Tenure: What is it? Why is it? Article Transcript

by David Julian, New Voice senior editor  

Tenure is:

1. job security.

1. protection to teach what and how a professor wants to teach, free of political and administrative pressures.

1. A system enabling academic departments to retain the best teachers.

1. a system perpetuating an “old boy” network of incompetent and lazy professors.

Tenure can be any of the above, depending upon the institution. The one thing is constant tenure is one of the most controversial facts of higher education. The new voice probed the question of tenure at IIST. Talking with faculty and. Administrators, this is what we learned.

What is it?

Doctor Katsuyuki Sakamoto, Academic Dean for IU East, defines tenure as a condition intended to ensure faculty academic freedom from any fear that whatever one says or ideas. That one holds or wishes to put forth will not be held in jeopardy by the threats of someone in the position to stop him or her.

In more recent times, Sakamoto continues, it has also been used as a security kind of thing in which after a certain amount of time (to prove one’s merit) the person is given the security to go forth from that point on and not have to worry about being let loose.

Sakamoto pointed out that Tenure does not necessarily protect one against college economic setbacks. Which sometimes results in the termination of long-standing faculty and staff.

Tenants of tenure worthiness

What are the criteria for granting tenure? According to Sakamoto, the three major ones are the mission of the institution and the individual’s contribution to that mission. The individual’s growth potential, specifically in terms of his or her likelihood to be promoted in rank over time. Time and position generally, at least six years of service are required before tenure can be granted.

At most institutions, IU East included, an individual usually cannot exceed 7 years of appointment. At this stage, one is either granted tenure or let go. There are a number of academic positions which are usually not considered to be on the tenure track (that is not likely to develop into a tenured position). Tenure track positions are generally full-time and include ranks like Professor, Assistant professor. Associate professor, and instructor. Part time positions, research ranks, etc. do not generally have tenure potential.

Tenure is not transferable from one institution to another. In other words, if one finds oneself Facing imminent layoff at IU East, one is not necessarily guaranteed a position at the Bloomington campus. The issue is handled case by case, school by school.

Priming for the paper chase.

When the time for tenure consideration comes, the individual gets the ball rolling by preparing a personal dossier. Which is then submitted to the division chair. The chair reviews it and makes a recommendation. The dossier is then submitted for further evaluation by up to three persons outside the IUE system.

In picking these outside evaluators, suggestions of the person being evaluated are taken into consideration. They make a recommendation.

The tenure prospect’s dossier is then submitted along with recommendations from all of the above to a faculty-elected promotion and tenure committee. This committee is comprised of both tenured and non-tenure track faculty. The tenure committee submits its recommendation, along with all the other recommendations and the original dossier to the Dean for academic affairs, who makes a recommendation. Who says a Rolling Stone gathers no moss?

All these recommendations and the dossier are then submitted to the chancellor. He makes his recommendation and sends the whole package along to central administration at Bloomington. There it’s passed along, picking up more recommendations along the way until it reaches the university president and finally to the Board of Trustees. One might say a tenured professor comes highly recommended.

Academia’s green card.

Sakamoto describes higher education as one of the few careers where you can be independent as you want. He goes on to say, “You think about what you want to do, and present it in any way you want to do it.

You can work on whatever kind of of things you want to work on. You may have to justify it to some degree for promotion and tenure purposes. But basically, you’ve got a lot of freedom. Once tenured, the professor has a broad range of academic freedom. He or she might be subject to certain pressures from peers or students. But is relatively free from official censure, job action, etce.

According to Sakamoto, professors generally have a free hand in choosing their own textbooks and structuring the content of their own courses. They may collaborate with their colleagues,” he adds, “and decide to use a common text. Or they may go further, and decide as a group to stress certain areas of the subject.

The “old boy” net

A tenured professor can be terminated, generally, only under two conditions, the first is as a result of financial cutbacks. In such a case, the institution must justify not only the cutbacks themselves. But also their choice in terminating the specific professor or department. The other condition is “moral turpitude.” Sakamoto defines this as “something which is definitely contrary to the morals of society, such as a crime.”

Even in such a case, the professor cannot be fired outright. According to Sakamoto, “you would even have to show that you have made every effort—tried everything you could—to retain the person. Termination, in such a case, is the absolute last resort. What about a professor who teaches his or her opinions, as though they were facts? Or whose teaching approach takes a noticeably liberal or conservative slant, even to the radical extreme? Sacramento points out, “Even then, it’s hard to cut a person loose, particularly if the radical ideas are within the parameters of the course being taught.

 In some ways, he continues, “the pursuit of knowledge almost biases you in a sense. To lean to the more quote liberal side versus the conservative. Not to restrict thought per say, but more to compartmentalize and add structure.

“So, it may appear as though we have more liberals—and we probably do to a large degree. That’s probably correct, but you also find a lot of quote conservatives too.

There are other pressures (short of termination), that can be brought to bear. He continues, “You don’t have to give the person a raise, although you have to justify it. The major thing is to protect academic freedom, so the students learn.”

Recourse for the untenured

There are steps which the untenured professor can take in the event of dismissal. They may appeal at the level that “blackballed” them. if still dissatisfied, they may appeal to the faculty Board of review. This board is made up of senior faculty members and will make a non-binding recommendation in the case.

Faculty comments on tenure system

How do faculty members feel about the issue of tenure? Not surprisingly, those with tenure tend to support it wholeheartedly. While some non-tenured professors were reluctant to speak candidly or for the record and interviews.

With the New Voice, Faculty members expressed the following views.

Professor Tom Thomas, tenured:

“After a school has scrutinized a person for several years, that person has to have pressure removed—to be relieved from the feeling of being under a superior. Academic freedom is essential for higher institutions of free thinking. When a person gets tenure, he becomes more independent, and independence is the key to freedom. There’s tremendous pressure on the untenured professor. The pressure mounts every year as you get closer. The tenure process becomes more complicated, and the standards get raised. As the institution grows, tenure becomes harder and harder to get.

Professor Ron Carter. Tenured serves on promotion and tenure committee.

Tenure, by definition, is a reward for past service in university and a vote of confidence in continued good service. It is also something of a guarantee that you can exercise academic freedom and teach a course according to your training and belief system without willy nilly interference and the winds of opinion flowing around you. You are less vulnerable to pressure… sometimes, yes, there is some abuse; but not that often. The benefits outweigh the disadvantages not only to the professor but to the student as well. You see where there isn’t tenure—in high schools, for example—teachers are on one- or two-year contract. Many are running afraid of their own shadows and they follow an administrative line. They do not indulge in any kind of investigation. They do not speak with their true opinions on many issues. Whereas if they did have tenure, they would be truer to themselves. Perhaps more outspoken.

Mery fell, assistant professor of English, non-tenured, Member of promotion and tenure committee.

If it weren’t for tenure, one can never be promoted to a higher academic rank, and consequently, to a position of more responsibility, and with any luck, more pay.

I’m at the bottom of the ladder in terms of academic rank for tenure track people; I don’t have tenure and I’m an assistant professor. Once you become tenured, the university has to be sure they can rely on you. There is a much greater responsibility too…it’s almost like becoming a citizen. Non-tenure track individuals don’t even have the vote on certain issues (Curriculum, faculty, etc.).

 Marianne Morse, assistant professor of science education. Nontenured

When you get a faculty with tenure, then the institutions starts going in a certain direction; Tenure keeps its headed in a specific way. As a non-tenured professor, you’re looking at everything you do as a means to getting towards tenure. It would be nice to be able to do the things you wanted to do professionally instead of being somebody else’s criteria. Well, it’s not someone else’s criteria, but it’s always at the top of your mind. I still feel free to teach in the way that I think is best. I don’t think that non-tenured faculty feel like second class citizens either. I think there’s an equality, especially on a small campus like this one. I don’t see it (abuse of tenure) on this campus. I think that might be different on a big campus.