Ellington

Robert A. Brown, research professor emeritus in the department of Atmospheric Sciences, fought for tenure in the mid-1980s but was ultimately denied.

Now, Brown, the first geophysics Ph.D. at the UW, sees his career as better off without tenure.

“There was no need to do it,” he said.

As cited in the University of Washington Handbook, tenure guarantees a faculty member a position without fear of a “discriminatory reduction of salary” or loss of job, “except for the reasons and in the manner provided in the Faculty Code.”

Tenure is not a new concept; it has a history.

Created nearly a century ago, tenure emerged as a way to safeguard academics from being fired because of their political opinions and outspokenness. Established in 1915, eminent professors who saw this kind of dismissal as harmful to education created the American Association of University Professors (AAUP); thus tenure was created to serve the public good.

The AAUP associates closely with the structure of tenure and undertakes the responsibility of creating standards that make up this academic status.

“Academic freedom is regarded by most people associated with universities as being essential to the functioning of a university,” said Robert Stacey, a tenured professor and divisional dean in the College of Arts and Sciences at the UW.

Tenure has continued to ensure this academic freedom by guaranteeing educators a life-long position in their field of study. It allows them to discuss topics of all kinds, even controversial ones.

Professors, intellectuals and educators are society’s critics, Brown said.

But tenure is not granted to just anyone.

Teaching assistants, teaching associates and lecturers are not eligible for tenure.

Although the standards for this academic status vary from college to college, obtaining tenure is always tough. A candidate must first meet the expectations of his or her tenured colleagues that are specific to their department and the elected faculty council of the college.

“These councils advise the dean of the school or college, who in turn recommends the candidate — or chooses not to recommend the candidate — to the provost,” Stacey said. “The provost makes the final determination, subject to the approval of the Board of Regents and the president.”

Out of the 4,101 faculty members at the UW, 2,080 are tenured professorial faculty.

Individuals up for tenure consideration are assistant professors who are funded through state budget lines. The faculty member’s achievements in teaching, research and service are the deciding factors in whether they are awarded tenure; standards can vary between departments.

Tenure is considered a landmark in academia, but there is also something called emeritus status.

“Emeritus is an honoree position for retirement after a distinguished career and automatic if you have been a professor for a long time,” Brown said. “Tenure is more dynamic.”

To Brown, the highest prestige in science is research success, not tenure.

“Basically, I like the research as much as I like the teaching,” Brown said.

Like many issues, tenure has both its pros and cons, but may not be as notorious as some believe it to be.

“I am not sure that I would agree that tenure is controversial,” Stacey said. “Certainly there are people who think it should not exist.”

And there are.

Senior Zarya Faraj believes tenure leads to less accountability because professors are guaranteed a job.

“I don’t think it’s fair,” Faraj said. “[Teaching] is always a learning process; you must be receptive to the students’ needs.”

For UW student Brynn MacCoy, tenure is beneficial in a society in which educators are undervalued and too dispensable.

“Professors are one of the most important parts of the economy and society,” MacCoy said. “If we have the right people in education, then we can contribute better to the economy and society.”

Tenure or no tenure, university departments still have curricula that must be followed to some extent. Tenured professors must meet expectations, even though tenure grants these professors academic freedom in how the curriculum can be taught.

Tenure does not rule out the possibility of being fired.

“One can always find a few examples of people who abuse the tenure system by ceasing to do research, teaching poorly, performing minimal or no service, etc,” Stacey said. “But it is very difficult to revoke someone's tenure, and deliberately so.”

The most common reasons for terminating a tenured professor’s job are misconduct and incompetence. A less-common reason can stem from an economic crisis. Job termination is not out of the question for tenured professors during a financial decline; however, tenure does include limitations with regard to a budget crisis.

“We don’t make it easy,” said Greg Scholtz, an associate secretary and director in the department of Academic Freedom, Tenure and Governance for the AAUP.

Certain things must be done before a tenured professor can be fired under these circumstances.

“[The AAUP] is all about process,” he said.

While some students see tenure in a negative light, biology major Eric Stevens said he understands the reasons for the existence of tenure.

“I think it’s good,” Stevens said. “It shows the person has had loyalty and commitment to the institution and proven themselves.”

However, he also believes it can be argued the other way, in that professors can sometimes lose the expectation to keep up “impeccable job performance.”

While tenure is argued to break incentive, it is also argued to bring incentive.

“Tenure can be seen as a reward,” Brown said, who believes it has both problems and advantages. “No one knows what to say about it. Tenure is one of the biggest can of worms in academia.”

Reach reporter Megan Meinecke at features@dailyuw.com.