The Chronicle of Higher Education
Date: April 14, 1995
Section: Personal & Professional
Page: A22
By Carolyn J. Mooney
A Harvard University scientist needed just three sentences to evaluate a young physicist up for tenure at the Ohio State University.
The candidate, Terrence P. Walker, "would already be tenured at most universities," the peer-review letter stated.
The tenure process can be emotionally draining for some candidates. They hold off putting down roots, buying a house, and even having children until they know whether they will have a permanent job.
But a handful of candidates, who are outstanding in teaching, research, and campus service, sail through.
"I think there are very few who are triple threats," says Provost John R. Sisson.
Mr. Walker was one of them. A big-bang physicist who studies the early universe, he had published 29 articles in top journals, received the Department of Energy's Outstanding Junior Investigator Award, and written a paper described as one of the most cited in the sciences. He had excellent grant support and outside reviews.
As for teaching, he had been named outstanding physics teacher and was known for his stimulating lectures. James C. Garland, dean of the College of Mathematics and Physical Sciences and a fellow physicist, wrote the provost that student comments about Mr. Walker's teaching "are just what you all need to brighten up a gloomy day in Bricker Hall." (One student wrote that Mr. Walker's occasional profanity was "uncalled for. I loved it." Other comments ranged from "One of the best lecturers I've had. Go Bucks! Beat Indiana" to "I hate physics, usually don't go to lectures but made almost everyone this quarter.")
Mr. Walker also sat on his department's undergraduate-studies panel, was honors adviser, and organized scholarly meetings.
Another strong candidate was Kristen Sellgren, an astronomer. She discovered the tiny dust grains in the interstellar medium now known as "Sellgren grains." She had excellent grant support, a good and improving teaching record, and a commitment to helping women in her field. "I feel very strongly that women should be equally represented in the sciences," she says.
Like Mr. Walker, Ms. Sellgren was considered for tenure early. Her outside reviews were glowing, although her former dissertation adviser at the California Institute of Technology said he would want to see one more "home run" if he were evaluating her for early tenure at Caltech. Ohio State decided that the home runs she had already hit were enough.
Xiaomei Chen, who works in Chinese and comparative cultural studies, was such a strong candidate that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology tried unsuccessfully to hire her. She was upset to learn from a reporter that M.I.T.'s letter, marked "confidential," was in her now-public tenure file. The file also included an O.S.U. dean's letter proposing a raise and a "substantial research package" to counter the job offer.
Even the strongest candidates for tenure believe they can learn from the process and improve. When some female students complained that Mr. Walker used too many sports analogies in class, he listened. Now, instead of assuming that everyone knows what a jump shot is, he might wheel out a basketball net and show them.