From Plantation to Corporation: The Attack on Tenure and Academic Freedom in Florida

Abstract

Florida's recent history as well as current trends within the state reveal a failure to protect academic freedom and an aggressive attack on the tradition of academic tenure. From the mid-nineteen fifties to the mid-nineteen sixties, the notorious “Johns Committee” sought to discover any communists, “godless” faculty or homosexuals in Florida's universities. Acting as investigator, prosecutor and judge, the Committee forced the departure of untold numbers of faculty and students. Today, the undermining of tenure and academic freedom is more subtle. Under the rubric of such terms as “productivity,” efficiency,” “the market,” and “flexibility,” powerful political and business interests have declared war on tenure in Florida.