Debating tenure for future KCTCS faculty
On my way home from the office this evening, I heard an interesting commentary on WUKY-FM about the controversial decision by the board of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System to eliminate tenure for future faculty members. The commentary is by Cara Richards, a retired sociology and anthropology professor at Transylvania University. Listen to it here. What do you think?
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April 21st, 2009 at 11:46 pm
I am currently a KCTCS student and I find this vote to eliminate tenure appalling. I believe if an instructors teaching history and evaluations show that they are able and disserving of tenure that it aught to be awarded. There are many wonderful teachers that do indeed disserve the little job safety that tenure does offer. I complexly agree with what Richards said on the radio, she explained very well how tenure works and how it is not what most people think, a life time contract. Tenure is a necessary part of the KCTCS college system and without it I believe that valuable instructors will be lost from lack of fait in the system.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:13 am
I was not in favor of eliminating tenure for KCTCS faculty until I read the above comments by Mr. Allen. If this is what he is being taught as a student at KCTCS as far as his English, I am now in favor of tenure.
April 24th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
I am an associate professor with tenure in the KCTCS. Tenure is important in part because it is usual and customary and not having tenure will make it harder to recruit for the future. Teachers are professionals but not freelancers. Tenure allows teachers to express their best professional judgements about educational matters rather than be overwhelmed by administrators who have, reasonably enough, other concerns. Education is not primarily a business. In business, the boss presumably has the best interests of the whole enterprise at heart and has a somewhat better view than the employee. In colleges, the instructors are directly concerned with education, and may have opinions about education, that are not always the same as those who must worry about the bills. Furthermore, administrators may be sensitive to the public in controversial areas. Evolution and nudes in art for example are sometimes reacted to poorly by some sections of the public. Tenure protects the instructors from retribution.