I completely agree with your assessment River. When I was interviewing for the promotion, I specifically asked the manager if I would be at a disadvantage as I might be leaving in a year or so. Well he said it should not be and that he is not even allowed to make judgements based on such information. But in the end they did end up picking a guy who is not an analyst, is not as qualified as I am (I think

) . I am willing to wager that it is the fact that I would be a short term fix for the position, while the other person, though would need to be brought up to speed, is likely to stick around for longer.
While I was upset initially, I dont blame them (though it is kind of odd- I was APPROACHED or POACHED by the other manager for that position

).
My recommenders have been VERY supportive and I believe that the department as such will not have any problems with my move. They are just looking out for themselves. But having said that- I can wave my promotion or any other career progression bye-bye for the next yr or so. So it looks like by MArch, I would either be working for another company or jumping up in joy at the prospect of going back to school