Friday, August 27, 2010

A Weakening of Tenure

As the financial situation of most states declines with the loss of stimulus funds and fewer jobs returning, universities will have to make difficult decisions. The story pasted below shows one option being considered in Louisiana and reminds us why vigilance is important in our process of shared governance.






August 26, 2010

U. of Louisiana to Consider Weakening Tenure
By Paige Chapman
The University of Louisiana system's Board of Supervisors plans to vote Friday on a proposal that would make it easier to dismiss tenured professors—a move that has upset faculty members throughout the system's eight campuses, as well as national faculty organizations.

"This could impact the quality of education offered in the classroom and the ability to recruit qualified people, including at both faculty and administration levels," said Jordan E. Kurland, associate general secretary for the American Association of University Professors.

System officials say the contemplated changes are driven by a tight budget. The proposals "are solely precipitated by a set of decreasing resources," said Randy Moffett, the system's president. "There are no other intentions." State financing for has been reduced by 17 percent since the 2008 fiscal year, and Mr. Moffett is anticipating another drop of approximately $95.3-million in the middle of 2011 when federal stimulus funds expire.

Still, some professors fear that three parts of the proposal could drastically reshape academic employment.

Under one of those, a "reduction" of a program could become a legitimate cause for terminating tenured faculty members. Currently, tenured positions can be cut only because of financial exigency or the complete discontinuance of a program.

Mr. Moffett said the proposed new language was added to include special circumstances left out in the currrent policy, such as the restructuring or scaling back of specific academic programs.

Lisa Abney, provost at one of the system's campuses, Northwestern State University, said such a change would provide more flexibility so the university wouldn't have to eliminate entire programs in response to budget cuts. Her institution has undergone an extensive restructuring to deal with financial constraints—including the merging of three departments and the elimination of seven different majors. Six tenured faculty members were laid off as a result.

But the language worries professors. A tenured professor at a system campus, who did not want to be named for fear of being targeted for a job cut, said the main concern is that the word "reduction" is vague. The professor said that it could be interpreted arbitrarily, especially in universities with tense faculty-administrative relations.

The professor said the proposal has already created a "poisonous atmosphere" at his institution because many colleagues are afraid to speak in opposition, fearing they could be fired if the measure is passed.

Mr. Kurland, of the AAUP, echoed faculty members' concerns about the possibility of arbitrary dismissals under the proposal. "It can be used as a device for the university to remove a person they don't want by simply removing what that person is teaching," he said. "They no longer have to show someone is no longer competent to do the work in that position."

Another proposed change that alarms professors is that tenured faculty members could be given much-shorter notice of job terminations—a minimum of only three months in the cases of program discontinuance or reduction.

Mr. Moffett said the change was proposed because the board is often unaware of what the state has determined for its budget until late June or early July. Some administrators said the change would allow them to delay personnel decisions and would prevent them from unnecessarily terminating positions that they may later discover they are able to finance.

Bette H. Maroney, president of Northwestern State's Faculty Senate, found out her position had been eliminated this year. Because she has a year to finish her term and look for a new position, she calls herself "one of the lucky ones." If the measure is passed, she said, professors who are laid off in the future, with little warning, may be adversely affected by the limited time of the hiring cycle in higher education.

The third area of concern is that appeals about tenure and employment decisions would no longer be considered by the system board, but would instead be handled internally by the individual university. Professors said removal of the additional layer could put them at the mercy of a hostile local administration.

The board will need nine votes to approve the measure. It is possible that it may not vote yes or no at its meeting in Baton Rouge on Friday, but instead vote to postpone a decision on the measure. If so, the next time the matter would be up for discussion is at its October 22 meeting.

1 comment:

  1. ULS Tenure Vote Delayed

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