Tenure Tips for New Faculty

At Fumbling Towards Tenure this week, Dr. Becca wraps up the new faculty orientation she recently attended, for which her institution "brought in several newly tenured faculty for a 90-minute panel on how to get tenure … and their candidness and wisdom were much appreciated." Throughout those 90 minutes, Dr. Becca sent a series of tweets, highlighting key points of the discussion. First, the panel members emphasized that new faculty should "make yourself tenurable, not just [here], but anywhere." Later, the panel made a point that Dr. Becca says was "great advice no matter what stage of your career you're in" — faculty should "add at least one new line to each section of your CV every year." Whether that means publishing new papers, getting new grants, winning awards, or signing up for new committees, Dr. Becca says "keep building." Elsewhere in the discussion, the panel emphasized striking a balance between building collaborations and maintaining independence. At her Twitter feed, she paraphrases a panel statement, saying "collaborate to extend your resources and diversify your portfolio, but remember your independence is also being judged."