UP professors speak about the ups and downs of the tenure process
By Melissa Nip
Students are pulling out their hair, cramming for their midterms and assignments and want to cry because they think they are alone in their misery.
Yet students may not realize that some of their professors are also hard at work writing papers and worrying about upcoming deadlines. Many professors are spending their time preparing their applications for tenure.
Tenure was created to protect the intellectual freedom of professors and provide job security. It is a contractual right that protects professors from having their position terminated by the administration without just cause.
"It protects the faculty's political, religious and intellectual views," English professor Herman Asarnow said.
Tenured professors also make more money and generally have more control over their teaching schedules than professors without tenure.
According to Karen Nelson, Director of Institutional Research, 52 percent of UP's full-time faculty is tenured. That percentage is down from last year, when 54 percent of full-time UP professors had tenure. The previous year, 55 percent had tenure.
The downward trend is not unusual. According to the American Association of University Professors, by 2007, almost 70 percent of college and university faculty members (nationwide) were "off the tenure track."
The "tenure track" refers to full-time professors who are tenured or who can qualify for tenure eventually. The recession has made tenure track positions even more sparse because colleges can hire part-time adjunct professors to teach for much less money.
UP history professor Brian Els, who is a tenure track professor, considers himself lucky.
"Job openings for professors with Ph.D.s are pretty limited," Els said.
The tenure process is extensive and complicated. The professor must have at least six years of full-time collegiate teaching experience - including four years at UP - and file an extensive application during his or her third and fifth years of teaching.
During the third year, the professor compiles a binder containing an academic resume, letters of evaluation from the dean, department chair and other faculty members, a self- evaluation, summary of all student evaluations, all course syllabi, and reprints of publications or scholarly articles.
"The professor gets a good sense of whether or not he or she has a good chance of tenure or if they need to strengthen their resume," Foreign Language Chair Kathleen Regan said.
First, the professor's application is evaluated by the Rank and Tenure Committee, a group of appointed faculty members. Then, it goes to Provost Br. Donald Stabrowski, C.S.C., who forwards it to UP's president, the Rev. E.William Beauchamp, C.S.C.
According to the UP Faculty Handbook, there are four components evaluated in a tenure application: teaching, scholarship, service and personal attributes, which are described as "those qualities of character and personality that allow faculty members to contribute to the objectives of the university."
The teaching category is partly measured by what students have to say in course evaluations.
"If you're a good teacher, you will get a good evaluation," Regan said.
Scholarship refers to scholarly articles the professor has published, peer review from other institutions and whether the professor is involved in research projects or studies.
"Publish or perish," English professor John Orr said. "Being scholarly active is the total package."
Service is also important in the application process, and determines whether the applicant fits into the community.
"Does the professor contribute to UP?" Regan said. "They need to go the extra yard by having study sessions and giving advice to students."
During the fifth year of teaching, on April 1, the professor receives notification from the provost that he or she is scheduled for tenure review.
The professor has to compile another binder with the same components as the third year binder, in addition to a 10-20 page narrative on the professor's history of teaching, scholarship and service. Professors typically turn in a total of three thick binders.
June 15 is the deadline for the applicant to submit the file to the academic dean. By September 1, the academic dean must forward the file to the chair of the Rank and Tenure Committee.
Performing and fine arts professor Jill Hoddick is chairwoman of the Rank and Tenure Committee. The committee is made up of seven faculty members, and the members rotate every three years. They meet once a week throughout the year for three hours to discuss and evaluate applicants' files.
"The work is painstaking and time consuming," Hoddick said.
But she says it's also important because it determines someone's future and career.
"It's very serious," Hoddick said. "If faculty members do not get tenure, then they do not get their contract renewed."
By Dec. 15, the Committee must submit its recommendation to the provost. The provost reviews the application and makes a recommendation to the president. By Jan. 31, President Beauchamp makes the final decision and notifies the dean.
The professor is then called into the dean's office.
"You go into the dean's office, they hand you the letter, and it is revealed yes or no," Orr said.
The experience of applying for tenure is exhausting and stressful, according to Orr.
"It was nerve-racking," Orr said. "But when I put my file together, I felt that I had earned it."
Els is in the midst of compiling the necessary components of his application, and will submit his files in June.
"I still need to get more articles published," Els said.
One thing professors need to consider before applying for tenure is whether or not they fit into the University community. They have to evaluate whether their ideas, values, and goals match what the University represents.
"Do you want to be with these people for the next 20 years? Do you like what this school stands for? " Regan said. "If not, then you got to think about that."
Regan likened it to marriage. Asarnow sees it as more of a business partnership.
"It's like you have a partnership with an investment bank," Asarnow said. "They now have a stake in what happens with you."
After professors receive tenure, they are committed to the University until they choose to retire. While some people think tenure gives professors total freedom to do whatever they want to do, that is not the case. Tenured professors must be reviewed every eight years by the Rank and Tenure Committee to ensure they are abiding by the same standards as when they first became tenured.
