To those outside academia — and especially those in the business world — the institution of tenure has long been a mystery, and to some even something of an affront. A guaranteed job for life! Who else has that? Kings and queens. The pope. Mick Jagger, apparently.

For most working people there is the insecurity of the market, the threat that supply will exceed demand, the fear of failing to keep up with change or not remaining "cutting edge" enough to be marketable, and the possibility that employers will grow dissatisfied with your performance or simply stop liking you enough to keep you around. But for the tenured professor there is the secure feeling that — barring extreme circumstances — employment is guaranteed.

At its best, tenure calls to mind the image of the intellectually engaged professor, flourishing in an environment in which the free exchange of ideas (however extreme they might be) is protected and encouraged — and passing ideas on to a new generation throughout a long and productive career.

At its worst, there is the image of intellectual deadwood: the teacher who hasn’t published an article or attended a conference in 10 or 15 years, who reads the same stale lecture notes semester after semester, whose students all do well on exams because those exams never change and have been passed from class to class for a decade.

Tenure is basically a commitment on the part of the institution to employ the faculty member permanently, except in specific, unusual cases. And it’s somewhat different at every institution, adding to the layperson’s — and even academics’ — confusion about how it all works. At Ithaca College, there are generally four tenure-eligible faculty ranks (those in which one may work toward possible continuous employment). They are, in ascending order: instructor, assistant professor, associate professor (the title normally granted along with tenure), and professor. Other faculty positions, such as lecturer and adjunct, are non–tenure track. A faculty member in her or his sixth year at the College in a tenure-track or tenure-eligible position may apply for tenure. But longevity on the job is hardly the sole basis for receiving it.