Talent Show

 This week, I found out that my colleagues, fellow physician-professors applying for tenure, were asked to sing the university hymn during their formal interview. Yes, sing! In front of university officials. At the request of no less than the Vice Chancellor for ________-.

It wasn’t a convocation, or a student event, or a community-building activity. It was a TENURE interview. A moment meant to assess academic merit, not musicality.

When my colleagues told me about it, I was aghast! Though I tried very hard not to show it. And I cannot wrap my head around it.

These are accomplished professionals. Doctors who teach, serve, and carry the weight of clinical and academic responsibility daily. Asking them to sing a hymn in this context is not just unprofessional, it’s patronizing. It reeks of old-school theatrics dressed up as institutional loyalty. But what it really reveals is a culture that confuses compliance with commitment. And this is exactly why I cannot be a permanent part of this institution. I cannot, for the love of me, tolerate this bizarre power play masquerading as institutional pride. Accuse me of not having a sense of humor. But for me, this insult to our intellect  reflects a deeper rot in some corners of the academic system, where professionalism is replaced by ritual, where symbolism is valued more than substance, and where authority figures mistake formality for respect.

If it had been me, I would’ve looked them straight in the eye and said,  " Do you really think I am that low?"

And perhaps this is why my gut never let me apply. I started alongside these professors. I was asked, more than once, to submit my tenure application. But something in me, call it instinct, call it self-respect, told me not to. I just cannot be part of this institution long term.

Now I understand why. If this occurrence is normal for them, it is an insult to me.

I am so glad I didn’t apply for tenure. And I cannot wait to leave.