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<p>If so, then you will surely find epic tragicomedy amongst the tenured faculty at most universities, even (or perhaps especially) amongst the top-ranked research universities. I think most people who have been around academia can name more than a handful of tenured faculty who, frankly, haven’t really seemed to have done much for years on end. </p>
<p>But don’t take my word for it. Consider the lamentations published in the Journal of Management Inquiry by Don Hambrick, one of the leading management scholars in the world and former President of the Academy of Management. </p>
<p>“…Once, a newly-tenured
colleague, steeped in the language of economics, told
me—without a hint of sheepishness—that he wasnow
going to do some “profit-taking.” He intended to
enjoy the fruits of his prior hard work by greatly
increasing his outside consulting and spending more
time on his hobbies. Within 3 years, he was seen as a
noncontributor, a bad joke, in his department and
school…” - Don Hambrick, “Letter to a Newly Tenured Professor”, Journal of Management Inquiry, 2005, 14:300, page 301. </p>
<p>And it is precisely that sort of behavior that is the reason why numerous people believe that tenure ought to be abolished. Tenure is the ultimate ‘asymmetrically-valued good’ because those academics who continue to be highly productive have little need for tenure, for if they ever lose their job, some other university is likely to snap them up. It is precisely those academics who cease to be productive who value tenure the most, but they are also the very same academics who deserve it the least.</p>