Dan Drezner, one of my favourite bloggers, has been denied tenure at the University of Chicago. He is understandably disappointed. It may have something to do with him having a blog:
[Speaking of regrets, let’s go back to the blog…. er… any regrets?–ed.] The very first words I wrote on this blog were: “I shouldn’t be doing this. I’ll be going up for tenure soon.” This is a theme that I’ve touched on several times since then. The point is, I can’t say I didn’t go into this with my eyes open.
That said, if one assumes that the opportunity cost of blogging (e.g., better or more scholarship) was the difference between tenure and no tenure – an unclear assertion at best – then it’s a tough call. From a strict cost-benefit analysis, one could argue that the doors that blogging opened could have been deferred for a few years in return for the annuity of a tenured position at Chicago. That said, if I did things only for the money, I never would have entered the academy in the first place. And I’ve enjoyed the psychic rewards of blogging way too much to regret my choice.
Makes me wonder about my own job prospects as this blog continues to grow.
Damien Mulley posted about this earlier, and linked to this article in the New York Sun.