What is 'tenure'?

What is 'tenure'?

Tenure is a condition of employment that full professors are awarded by an institution, a college or a university. When they have been judged by their peer faculty members to have achieved a level of expertise in their field, that qualifies them for long-term employment, essentially lifetime employment. Tenure, essentially, is an unrestricted employment contract that a faculty member achieves after demonstrating that they have reached a level of scholarship and professional expertise. As such, a tenured faculty member is often employed at the same institution for the rest of their teaching career, and is protected from any sort of different administration or other influences that may threaten their right to teach the topics that they believe are appropriate according to their discipline.