Tenure for University Faculty

Tenure for university faculty is increasingly coming under attack. Proponents of tenure argue that it provides academic freedom and represents a trade-off to low salaries paid to faculty; opponents argue that there are other ways to protect academic freedom and that tenure merely protects incompetent and lazy individuals. Like most other institutions, tenure's moment to be evaluated in the glaring public spotlight has arrived.

Academe's tenure system came into existence in 1915 when the American Association of University Professors issued "its first manifesto linking academic freedom and job security" (Lederman & Mooney, 1995, p. A17). The principles were restated in 1940 and included this definition of academic freedom: "Freedom in research is fundamental to the advancement of truth. Academic freedom in its teaching aspect is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the teacher in teaching and of the student to freedom in learning" (1940 Statement, 1970, p. 1). It goes on to say that tenure is:

"A means to certain ends; specifically: (1) freedom of teaching and research and of extramural activities, and

(2) a sufficient degree of economic security to make the profession attractive to men and women of ability. Freedom and economic security, hence, tenure, are indispensable to the success of an institution in fulfilling its obligations to its students and to society" (1940 Statement, 1970, p. 1).

If we accept the premise that universities and colleges ar

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995, p. A17). One could reasonably ask, What purpose does this serve? Universities are subject to many of the same influences that affect society at large, not the least of which are the performance-based and bottom-line assessment designs that have influenced the way business does business: The public is looking at performance and wondering why professors deserve to be a special group of workers protected by the life-long employment agreement known as tenure; and university and college administrators are looking at the bottom line and wondering how they will respond to consumer-driven education and the effects of a volatile economy (Wilson, 1998, p. A12; Perley, 1997, p. A48; Magrath, 1997, p. A60). Compounding the question of whether tenure serves its purpose is the issue of tenure in non-traditional disciplines (art, industrial design, music, etc.). The issue is complicated and the outcomes frequently frustrating: "You've got people on this committee at the university level looking at a specialty they know very little about, trying to compare it to a model they know about�the process becomes not satisfying" (Kaufman, as quoted in Lederman, 1995). While universities are trying to decide how to evaluate flutists, actors, desig

Category: Psychology - T