Opinion: Eliminating academic tenure would harm Texas universities
GPS, genetic sequencing, Google, WiFi, the Hepatitis B vaccine, FluMist. All technologies whose principles, or final product, were developed by academic scientists — professors.
Such achievements were possible in no small part because of the academic freedom that allows faculty to work on wide-ranging, long-term projects. This freedom is once again a target of bills being considered in the Texas legislature. Senate Bill 18 would eliminate tenure at General Academic Institutions, such as those of the University of Texas and Texas A&M University Systems.
Academic tenure is a form of security for faculty, modeled after judicial tenure, and is hard-earned. It is only conferred after successful completion of a rigorous, multi-year, probationary period. Attainment requires both internal and external peer-evaluation, as well as review by administrators at multiple levels.
For those who receive it — and many do not — tenure provides the space to address difficult questions in their area of expertise, ones that may be deemed of little immediate, practical value. It allows the freedom to build collaborations and pursue creative solutions to society’s problems without constantly having to tack to the social, economic, or political pressures of the moment. It provides a reasonable degree of economic security to make the profession more attractive to men and women of ability, most of whom could earn far more had they chosen a non-academic career. Finally, it enables faculty to incorporate their findings into their teaching, part of the university’s essential function of creating and disseminating knowledge.
Critics often portray tenure as a guarantee of lifetime employment, one that can never be revoked but this is not accurate. Tenure does not protect an employee from disciplinary action, or dismissal, for incompetence, neglect of duty, dishonesty, or other form of professional misconduct. It does assume, however, that an adequate burden of proof exists, and that due process is followed before employment is terminated.
Critics also claim that the security of tenure saps initiative, but there is no good evidence that it leads to an overall decline in the quality or productivity of academic departments. Quite the opposite. Compare the output, in terms of publications, patents, start-ups, artistic performances or exhibitions, number of students trained, etc. of tenure-granting institutions with those that do not.
Neither does tenure exempt one from administrative oversight. Faculty at all state institutions undergo annual reviews of performance. Many institutions also require them to undergo post-tenure reviews every few years, a more thorough and rigorous evaluation of how they are meeting their professional obligations.
The elimination of tenure would have serious economic and social costs for Texas. The economist Frit Machlup argued that, without tenure, colleges and universities would have to offer higher salaries to faculty to offset the uncertainty of employment. The uncertainty would also lead to higher turnover, hindering an academic institution’s ability to build expertise, offer specialized courses, or support particular majors, minors, or graduate programs. The absence of tenure will make it much more difficult to attract top talent to Texas universities, as the nominal security it provides is one of the chief benefits of an academic career, and the professional norm in higher education. It will shift the burden of hiring and evaluating new professors, now performed largely by faculty, to administrators. Considering the extensive review that now occurs in faculty-led search, promotion, and tenure committees, this will lead to poorer hiring decisions, as over-burdened administrators make less thorough personnel decisions.
Elimination of tenure will harm higher education and deprive our state of the creativity, ingenuity, and skill of some of the best scientists, engineers, artists, clinicians, and teachers available. The vast system of higher education in the US, including Texas universities, is the envy of the world and an engine of economic prosperity. Its foundation rests upon strong public and private support, a key component of which is tenure. In this case good sense suggests that this is not a problem that needs to be solved. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
Patrick D. Larkin, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Physical & Environmental Sciences Department at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. The views expressed in this article are the author's personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of the university system.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Opinion: Eliminating academic tenure would harm Texas universities
