Dear Law School Ethicist:
Law School hires X for a tenure track position because of expertise in a given area of the law. X has spent 5 years at Law School where she has been a standout as a teacher and has amassed a scholarly record considerably in excess of what is expected of a young professor. Some faculty and the new dean, who has a novel vision for Law School, have concluded that Law School actually has sufficient faculty strength in X's area of expertise without the presence of X on the faculty. This group would much prefer to hire a new professor in a "hot" area of the law but lack a free slot that would enable them to do so. It is suggested that they reject X for tenure, thereby freeing the slot that they could use to hire the new entrant in the "hot" area of the law. X has made considerable sacrifice in moving to Law School from 500 miles away and giving up a tenured position at another lesser school. Is it ethical for you to vote to deny X tenure?
Wow, I'll take a crack at this one. If she met the tenure standards she gets tenure. I suspect in the regulations of the school it says something about what those standards are NOT among them opportunistic tenure denials.
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