E-Briefing January 2000 Universities are under great pressure to rapidly adapt to and serve an ever-changing marketplace and society. At the same time, colleges and universities are challenged by a constantly fluctuating financial environment and ever-advancing educational technology. Within the faculty ranks, these forces are shaping the debate on the academic tradition of tenure. This week's University of Cincinnati e-briefing examines tenure and how its future may shape the future of higher education. Also, a UC researcher surveys the public and media about what we really want in a presidential candidate. Table of contents: 1. Technology to reshape tenure 2. Tenure as a guarantor of academic freedom a. Pinched by economic pressure b. Political correctness, then and now c. Academic freedom? Yes. Academic free ride? No! d. Senior faculty stifle freedom 3. Hiring practices alter tenure a. Do students notice who's tenured? b. A different kind of contract c. The role of the adjunct; senior faculty stifle freedom 4. In search of the perfect President 1. TECHNOLOGY TO RESHAPE TENURE Michael Margolis, UC professor of political science, says the Internet is reshaping universities and the tenure system. Online education is "headed towards a kind of consolidation and standardization at universities, at least in terms of freshmen- and sophomore-level courses." Margolis presented a paper, "Using the Internet for Teaching and Research: A Political Evaluation," at the annual meeting last fall of the American Political Science Association where he predicted that new technology "could, at long last, break the professorial guild." contact: 513-556-3310 2. TENURE AS GUARANTOR OF ACADEMIC FREEDOM A. Pinched by economic pressure Andrew Ross, director of the American studies program at New York University: "Take away tenure and you have demolished one of the chief pillars of free speech in a society that pays lavish lip service to the principle, but restricts the practice of that principle through the workings of its economic system. Tenure is...the only thing that stands between higher education as we know it, and the bloodless prospect of the 'wired university,' pumping out curricular content like some parody of an automated factory." contact: 212-998-8538 B. Political correctness, then and now Henry Winkler, UC president emeritus and professor emeritus of history, has spent 60 years in higher education and believes tenure is necessary. He remembers colleagues at Rutgers University who were fired during the McCarthy era because of their unwillingness to testify before committees. "Tenure was initially a protection for academic freedom. While there are a lot of attacks on that today, a university is a place where questions need to be asked openly and often times, those are uncomfortable questions...As far as I can see, except for a few departments in a few institutions in the country, there's more pressure on the faculty from the conservative side than the liberal side, but [there needs to be] protection from both sides." contact: 513-556-0125 C. Academic freedom? Yes. Academic free ride? No David Lee Smith, UC professor of architecture and former chair of UC's faculty senate, believes tenure has to be made responsive to public demands, in much the same way universities are having to change the way they operate to meet the needs of the public. "Tenure at public institutions needs to be more responsive than that at private institutions. We at public institutions take money from the public, and we need to be responsive to the needs and demands of the public...It [tenure] shouldn't be seen as a way to totally protect faculty from changing expectations of the marketplace... allowing them a lifetime career of independent operation. It may be that the public doesn't want to pay 'X amount' for particular areas of research that aren't perceived as meeting public need." contact: 513-556-5291 D. Senior faculty stifle freedom Judith M. Gappa, professor of educational studies at Purdue University and co-author of "The Invisible Faculty: Improving the Status of Part-Timers in Higher Education," has been working with colleagues through the American Association for Higher Education on issues of tenure, including how non-tenured faculty might still retain guarantees of academic freedom. "Most people think that all faculty need a sense of academic freedom. But some are saying that the major issue in academic freedom is right inside the institution having to do with the tenure-track process...That's the idea that junior faculty are not willing to say certain things because they may upset senior faculty and the impact that could have on tenure review." contact: 765-494-8121 3. HIRING PRACTICES AND TENURE A. Students seem accepting Carol K. Winkler, chair, communications department, Georgia State University, says students don't demonstrate much concern about the tenure status of teaching faculty, despite the fact that Georgia State created 95 new full-time, non-tenure track faculty positions this year to cut back on the number of part-time faculty needed. Winkler's department hired 15 new visiting professors this year, an alternative she approves in lieu of employing as many as 35 part-timers in the past. "Student concerns have not focused on the fact that a faculty member is non-tenure track or tenure track." contact: 404-651-2592 B. New structure for contracts Paul Michaud, UC associate vice president for human resources, notes that more universities and colleges are starting to use five- to 10-year contracts for faculty in place of tenure. He believes that these contractual arrangements will become even more common in the future. Recent figures from the National Center for Education Statistics show that one-third of junior professors surveyed were not in tenure-track positions, compared with only one-sixth of senior professors who had been in their positions eight years or more. Junior professors also reported lower job satisfaction, and only 70.5 percent of junior professors felt secure about their jobs, compared with 86.5 percent of senior professors. contact: 513-556-1015 C. The role of the adjunct Judith M. Gappa, professor of educational studies at Purdue University and co-author of "The Invisible Faculty: Improving the Status of Part-Timers in Higher Education," thinks the issue of adjuncts vs. tenured professors is growing in importance. "Numbers show that 44 percent of total faculty are part-time, and about 26 percent of all full-time faculty are in non-tenure track positions, so those are emerging trends." contact: 765-494-8121 4. IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT PRESIDENT While the nation waits to see who wins the first major presidential primary in New Hampshire Feb. 1, UC communication professor Judith Trent is looking beyond "who" by asking more questions about the presidential selection process: What do Americans want in a president? What does the media want in a candidate? From Jan. 23-31, Trent will be "on the bus" with the media up in New Hampshire for her fourth presidential primary since 1988. Her mission is to survey hundreds of Americans and journalists about what characteristics make a desirable president just as she has done in 1988, 1992 and 1996. One question Trent has added this year will explore the declining importance of party in the choice of presidential candidates. " I have added a question about whether or not people believe it is important to be a Republican or Democrat." Another thing Trent is curious to learn about in this presidential primary survey is how the media and the public will answer questions related to presidential character in light of the Clinton scandals. "Will they define character in more personal terms than they have in the past? Will they have a heightened awareness of moral integrity?" Trent asked. Her previous research shows the greatest difference between journalists' and the public's presidential preferences was that journalists prefer candidates who are forceful public speakers (No. 3 on the media list, while only No. 6 for the public). Also, media respondents felt proven experience and competence in elective office was more important (No. 7) than the public (No. 10). Characteristics that rate at the bottom of the list are age, sex, race, wealth and military service. Only 7.7 percent of those surveyed agreed that a presidential candidate should be male. "I am dreadfully sorry Elizabeth Dole has pulled out because that would have been an interesting race," the researcher lamented. contact: 513-556-4337 Click here to return to the most recent e-briefing offering. Click here to return to E-briefings archive menu. .