Why Tenure?
Roger McCain
Issue date: 3/9/07 Section: Ed-Op
Just to be sure we know what we are talking about, let me start by saying what tenure is, for the purposes of this column. Tenure is a contract of employment without any specific limit of term. Many faculty are hired on contracts that "run out" after one or three years, but for tenured faculty the contract doesn't run out, and the faculty member has a reasonable expectation that she or he many remain in the position until retirement. That doesn't mean that a tenured faculty member cannot be fired or laid off. It isn't easy, but I personally know of different cases in which tenured faculty have been fired for not coming to their classes, for coming drunk, and for making obnoxious passes at students. I also know of many cases in which tenured faculty have been laid off because of "financial exigency." What we are pretty protected from is dismissal because "we just don't need you anymore" or "we just found somebody we think is better or cheaper." If the organization doesn't get into financial trouble and we keep doing the job we were hired to do, we can usually keep the job.
From the outside, it must seem very strange that some professors have tenure. I say "it must seem very strange" because people often say that it is strange. Businessmen, and even our administrators and trustees, sometimes imply that they, too, think it is strange. As for students, I suspect that many students aren't very aware of tenure, but those who are aware probably also think it is strange. I even know a few tenured faculty members who think it is strange - including one who felt so strongly about it that he gave up tenure. He doesn't work here anymore.
If we think of professors as something like assembly line workers, then tenure seems pretty strange. But professors are members of scholarly professions. Many people in scholarly professions have something a lot like tenure, but more far reaching. That something is partnership. In law firms, accounting firms, engineering firms, consulting firms and medical practices, partnership is very common, though not universal. Partnership is like tenure in that it is hard to fire a partner; in fact, a partner owns a piece of the business. Partnership is also like tenure in that you will not be offered a partnership or tenure until after several productive years in the profession, usually with the organization that offers the partnership or tenure. Tenured faculty positions are like partnerships in still other ways: They are offered only to people with a very high level of expertise, they leave a person in a position that requires a good deal of self-scheduling, and they carry a good deal of responsibility. As an economist, I doubt very much that those similarities are coincidental. On the contrary, they tell me that if you want to employ scholarly professionals productively, in responsible positions that require expertise and flexibility, there are great advantages in offering them partnership or something very much like it.
From the outside, it must seem very strange that some professors have tenure. I say "it must seem very strange" because people often say that it is strange. Businessmen, and even our administrators and trustees, sometimes imply that they, too, think it is strange. As for students, I suspect that many students aren't very aware of tenure, but those who are aware probably also think it is strange. I even know a few tenured faculty members who think it is strange - including one who felt so strongly about it that he gave up tenure. He doesn't work here anymore.
If we think of professors as something like assembly line workers, then tenure seems pretty strange. But professors are members of scholarly professions. Many people in scholarly professions have something a lot like tenure, but more far reaching. That something is partnership. In law firms, accounting firms, engineering firms, consulting firms and medical practices, partnership is very common, though not universal. Partnership is like tenure in that it is hard to fire a partner; in fact, a partner owns a piece of the business. Partnership is also like tenure in that you will not be offered a partnership or tenure until after several productive years in the profession, usually with the organization that offers the partnership or tenure. Tenured faculty positions are like partnerships in still other ways: They are offered only to people with a very high level of expertise, they leave a person in a position that requires a good deal of self-scheduling, and they carry a good deal of responsibility. As an economist, I doubt very much that those similarities are coincidental. On the contrary, they tell me that if you want to employ scholarly professionals productively, in responsible positions that require expertise and flexibility, there are great advantages in offering them partnership or something very much like it.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Hillary
posted 3/09/07 @ 9:22 AM EST
One thing you fail to mention in your article is the effect that tenure may have on a professor once he has received it. With tenure, they keep their job as long as the university has the funds for it, and as long as they don't do anything outrageous that compromises their ability to teach. (Continued…)
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