When I first considered becoming a college professor, tenure was not an attraction or even an issue. I was drawn to the profession by the work and the environment. Even after earning a Ph.D., spending time working in Washington D.C., and finally getting my first teaching job in public administration, I was not particularly concerned with tenure. I now work at a regional institution that requires an attainable balance between teaching, research, and service. I have always been a hard worker and see no reason to stop.

But my vision of tenure has changed, I do not want to always by the same kind of professor I am now. Now, I am working on articles, course preparations, learning the details of the curriculum so I can advise students, and building institutional knowledge by serving on university committees. Today, my productivity is high and I focus on “ collecting beans, ” tomorrow, I would like to focus on quality.

Whether tenure can give me the opportunity to focus on quality is questionable, but the idea of longevity is a concept that seems to have broad acceptance in most professions. My friends who became lawyers and accountants spend their time talking about becoming partners; medical doctors talk about establishing a practice; civil servants are protected by the merit system. The professionals in these fields serve a probationary period( 试用期 ) and demonstrate competence to attain a certain level of freedom in their fields. After that, we expect that their professionalism can be used to serve society.