Hi all, am coming back to this thread to ask about a potential faux pas that I am trying not to make...
I have a campus visit coming up soon. I came across the online CV of someone who is now a fellow at a research institute abroad and has "Assistant Professor, 2004-2011" in the department that is interviewing me listed on their Vita. I've been digging around a little, and it rather looks like this person was denied tenure last year - despite the fact that they have a decently good publication record. Not stellar, but enough that I would really have thought they would have been fine at this particular college.
Is there any sneaky, quiet, non-faux-pas way to find out more during the campus visit about what happened? My curiosity comes from a general question along the lines of "So, what are the tenure requirements here, and what does the department do to help junior faculty succeed?" I guess that would be the way to ask, but given that someone in the department was recently denied tenure I wonder if even that question might be off-limits?
My guess is that I should just keep my mouth shut, but I admit it just has me worried - I am not sure I'll be able to fare any better than this person in the coming years. I suppose this is how I will console myself if/when I don't get the job! It's also a reason not to have that glass of wine at dinner, because if I drink a second glass I will be entirely tempted to throw caution to the winds and ask directly...
No no no! No wine for you, and no asking the question!
You don't actually know *if* the person left much less was denied tenure --- we see on these boards all the time that people are moving to take snazzier jobs or deal with two-body problems or even go on some sort of sabbatical leave. Or maybe the person took a longer tenure clock? You don't know and shouldn't ask ... not at this point in the process, anyway.
You should ask --- or have volunteered, ideally --- the information on tenure and the process and if there is any sort of mentor person. But don't start digging around about Prof X, who might not actually have been denied tenure even. What happens if Prof X actually *hasn't* been denied tenure and you ask about the tenure denial? And if people *do* start telling you the juicy story, just nod and go "mm-hmm." Dishing dirt on fellow faculty to a candidate doesn't really reflect well on those people.
Sorry to jump in on you! I just had horrible images of someone fortifying themself with wine and opening up a can of worms at the campus dinner. Huh ... why do we call it a can of worms, exactly?
