Is there a certain amount of publications required to maintain tenure for professors?

Question

What if you dont publish any articles after tenure?

Answer 1

There is an enormous amount of pressure to publish at the top schools. The number of articles is important -- but the quality of the publication is much more important. Citations (the number of articles that quote your paper) are also a big factor.

The higher the quality of the institution, the more demanding the requirements. I know someone who was denied tenure at Harvard Business School despite having several top tier publications -- one of which received the prize for best paper in the most prestigious journal in his field. After being denied tenure at HBS, he was offered a tenure track position at MIT. Another top 10 B-School offered him a position with tenure. But one school that was ranked between 20-30 actually offered him a chaired professorship.

It is difficult to get rid of a tenured professor -- even if he doesn't publish. However, if you stop publishing after getting tenure, you would probably never be promoted from Associate Professor to Professor or ever become a chaired professor.

Answer 2

Tenure requirements vary *a lot* from school to school, and from department to department within a school. At my previous job, there was a definite listed number of articles and presentations I had to produce to be considered for tenure. At my present job, the requirements are much more diffuse and very little publishing is required.

In general, there is little or no pressure to produce after tenure is granted. Many schools are looking at putting post-tenure review procedures in place, but this is far from the norm.