The objective of this study was to determine if tenure impacted faculty perceptions of their respective chairperson’s social powers.  The measurement of social power was based on French and Raven’s five bases of social power.  Instructional faculty at two universities in the same state system in the northeast United States were sampled using a multi-statement inventory measuring perceptions of their respective chairperson’s reward, coercive, legitimate, expert, and referent powers.  A comparison between tenured faculty (n=79) perceptions of chairperson power and tenure-track faculty (n=26) perceptions indicated that there is a correlation between tenure and faculty members’ perceptions of legitimate power but not for reward, coercive, expert, and referent powers.  Implications, limitations, and suggestions for further research are discussed.