History and variations of academic tenure
– Tenure introduced in American universities in early 1900s to prevent arbitrary dismissal of faculty with unpopular views
– Brown University president Elisha Andrews forced to resign for advocating silver coinage
– Free speech and tenure severely curtailed in Germany under Third Reich
– University of Illinois at Urbana fires prominent economists for teaching Keynesian economics
– Academic tenure removed in the United Kingdom in 1988
– Controversial interpretation of tenure at Danish universities
– Denmark adopts hierarchical management approach for universities in early 2000s
– Two classes of academics in Germany – professors with tenure and junior staff on fixed-term contracts
– Attaining professorship in Germany often requires completing a Habilitation
Arguments in favor of tenure
– Tenure is necessary to recruit talented individuals into university professorships, as private industry jobs often pay more.
– Tenure provides job security that counterbalances universities’ inability to compete with the private sector in terms of financial remuneration.
– Research positions require extreme specialization, making the tenure process a practical necessity to avoid excessive turnover.
– Tenure locks in the non-pecuniary aspects of academic compensation, lowering the required salary.
– Tenure protects academic freedom, allowing scholars to challenge received wisdom and innovate in their fields.
– Tenure protects scholars whose politics may run counter to their department, institution, or funding bodies.
– Tenure allows scholars to work on controversial topics without fear of losing their jobs.
– Tenure creates a protected space for college and university teachers to exercise their craft without worrying about institutional reprisals.
– Tenure ensures the ability of faculty members to teach, do research, and speak out as citizens.
– Tenure preserves diversity of ideas in academia, especially in the face of growing orthodoxy.
Benefits of tenure in elementary and secondary schools
– Tenure protects teachers from being fired for personal, political, or non-work related reasons.
– Tenure prohibits school districts from replacing experienced teachers with less experienced, less expensive ones.
– Tenure protects teachers who teach unpopular, controversial, or challenged curricula.
– Tenure ensures stability and continuity in the education system.
– Tenure safeguards teachers’ ability to provide quality education.
Tenure as a defense against incompetence
– Incompetent professors not getting tenure is a malfunction of the system, not an intrinsic feature of its proper use.
– Tenure is not to blame when incompetent professors slip through the system.
– Eliminating tenure would not solve the problem of incompetent professors.
– Tenure should not be abolished because of isolated cases of incompetence.
– Tenure is a mechanism to ensure the quality of faculty members.
Arguments against tenure
– Tenure systems may diminish academic freedom by pressuring scholars to conform to mediocrity.
– Eliminating tenure may require increased pay to compensate for lost job security.
– Some U.S. states have considered legislation to remove tenure at public universities.
– Tenure may lead to complacency and reduced effort among tenured professors.
– Tenure may result in the institution tolerating incompetent professors. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_tenure
Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Tenure is a means of defending the principle of academic freedom, which holds that it is beneficial for society in the long run if scholars are free to hold and examine a variety of views.