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[wd813]

"The entire tenure process was done--as it would have been done from a TT candidate--in order to award the new chair tenure.  The offer was contingent on the new university awarding tenure before the contract began."

This seems like a fair scenario, if the two schools have common tenure criteria.  However, what if one is at a SLAC and applying for the chairship at larger university (or vice versa)? Mind you, not to an R1, just something a bit larger. Or, what if one is transitioning from a public to private (again, these could be switched) university?  Could/would that make a difference?

[fannie]

The new chair had to meet the criteria of the new school.  I don't think anyone cared much what the old school's criteria were.  The candidate met the criteria, so there wasn't any problem.

[anthroid]

I came into this chair position with tenure.  No way would I have taken the job without tenure.  I had been tenured at my previous institution so there wasn't much controversy about it either way.

I would never, ever take an administrative job without tenure and faculty status.  Never.  While chairs are meant to be advocates for the department, sometimes that means upholding standards that some faculty members do not appreciate.  I turned down a request from a very senior member of my faculty last fall (though the department committee passed it) and he remains furious with me for doing so--his thought is that the chair is supposed to support faculty in whatever they want to do.  I disagree.  So does the Dean and most of my colleagues.  If I wasn't tenured, though, this would have been much riskier.

[pixel]

If accepting a position at a new school as a chair,  with rights to go back to teaching, how long would a person have to remain as chair to exercise these rights? If one didn't have tenure when hired as the chair could they return to the classroom prior to obtaining it?

[asstdean]

A couple of folks have returned to the faculty recently at my place.  They had come in as untenured chairs, got tenure, and then -- after about 10 years -- went back to the faculty.  Nobody shed a tear in either department b/c both were reckoned to be bad chairs -- but excellent faculty members, it must be said.