My institution seems to like laterals. I have mixed feelings. A proven lateral is an attractive find, to be sure -- to everybody. If a school is relatively impecunious, which as a state school in the year 2010 we are; if a school is ranked (by some meaningless methodology into which all of us nonetheless buy) out of the top 25, which we are; if a school is located in a less attractive geographic location, which we are, that school cannot compete for proven attractive candidates. Lateral hiring is just a bidding war. Entry level hiring permits institutions to find and to make bets on rising stars, and through a little hard work, to groom those stars to facilitate their rise. Whether they end up staying or moving on after a few years, it's a cheap investment in the academic community and reputation of an institution.
My institution seems to like laterals. I have mixed feelings. A proven lateral is an attractive find, to be sure -- to everybody. If a school is relatively impecunious, which as a state school in the year 2010 we are; if a school is ranked (by some meaningless methodology into which all of us nonetheless buy) out of the top 25, which we are; if a school is located in a less attractive geographic location, which we are, that school cannot compete for proven attractive candidates. Lateral hiring is just a bidding war. Entry level hiring permits institutions to find and to make bets on rising stars, and through a little hard work, to groom those stars to facilitate their rise. Whether they end up staying or moving on after a few years, it's a cheap investment in the academic community and reputation of an institution.
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