"There was never any competition between Harvard and other universities simply because there isn't another position in the country that fits my case as perfectly as this one,"Di Cosmo says.

And some fields-such as North American archaeology-have a tight job market, which puts even non-tenure track job offerings at a premium.

Assistant Anthropology professor Elizabeth Chilton, who studies the archaeology of hunter-gatherer societies, particularly in New England, says as many as 300 aspiring professors apply for every academic job in the field.

Chilton says she chose Harvard after receiving three offers, none of which included tenure.

But had she been offered a tenure track position elsewhere, she says, "depending on what else [the offer] was, it would have been tough."

But in some cases, Harvard's tenure policies drive qualified junior Faculty into the arms of other institutions which are prepared to offer them better chances of advancement-a prospect that alarms some of Harvard's senior Faculty.

"Young scholars know that they are better off starting their careers in major universities where they have normal chances of review for promotion to associate professor with tenure," says Skocpol, a former member of the Faculty Council.

And scholars who do accept non-tenured positions here may do it with a sense that Harvard will serve, if nothing else, as a useful line on their resume when they leave to seek a tenured job elsewhere.

"I've heard the expression by many people that Harvard is a good place to be coming from,"Chilton says. "I know a handful of people who have had may exact position in this exact wing [of the Anthropology Department] and they are now in good positions."

For now, Chilton says, she plans to spend the years before her promotion review, and, hopefully, tenure review, on her research. And she's putting down roots: in addition to applying for a Bunting Fellowship to write a book and continue her research, Chilton has just accepted her first graduate student.

"It's a little scary for me," the professor says. "I hope I'm going to be here to see her through."

A New Policy?

What could Harvard do to give Chilton and her new graduate student more peace of mind? Some Faculty members say the tenure system could use an overhaul.

Skocpol notes that the University of Chicago, where she taught for five years, promotes assistant professors to associate professors with tenure, leading to "a more collegial atmosphere."

But Skocpol, who sued Harvard for her own tenure position on the basis of gender discrimination and won, is skeptical that Harvard will ever change its policies-or that the University wants to change them.

"I might have ideas if I thought change were possible," she says. "I do not think those who run Harvard will allow change-or even the discussion of change."