Tenure and promotion are two separate situations. I didn't realize this when I was at LargeU, mostly because there were not two separate committees to handle T&P.
Promotion is given based on what you've already done.
Tenure is (mostly) granted (if you ignore all the political BS) for what you will get done.
You can get tenure without being promoted. I am told that it happens, since the two situations are supposed to be considered independent of one other (in space but not necessarily in time).
....but does it actually happen?
If I got tenured but not promoted, I don't think I would stay around.
Still. I haven't heard of a case where someone gets tenured but doesn't becoming an associate prof. Have you?
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I have never heard of anyone who got tenure as assistant prof but did not go on to being promoted to associate, which is what I suppose you are asking. I think assistant prof +tenure => promotion to associate every time.
However, there are people who are initially hired as associate or full professors, but without tenure (e.g. they are coming from industry or a national lab, so they are established researchers but do not automatically get tenure because of little teaching and/or grant writing experience). For these people, getting tenure does not necessarily mean promotion.
I have never ever heard of or met a tenured assistant professor. In most institutions, the promotion to associate professor is coincident with the granting of tenure, and it is handled by the same committees as part of a unitary process: "Should we promote this person from untenured assistant professor to tenured associate professor?"
There are a relatively small number of institutions at which promotion to associate professor first occurs without tenure, and then tenure is adjudicated later. If successful, the untenured associate professor becomes a tenured associate professor.
And then there an even smaller number of institutions at which only full professors have tenure, and the promotion to full professor is coincident with the grant of tenure.
I knew a tenured lecturer, not even an Asst. Prof (only had an MS), but that was an extremely unusual situation and likely would not happen at that university today. I'm also pretty sure that I've heard of instances where a person got tenure but not promoted (and hence did not get the promotion pay raise), but can't recall the details so I can't swear to it. Ditto for early promotion to Assoc, with tenure coming later.
Certainly the promotion committee will handle the Assoc to Full decisions by itself, just as the tenure committee will handle the Assoc without tenure case by itself. My suggestion, however, is that you ask your mentor(s) how the system works where you are, not the places we know about. And it is not too soon to building your case for tenure and promotion.
This sounds like one person I know, who told me that she got tenure without promotion. She left the institution in question. My understanding was that it was an institutionally peculiar way of denying tenure.
I have the same experience as CPP. In ever case that I'm familiar with, promotion and tenure are two parts of the same decision. There are no Assistant Professors with tenure at BigU. There are associate prof w/o tenure, but they were not hired on a tenure-track so it was never an option to give them tenure when they were promoted
I don't think I've heard of what you are describing. I've heard of associate profs not being tenured. Or tenured associates never being promoted to full. Other than that it was my impression that Full profs always had tenure, and assistants always didn't.
CoworkerFriend is now at an institution that has separate committees for T&P. Ours at PermaU is one committee, so I'm not really clear on how it works.
I've yet to hear of a person who got promoted but not tenured...so I'm curious if it *does* happen.
Other than that it was my impression that Full profs always had tenure, and assistants always didn't.
There are institutions--some of them quite esteemed--that have parallel non-tenure tracks in which one can be promoted to full professor.
I have heard of one case where the person changed institutions and as part of their package they were given associate w/o tenure. They came up for tenure in year 2 (3 yr contract) at New School, and was tenured. I have no intimate knowledge of the situation but I was told by mentors that this situation was to make sure the person 'didn't sit on their @$$' after changing to New School.
Random speculation by me: the associate grade was necessary to pay the salary the faculty negotiated.
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