6, 9, 12 months, you get the official letter: you got it, or you didn't. If you got it, amazing. If you didn't, you have to leave your position after the following academic year.  It's a little (*cough: A LOT) high stakes. The whole process is a (terrible) waiting game, and even if you're considered a shoo-in, you just never know (and there's quite a bit of research on cases that exemplify just that; if you're prepping for tenure submission, I wouldn't recommend reading them at this time). So until you get the news, it's a constant liminal space of uncertainty, while also knowing that you've been grinding away for at least half-a-decade to get to this point. But no biggie, obviously (this is sarcasm). AND also, if you do get it, it's nice: nice for the job security, nice for the recognition from the field, and nice in terms of attaining his huge goal for all the labor you've done. You go from being a "tenure-track assistant professor" to an "associate professor with tenure." And then, you go thru it again if you want to be promoted to "full professor."

And in case you're wondering, yes, I did get tenure.