“I doubt this person has tenure. He’s probably dean of students or admissions. He’s an administrator.”...
Those idiots have to start somewhere. How many high school administrators came from the ranks as teachers? How many professors came up from being “associates”?
It would be unusual for a professor to take a job as an administrator of admissions or students at a research university. They may take a position as Dean of a school or college or as a provost but not Dean of Students. That’s not considered an ‘academic’ position.