Harvard Business School denied tenure to Benjamin Edelman despite broad praise for his scholarship and teaching, former Dean Nitin Nohria testified, citing a failure to meet the school’s nebulous “community standards.” Edelman has sued HBS, alleging breach of good faith and fair dealing; the case has produced depositions and internal materials now before a Massachusetts court. The denial hinged on the least‑defined criterion in Harvard’s tenure framework, raising fresh scrutiny of how elite institutions weigh behavioral and community considerations alongside peer‑reviewed scholarship. The judge is expected to rule soon on motions for summary judgment in Edelman’s suit. The litigation highlights a legal and reputational risk for universities: opaque standards can trigger lawsuits, undermine faculty morale, and prompt calls for clearer due‑process protections in tenure decisions at research universities.