> "yet the bread and butter of universities are their undergraduate students..." I think this really depends on which universities you look at. Top of the fiel

> "yet the bread and butter of universities are their undergraduate students..." I think this really depends on which universities you look at. Top of the field research universities.... Undergraduates are just a small piece of the overall pie, research (impact, etc) and grant writing are the primary factors in determining who gets tenure (and of course department politics). Smaller universities, or less research focused universities I can imagine your teaching starts to take on more weight... But really, it all comes down to cost-benefit analysis between the university choosing you vs someone else. Especially when it comes to tenure which is like a long term investment. And there are only so many tenure spots in each department, sometimes it's more beneficial to leave them open than to fill them... Waiting to poach or acquire the next big name. Prestige brings in research money, investment money, students (grad and undergrad). So unfortunately, it's not really the meritocracy it is held up as.