I thought this might be worth posting in light of recent
discussion of the trends in academia--Peter
______________________________ Forward Header __________________________________
Subject: For the academics on the list: tenure
Author: Ingrid Shafer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> at SMTPLINK-LMU
Date: 9/8/96 7:07 PM
Date: Sun, 8 Sep 96 12:29:51 -0500
From: Elizabeth Belfiore <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: tenure at MN
Please post this and the next e-mail to the Classics list and publicize as
widely as possible.
Elizabeth Belfiore
Dear colleagues,
I ask your help in an urgent matter that affects the entire academic
profession. On Sept. 5, the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota
rejected a compromise proposed by the Faculty Senate on revisions of the
tenure code and unilaterally proposed a revision that would effectively
eliminate tenure. They will vote on this proposal, which has been vigorously
opposed by the faculty, on Oct. 10. Our President, Nils Hasselmo, at first
encouraged the regents to make our tenure code "more flexible," then with
mounting resistance by the University Faculty Alliance, an incipient faculty
union, has now taken on the posture of heroic academic freedom. Some key
provisions of the Regents' proposal allow for:
(1) Firing faculty in case of program change
(2) Reductions in base pay
(3) Rigorous post tenure reviews for all faculty
(4) Discipline, including dismissal, of faculty for such offenses as failure
to "maintain a proper attitude of industry and cooperation with others within
and without the University community."
(5) Elimination of current grievance rights
See the next e-mail for the statement on which this summary is based.
A statement issued by the Faculty Consultative Committee summarizes the damage
that will be done by the Regents' proposed changes.
"The tenure revision proposal under consideration by the Board of Regents
undermines the commonly accepted principles of academic freedom. If adopted, it
will quickly and inevitably destroy our reputation, our competitive position,
and our ability to serve the citizens of Minnesota.
Contrary to the claims of the outside lawyers and consultants engaged by the
Regents, the proposed tenure revisions are drastically outside the norms
of Big 10 and other leading research universities. The revisions allow for
virtually unlimited administrative arbitrariness in layoffs and salary
reductions, and effectively demolish the protections to academic freedom
afforded by tenure.
Academic freedom is of primary benefit not to professors, but to society. It
allows faculty to do the novel research and develop the unconventional ideas
that challenge current wisdom, improve our quality of life, and move
civilization forward. Tenure, granted only after years of rigorous testing
of probationary faculty, embodies the rules that protect academic freedom.
Tenure does not protect faculty from sanctions (including removal) if they are
seriously derelict in their duty. But it must protect them from arbitrary
actions by vindictive or short-sighted administrators, or pressures from
external interest groups."
Please contact the Regents as soon as possible, urging them to reject this
destructive proposal. If tenure is eliminated at Minnesota, it will not be
long before it disappears elsewhere as well. Write to: Board of Regents,
University of Minnesota, 220 Morrill Hall, Minneapolis MN 55455 and/or phone:
612-625-6300. The Regents' proposal is available on the net:
http://www.umn.edu/urelate/news.html
Please forward this appeal, and the document in the next e-mail, to as many
people as possible.
Elizabeth Belfiore
Professor,Dept. of Classical and Near Eastern Studies
University of Minnesota 330 Folwell Hall
9 Pleasant St., S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55455 USA
(612) 625-4547; 625-5353
