A refreshing experience

Recently I was asked by a university to evaluate an individual for tenure and promotion. The process was fascinating and I found refreshing.

The university send me copies of a selection of the individuals papers and a copy of a short CV. I was asked to review the scientific merit of the papers and thus comment on the suitability of the individual for tenure. There was no discussion of grant money received, numbers of Ph.D students graduated, number of publications, citation metrics, university "service", public outreach, journal impact factors, speaking invitations, .....

I found this refreshing, since it was in striking contrast to the values and emphasis of most institutions, which are very concerned with these other criteria, that I consider are secondary.

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