odd tenure track hiring process - Assistant Professor Clarkson University Employee Review

while Clarkson has a well defined "Operations Manual" with specific instructions on faculty hiring process, these are not followed - and the outside population at large is unaware of the political intrigue... I was one of 5 finalists for a tenure track position, and none of us got the job offer; rather, a friend of the oldest professor on campus was taken on as an associate professor (brought in at higher rank than advertised. All the applicants received notice that they were not the "top applicant", certainly implying that the individual selected was AT LEAST an applicant... He was not even an applicant since he did not apply for the position, since no seminar was given, and no interviews were conducted... After two years, this individual was given tenure, even though the tenure committee unanimously rejected his paper-thin tenure file. At time of tenure, this individual had not taught a single course, brought in any research monies, or published a single paper... The remainder of this saga has details full of intrigue and suspense, but the gist is that the president was informed that many people knew about this individual's rejection by the tenure committee, and he denied having been informed of this. A copy of the letter from the tenure committee to the president was available to many, even though the president categorically denied knowledge of their decision.