Page 10 of I Still Love You (Citation Needed)

Dr. Fairfax wasn’t finished though. “I’ve been looking into some grants and zero-interest loans for accessibility improvements. I believe we can make construction a priority and maybe even rebuild one of the dorms if we can convince the Woodhouse Family to foot the bill. The one we built with their original donation is now the worst dorm on campus and the least accessible. A new dorm means we can attract better students and charge more.”

Dr. Fairfax’s mouth moved, but I could only hear the pounding of my heart. I considered going to the bathroom, but we were placed at a table at the opposite end of the restaurant and getting there was an obstacle course. Then again, that would kill twenty minutes.

“Now that both of you are finishing up your degrees, I know you’ll be strong candidates for the jobs we’re going to open,” Dr. Fairfax said, catching my attention. “They’ll have to hire someone new to replace me and we’re ready to post three other jobs. It’s nice to know both of you are committed to staying with Lacock State.”

I was taken aback by the comment and my mind reeled. “I’m not looking for a job in academia,” I quickly said.

Dr. Fairfax zeroed in on me with narrowed eyes. “What do you mean?” she asked in a low, even voice.

I looked to Mason who was staring at his plate. He gripped his fork and his jaw was tight. I was confused. He knew I had my own plans outside of academia. I thought everyone on campus knew.

“Why,” Lois Fairfax continued when I didn’t respond, “would you get a PhD if you don’t want to work in academia?”

I took a deep breath and pursed my lips. I was feeling combative and irritated. “I did it on the advice of Grace who felt it would give me the authority and expertise to do the advocacy work I’m already doing. It’s been working very well as I publish and develop relationships. My impending degree has resulted in more people taking me seriously. There are already hints, from the organizations I’m working with, that I will be offered plenty of jobs.”

This seemed to kill the evening. Soon Dr. Fairfax got a call and left the table, leaving us to take care of the bill. I put it on my credit card, wondering how I could figure out how to write it off my taxes. We drove home in silence. I didn’t understand what had happened, but it wasn’t good. That night had been the beginning of the end for Mason and me.

“Does this mean he’ll be out of a job?” I asked.

Grace sighed and took a sip of her wine. I knew she was buying some time to think of how to be political about it. This is what had eaten away at my relationship with Mason. It had been Lois who convinced him that the security of tenure at a university was better than my tenuous plan to start a non-profit that barely had financial support. I was sure she had played on his other anxieties like being close to his grandparents, but she had been aggressive about the job security of academia.

“You don’t have to crouch your language with me,” I reminded her. “I already dislike the entire situation.”

She gave me a small smile. “It’s so complicated, Penny. He won’t know the final results until this summer. Then he’ll have a year to make plans.”

I nodded and started to play with my cocktail napkin. “There’s another committee before it gets to Lois, right?”

Grace held up a hand and ticked off phases on her fingers. “He submitted his material to the department committee, and they reviewed it first. It should have been easy to get past them. Then the head of our department was next and that, too, should have been easy to get past. The campus tenure committee is the most difficult group through the entire process. I’ve seen his packet, Penny. His students love him, and he’s the most popular professor on campus.”

I slowly nodded my head as I ran through the political ramifications in my head. “That’s not the expectation for tenure, though. I’ve heard about petty grievances being played out when it came to tenure application,” I said. “Is this a fight against Lois and he’s a pawn? Shouldn’t he be looking for a new job?”

Grace nodded. “Sure, but he doesn’t talk to me. I get the impression he stopped trusting Lois just like the rest of the department has. Unfortunately, they think he’s being lazy and entitled.”

That wasn’t the Mason I knew. I was sure this hadn’t worked out the way he expected, but he gave his all to his students. I hoped this motivated him to get out of Lacock State before it was too late. “Everyone has suggested he get tenure though?” I asked, curious about how this was playing out.

“Yes,” she said and took another sip of her wine. “The application progresses to the campus committee regardless of their recommendation. The department and the chair did recommend, but they had clear criticism about his lack of research, articles, and conference presentations. They even criticized how he priorities his work in EncycloWiki.”

I dropped the napkin I was playing with. “Wait, he didn’t submit any research?”

I was irritated that his work on EncycloWiki had been criticized, but it still wasn’t considered impactful work. I knew there were efforts to change that, and I remembered seeing something about Mason doing a presentation about that topic. I was curious about that session now that I knew he was getting push back from his colleagues.

Grace bobbed her head side to side, thinking about my questions. “He did, but he wasn’t the first author on anything published and that’s all the committee cared about now that Lois changed the tenure requirements. EncycloWiki editing is like writing for any encyclopedia. It never counts toward anything except ego. I can’t imagine they would have ever made it easy for him to get tenure, but this year they have the tools to push him out and weaken Lois.”

I felt my jaw drop. Being listed as the first author on a research article was critical to getting tenure and promotions within academic. It was the spot of the person who did the most work to conduct the research and write the article. The only other position of importance was being the last author because it was a sign of respect for mentors. Grace was often the last author on my early articles as my mentor. She had let me be the second author as a grad student when she published. It was just like Mason to generously give to those around him with no concern about what he needed. I had seen it happen so many times when we had been together. It had been something I loved and hated about him. I learned to make sure that I thought about what he needed since he often forgot.

“You’re quiet,” Grace said as I sat thinking.

“I’m processing everything, but I didn’t realize they hated Lois so much.”

In reality, I was fantasizing about what could happen for him if he got the hell out of Lacock State. He had only come here to be closer to his grandparents, his only living relatives. If he couldn’t focus on teaching and he no longer trusted Lois, then he could get out of a bad situation before it got worse.

“She has routinely screwed over her former colleagues,” Grace said. “She has pushed through projects that nobody agreed to. The Woodhouse Hall project brought negative attention to the campus. She’s refused to hire new faculty members for the Sociology department even though they’ve lost so many due to retirements. They want to remind her that they have some power. They’ll use her own rules to remove her favorite from campus. I wonder why she didn’t prepare Mason for the changes she was proposing to the tenure process?”

“Will she override all the other recommendations if the campus committee denies him tenure?” I asked.

Grace shrugged. “She can, and typically the trustees, who make the final decision, do what she suggests, but this will look suspicious. She risks a lot by backing him, but I’m not sure it will benefit her. In fact, I think it may hurt her. This petty squabble in the department will make her look weak to the rest of the campus since this was the department she taught in and led for decades.”

Grace had given me so much to think about, I was overwhelmed with thoughts as I got ready for bed later that night. I played through memories of my years with Mason. I knew exactly how Lois could pull the rug out from under him. I had to hope he was already looking for a job that suited his passion.