French author securing power in university position (6)
I believe the answer is:
campus
'university position' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'french author securing power' is the wordplay.
'french author' becomes 'camus' (Albert Camus).
'securing' indicates putting letters inside.
'power' becomes 'p' (symbol in physics).
'camus' enclosing 'p' is 'CAMPUS'.
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for campus that I've seen before include "University estate" , "educational location" , "Grounds for a student" , "university's environs" , "educational grounds" .)