Celebrating tenure and promotion

Matt Nyquist and Kristen Grimmer were granted tenure and promoted to associate professors. The duo works closely on the Keynote Speaker Event and the WIFI film festival

by Rachel Janzen

The life of a professor is a constantly moving machine that juggles grading, student needs, career research, department projects and much more than the average person realizes. Professors on tenure track have a looming goal that pushes them to achieve much more than is simply required of them.

After six years of working at a university, professors are eligible to earn tenure. Earning tenure is a long process that potentially threatens professor’s careers. Two mass media professors, Kristen Grimmer and Matthew Nyquist, can rest easy and celebrate, as they have both earned tenure as of spring 2023.

Associate professor of mass media Kristen Grimmer primarily teaches public relations classes.

“It’s always in the back of your mind from when you get hired that this will be coming one day. It truthfully just feels very overwhelming and then once you get to the other side, it’s relieving” said Grimmer.

Associate professor of mass media Matthew Nyquist predominantly teaches film and video courses while also advising the student organization Washburn Filmmakers Association.

“I’m grateful to have it. I’m thankful for the opportunity to help you guys and do it for a lot longer,” said Nyquist.

Earning tenure is a highly sought after achievement in the academia world. Tenure brings job security and a higher salary to those who earn it. For those who fail the process, they have the rest of the year to find a new job. Professors must create a comprehensive packet that demonstrates their ability to teach, their professional research, and the service they’ve done for their department. These packets are hundreds of pages long and include alumni testimonials, student opinions, student performance reports, proof of research projects, publications, awards and an extensive vitae.

“It takes a lot of extra effort to gather the amount of evidence you need. I ended up with 350 separate documents by the time I was done, ” said Grimmer.

Once the packet is created, the packet goes up the chain of command through many review boards and committees until it reaches the Washburn Board of Regents. For Grimmer and Nyquist, the process took over seven months for them to get their verdicts.