Another complain lodged by students is that Harvard, as a research-oriented institution, places too little emphasis on teaching.
But professors say that teaching is indeed part of the review process. Professors who defend the current system say that without research, teaching goes stale.
Even professors who are detached from the student body contribute to the atmosphere of learning on campus.
"There are occasional genuises whom one would want to have on the faculty even if their customary mode of communication took the form of grunts and grumbles", writes former Dean of the Faculty Henry Rosovsky in his book, The University: An Owner's Manual.
Professors also say that when committees consider candidates for tenure, they pay specific attention to classroom teaching.
When Greenfeld's tenure case was reviewed by the Sociology Department, Sorenson says, the committee sought out graduate student input as a standard part of the process.
Still, students often perceive Harvard as the ultimate research university--one which places enormous importance on research and scholarship, while disregarding undergraduates and the professors who instruct them.
"Understandably, undergraduates see the world in terms of the teaching ability", says Joseph J. McCarthy, assistant dean for academic planning.
One reason that student's interests are not represented, they say, is that they are not consulted in the tenure decision-making process.
"[Graduate students] don't seem to have any voice in this process of tenure as a group," says Sociology graduate student Marie-Laure Djelic.
Even Sorenson admits that he wasn't quite sure what to do with a student petition that praised Greenfeld and voiced objection to the tenure committee's decision.
"I don't know what you would say to the students other than thank you", Sorenson says.
Taking the high road, Rosovosky writes that students often don't have enough background to provide helpful input.
"Professional qualifications are the main issues, and neither staff nor students have the training to make valid judgments", he writes in An Owner's Manual.
Harvard's tradition of turning to outside scholars dates back to the presidency of James B. Conant '14. Ironically, he was seeking to avoid a trend of tenuring only faculty insiders.
Today, the University faces the opposite phenomenon. Few insiders remain at Harvard beyond their stints as junior professors. And almost everyone, from students to junior faculty to the tenured professors themselves, agrees that there should be some reform.
This is little comfort to students who have lost their favorite professors. But administrators say that recent attempts to make the tenure system more fair to junior faculty are succeeding, to some degree.
"I'd like to believe that the number of junior faculty members getting tenure is increasing and also that there is more optimism among the junior faculty about the process," McCarthy says.