> I mean I get that (not that a bank isn't a financial instrument...) but to what ends? Tenure means a guaranteed job for life, and the university needs the mo

> I mean I get that (not that a bank isn't a financial instrument...) but to what ends? Tenure means a guaranteed job for life, and the university needs the money to guarantee it. The position exists even if there aren’t sufficient student or research grants to fund it. Harvard is a bad example to use here because they are so massive. Other schools aren’t situated as well. And yea the endowments have taken a life of their own but tenure is a part of why they exist.