Who says bloggers don't get tenure?

Last year it was Chad Orzel over at Uncertain Principles, who got an e-mail to that effect in mid February.

This year it is Profgrrrrl, who got notified in mid March (link will not stay available for long).

I find it interesting that it takes only a month longer at a large research university than it does at a small liberal arts college, and that the former appears to have used an expensive actual letter rather than e-mail. Also interesting is the detail that Chad's college waits and sends a Really Nice Letter in the summer, which shows a really personal touch, and offers to split the cost of academic robes. Again, when there are only 200 faculty, you must have to go out of your way to get a goodly number of "spear carriers" for when the fat lady sings compared to the situation at a megaversity.

Random closing thoughts: Chad's liberal arts college has about as many students (for four years) as my high school had (for three years) and half as many students as my dorm had! However, my dorm also housed the "residential" college I was in, so it is clear that my alma mater did a good job simulating many features of that sort of education within an otherwise huge and anonymous organization.