Tenure Thoughts (II)

I think that research is critical to the academic enterprise. It is also the most quantifiable of the three divisions. Research includes articles, book reviews, books, presentations, and other scholarly activity. But the specific requirements for research is perhaps the most specific to the university. For example, many SBC institutions would (quite naturally) include contributions to the Biblical Illustrator (the journal that assists Sunday School teachers) as scholarly, but not many other schools. There is also a clear division between the Evangelical Theological Society and the American Academy of Religion or Society of Biblical Literature. ETS would not be considered an appropriate level of scholarship at many state institutions and even some denominational schools. (I haven’t attended a meeting there, but I do know some fine academics engaged in that society).

But essentially the tenure committee looks for the fact that the professor continues to be engaged in critical scholarship. This would be the equivalent of continuing education credits offered in many professional organizations. The average school requires two or three articles (over six years), four or five professional presentations and numerous book reviews. Some upper level schools require two books (assuming one is the dissertation, and at least a contract on a second). Obviously these are gross overgeneralizations.

At my institution, we probably require a little less than average in this area. A few articles and a few presentations would qualify for tenure, although recently we have had several candidates for tenure who had a book contract in hand.

As for me and my house, I am a bit light in the article department (1 plus a few encyclopedia entries) but I do have a dozen or so presentations at regional and national meetings as well as several book reviews. What cinches it for me (I hope)is that I do have a book coming out next spring by a university press. It is a book on the Psalms (of course). That should complete my research case for tenure.