In this article, the author explains why giving early tenure to assistant professors is not really a great idea. Usually, tenure is granted only after a faculty member has reached his fifth year of service to an institution. However, if he or she is doing fine work and presents no indication of any problems for the future, an institution may award this person an early tenure even if he or she has only rendered a year of service. The author believes that short-circuiting the evaluation process of a faculty member will reduce an institution's ability to make well-founded conclusions about a person's pattern of accomplishments.