The tenure track vs. the racetrack

I've said it before, but it bears repeating; tenure track positions at brand-name schools go to people who bring their own sponsors. 

That's pretty much how it works in NASCAR and Formula One car racing. Drivers work to build a brand, and by the time they get to the big show, they've built it, and the sponsorship money not only follows them, but blossoms! Unless you're a kid like Lance Stroll, whose billionaire dad sponsors his F-1 team.

Take Nikole Hanna-Jones for example. Not having a billionaire daddy, she set about building her own brand, and did she ever! After the glory of her Pulitzer Prize, she was considered for a tenure track professorship at UNC - Chapel Hill, in their journalism school.

Unfortunately, the billionaire whose name graces the J-school at UNC, didn't feel the magic, and dug in his heels. So Nikole cashed in on her brand, and headed to Howard with $20 million in sponsor money!

That's how you get tenure today, kids!