A provincial board of regents is unable to oust a transformational president in a controversy that drew in the state government on two occasions - first the judicial branch and then the governor. In the eighteen months between those interventions, a shroud of fear and uncertainty hung over the campus as the various players scrambled to retain or gain position or legacy. In that setting there unfolded a tenure tale like no other, complete with Machiavellian maneuvers on all four administrative levels.

The case was that of Wayne Bell who, since he had received an early promotion the previous year, expected that his tenure decision would be routine and positive. Instead, he found himself cast in the role of a pawn in that tangle of administrative conflicts. This is the true story of that tenure case, Bell's struggle to understand what was happening, the support that he received from surprising sources, and the curious nature of the role that he was to play in the events.

Prior to the Curris Conflict in 1981, Murray State University had been proceeding on a well trodden path from normal school, to college, to regional university. (See Ken Wolf's review below.)

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About the Author: Wayne C. Bell was born the third of four children to a modest farm family in Southeast Oklahoma in 1943, and moved to Texas in 1956. He was educated in the public schools of Oklahoma and Texas. He graduated from Arlington State College (now U T Arlington) in 1964 and obtained a Masters (1967) and PhD (1975) from North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas). He has noted that every school that ever gave him a degree has subsequently changed its name! His love of mathematics and the desire to share it with others has been the central theme of his life. He taught mathematics at Murray State University from 1976 to 2008, published 17 articles in mathematical journals, and was involved in university and community activities.

Since 1964 he has been an enthusiastic chess player and later became involved in teaching and promoting chess at MSU and around Kentucky. He was a leader in organizing the modern Kentucky Scholastic Chess program, the coach of the very successful Murray City Schools chess program in the eighties and nineties, and the first National level tournament director in Kentucky. In 1994, in what he considers the most unlikely performance of his chess playing career, he won the Kentucky State Championship at the age of 51.

Since retirement he has, in addition to writing My Tenure Biennium, worked as a volunteer for the MISD Foundation for Excellence (a 501c3 support group for the Murray City Schools), and begun a blog - http: //yellowarmadillos.blogspot.com/ .

Wayne is married to Debra Burgess who taught Spanish at Murray High School from 1980 until her retirement in 2010. They have one child, Zackary. Wayne and Debra have long been avid travelers.