The Academy under Siege: Informing the Public about the Merits of Academic Tenure

Abstract

It is argued that the academy has been reluctant to discuss and defend the institution of academic tenure with the general public and that if the institution is to be saved, this reticence to talk about tenure must give way to a reasoned discussion of the merits of tenure. To this end, the authors offer a definition of what tenure is and a discussion on how it is achieved. They also discuss what tenure gives a faculty member, why it is in the best interests of society for university professors to be protected by tenure, and why it is in the best interest of American universities to retain the tenure sytem. The authors conclude with a discussion of when budget exigency should override tenure and when it should not.