A young physicist, upon learning that he was denied tenure after six productive
years at a University in San Francisco, requested a meeting with the Provost for
an explanation, and a possible appeal.
At the meeting, the Provost told the young physicist, " I'm sorry to tell you
that the needs of the University have shifted somewhat, during the past
six-years leading up to your tenure decision. In point of fact, what we now
require is a female, condensed-matter experimentalist. Unfortunately, you are a
male, high-energy theorist!"
Dejected but not defeated, the young physicist thought for a moment about the
implications of the Provost's words. " Sir," he said, "I would be willing to
convert in two of the three categories you mention, but ... I'll never agree to
become an experimentalist!"
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