In our thread on prior credit toward tenure, 'Going Up Tenure Year' writes:
Question re: going up in your tenure year. I am going to be doing that — is there something particular that you put into your cover letters? I am on track to get tenure here and my letter writers from here will mention that … should I also mention it?
My initial reaction is that this is probably not the sort of thing to note in a cover letter, as it should be easy for anyone reading a file to infer. Still, I'm not sure, and in any case it raises an interesting more general question: namely, how forthright should one be in cover-letters? To see what I mean, consider the following scenarios:
- Applying for jobs elsewhere when going up for tenure as a 'backup plan' in case one doesn't get tenure.
- Applying for jobs elsewhere when coming up for tenure because one is a 'sure thing' for tenure.
- Applying for tenure-track jobs elsewhere well several years before coming up for tenure because one thinks one would be a better fit for a different kind of institution.
- Applying for junior-level tenure-track jobs with a 'two-body problem' (i.e. spouse or partner).
- Applying laterally for tenured positions because of a two-body problem.
- Applying from tenured position to untenured positions because of a two-body problem.
How forthright should one be about one's reasons for applying for a position? I have to confess that I'm not sure at all! On the one hand, my sense is that in some cases a search-committee might find some kind of explanation in a cover letter helpful. Without any explanation, a search-committee in cases (3) or (6) might wonder, "Why in the world is this person applying for our job when they are already progressing well toward tenure at their current institution?" In these cases, some kind of explanation in the candidate's cover letter could help a search-committee better understand the candidate's intent in applying. On the other hand, providing such an explanation could be taken as "giving too much information" or prejudice the committee against the candidate.
What do all of you think, particularly those of you who have served on search committees? Should "Going Up Tenure Year" mention that they are going up for tenure? Again, I'm inclined to think not, but I could be wrong. Alternatively, what do you all think about the other kinds of cases?
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