This radio play exposes the anatomy of a tenure case, the proposed promotion of Jasmine Jackson who teaches electrical engineering at the Cambridge Technology Institute (CTI), a fictionalized version of MIT. The play is an adaptation from the author’s full-length novel, “One Man’s Purpose,” which tells a more complex story of Professor Martin Quint, who mentors Jasmine’s tenure case, as he deals with the many stresses of academic life in the fast lane.

On the Receiving End

“On the Receiving End” is a short vignette attempting to make palpable the kinds of slights and often-unintentional insults that individuals may face. The generic name for such things is “microaggressions,” although that word often does not capture the innocent, hurtful mistakes that someone can make when not sufficiently aware of how their remarks or behavior might be received.

This short drama, excerpted from the author’s novel “One Man’s Purpose,” tells the story of how the simple peer review of a journal paper can spiral out of control into a career threatening confrontation between a powerful, senior person, and a junior person just trying to make it to the next level.

Am I an Imposter?

This short vignette illustrates what is called “The Imposter Syndrome,” a feeling that one is not qualified to be in the position one holds. The episode presented here is a fictionalized version of a problem that the author experienced, first-hand, as a young faculty member.

Who gets the offer?

This short drama shows a built-in conflict between universities wishing to expand the diversity of their faculty and the simultaneous wish to hire the “best” available candidate. Applicants for faculty positions now find themselves embedded in a process in which their “diversity” credentials can play an important role in their qualification for hiring. The extent to which diversity issues are even allowed to inform faculty-hiring decisions is, at the time of writing, a contentious political issue in some states. Universities are struggling with the repercussions of s recent Supreme Court decision regarding the use of affirmative action in admissions, and these issues spill over into faculty hiring. Thus, this is a time of flux in search standards and practices.