spaghetti method of tenure

From today's Chronicle of Higher Education:

http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2006/09/2006092001c/careers.html
Wednesday, September 20, 2006

We Really Like You
By Gary A. Olson

Heads Up

Some decades ago when I was a new assistant professor at a major state university, a distinguished senior colleague explained to me how the tenure system worked.
"It's the old spaghetti method," he said. "You toss a few strands at the wall, and you see what sticks and what doesn't."

"He went on to suggest that from the beginning the university only intended to give tenure to a fraction (he claimed a third) of the faculty members it had hired. Those who distinguished themselves would earn a place in the permanent professoriate; those who did not would move to lesser institutions -- if they were lucky."...