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[grasshopper]

Having the opportunity to choose tt positions is not the reality for most people on the job market.

Were it so, though (and from what I understand, the market in Communications is actually pretty good, especially compared to say, just for argument's sake, Religious Studies), I would have a hard time faulting someone for wanting the things he lists: good schools, pleasant climate, collegial department, research support, a high salary, opportunity to teach courses specific to the person's research, an office with a view. Who wouldn't want these things? Sorry, buddy, but if you're not offering these and other schools are, then you'll be reaching for the fuzzy end of the lollipop.

And if we're going to make the stretch from his purposeless rantings about Big Jerk Candidates Who Don't Want To Work At His School to tenure, then wouldn't those things help someone with their tenure bids? Research support? Check. Supportive department? Check. Low course load? Check.

Final analysis: someone's got a bug up his butt.

[iheartscantrons]

Through the entire article is his angst that other people don't think that Iowa State is as awesome as he thinks it is.  And instead of writing a good article about the perils of institutional snobbery, he tried to pretend that he was really writing about tenure. 

Oh, Iowa State.  Abandon hope, all who enter here.

[shrek]

Perhaps it would be helpful for this article to be followed by a similar article written from a small school perspective.

But, from my long experience at (only) a large R1, this article didn't deliver. I first thought, "great, I'll send this to our junior faculty who are acting so paranoid about the tenure process." But, it just seemed incoherent to me and there's no reason to make the junior faculty in my department more paranoid.