2S Novembei 2u1S

To: }im uiiesemei

Fiom: Bean Saitta, Piofessoi, Chaii, anu B0 AA0P Chaptei Piesiuent
Re: A Piofessoi's Life

Beai }im,

I've attenueu eveiy single Stiategic Issues Panel meeting anu I thank you foi that
oppoitunity. It's been a veiy enlightening anu useful leaining expeiience. It's also been veiy
haiu to watch anu not be able to say anything.

I'm wiiting because I'm tioubleu by the substance anu tone of the Panel's conveisation
aiounu shaieu goveinance, tenuie, anu othei subjects ielateu to faculty woik. Eveiy
steieotype by which the public knows tenuieu piofessois has founu its way into the
uiscussion oi been casually oveiheaiu in the meeting ioom. We'ie not piouuctive. We'ie not
accountable. We'ie politically coiiect. We'ie investeu in esoteiica. We'ie slaves to both
tiauition anu tienu. We'ie aiiogant. We think we'ie special because we have lifetime job
secuiity. We ignoie the Big Pictuie anu sweat the small stuff. We'ie chionic complaineis.
We'ie obstiuctionists. Tenuie itself has been chaiacteiizeu as a "sacieu cow." It's been
uesciibeu as the "elephant in the ioom." It's been iefeiieu to as the "9uu pounu goiilla at the
table." Since mammalian anu specifically piimate analogies seem to be the oiuei of the uay, I
keep waiting foi someone to iuentify tenuie as the "monkey on oui back." At the last meeting
a few panelists aumitteu to being unimpiesseu by the piesenteis who spoke up foi shaieu
goveinance anu tenuie. I assume they'ie iefeiiing to my AA0P colleagues }onathan Rees anu
Caiy Nelson. Because my loyalties to AA0P iun ueep, anu because auvocates foi faculty aie
too few anu fai between, I'u like to give you my own peispective on faculty woik, shaieu
goveinance, anu tenuie as shapeu by 2S yeais of expeiience at B0. I'm speaking foi myself,
but I suspect a laige numbei of B0 faculty woulu suppoit what I'm about to say.

Fiist, to me faculty woik is not a job. It's a life. It's haiu-wiieu into my being anu my
iuentity. I'm always thinking about what I can uo, anu uo bettei, in the classioom. I'm always
incubating iueas foi ieseaich anu wiiting. I'm always consiueiing how anthiopology can
eniich woik in othei fielus. I'm always thinking about how B0 can uistinguish itself in a
ciowueu highei euucation lanuscape. I'm always contemplating wheie oui institutional
shaieu goveinance neeus woik in oiuei to help cieate such uistinction. I'm always on the
clock. Ny family will testify to this.

I suspect that the gieat majoiity of tenuieu piofessois aie like this. If so, then theie
can be no uoubt that tenuieu faculty aie cost-effective in any way you want to measuie it.


2
The life becomes a "job" when faculty aie inauequately iewaiueu foi excellent peifoimance,
when they'ie maiginalizeu foi theii goveinance activities, oi when they'ie subjecteu to
auministiatois who lack acauemic vision oi fail to leau by example. In my expeiience, it's at
these points that piofessois check out anu thiow piouuctivity anu accountability to the winu.
In shoit, the life becomes a job when faculty aie tieateu as !"#$%&!!' of the univeisity insteau
of !"(%)*"!+,' of the univeisity. Columbia 0niveisity's Nobel Piize-winning physicist Isiuoi
Isaac Rabi famously pointeu this out, in so many woius, to Bwight Eisenhowei when the lattei
was installeu as Columbia's piesiuent back in 1948.

Seconu, I'm a faculty goveinance "one peicentei," to invoke Kevin Caiey's estimate
about the numbei of "woithy souls |whoj use tenuie to speak tiuth to auministiative powei."
I've been actively involveu in shaieu goveinance anu univeisity seivice since befoie I was
tenuieu. Ny inspiiation was a foimei Faculty Senate piesiuent, Linua Cobb-Reilly. Back in
the uay this cieateu numeious oppoitunities foi me to paiticipate in all-campus cuiiiculum
committees, seaich committees, anu stiategic planning committees. Foi example, I helpeu
authoi B0's "gieat piivate univeisity ueuicateu to the public goou" vision statement. In fact,
theie aie some foimei auministiatois who woulu testify that I was the uiiving foice behinu
the foimulation of what has become an oft-invokeu anu enuuiing statement.

Inteiestingly, howevei, the aic of my univeisity seivice caieei changeu uiamatically
when I ieviveu oui campus AA0P chaptei in 2uu7. Ny intention was to stiengthen shaieu
goveinance at B0 by giving faculty a voice that was inuepenuent of the Faculty Senate. When
I announceu oui chaptei's ievival to the univeisity's Auministiative Council only one
auministiatoi steppeu up to congiatulate us: the foimei Bean of Law, Beto }uaiez. It wasn't
suipiising that a Latino auministiatoi woulu congiatulate us foi oui success given the long
histoiy of collective stiuggle foi political enfianchisement anu social justice in that
community. 0n the othei hanu, the silence of all othei auministiatois was ueafening. 0ui
chaptei ievival got a little bit of love in B0's 2u1u accieuitation iepoit, but I suspect that this
hau moie to uo with making the institution look as goou as possible to oui accieuitois. Since
then my AA0P activism on behalf of faculty has typically been gieeteu with silence,
peifunctoiy iesponses, oi thinly veileu contempt. I ceitainly haven't been inviteu back to any
all-campus cuiiiculum, seaich, oi stiategic planning committees. I'm not sayin' that theie's a
cause-anu-effect heie. I'm just sayin'. Bowevei, I often wonuei wheie I'u be touay if I was
untenuieu anu seiving on a S yeai ienewable contiact.

Thiiu, panel membei anu -!+.!/ 1%', euitoi uiegoiy Nooie asks what it is that
tenuieu faculty neeu piotection fiom. Well, foi staiteis tenuieu faculty neeu piotection fiom
-!+.!/ 1%', euitois. We shoulun't foiget the iole that the -!+.!/ 1%', anu 2%34& 5%6+,7*+
8!9' playeu in fomenting the public outiage that contiibuteu to the politically motivateu
fiiing of the tenuieu piofessoi Waiu Chuichill at C0-Bouluei. We in the Coloiauo AA0P
piouuceu an investigative iepoit on the Chuichill fiiing that's available on oui website.
Thiough caieful analysis of 17,uuu pages of uocuments we copiously substantiate
auministiatoi anu faculty ieview committee misconuuct in the case. This misconuuct incluueu
ginning-up chaiges of plagiaiism, stacking faculty ieview committees with anti-Chuichill
paitisans, violating iules of confiuentiality, faulting Chuichill foi ieseaich anu citation
methous useu by the inquisitois themselves, anu tiansfoiming Chuichill's cieuible position in
a legitimate acauemic uebate about Native Ameiican histoiy into an inuictment of his
competence as a scholai. Chuichill was fiieu foi his unpopulai opinions about 911, puie-

3
anu-simple. The C0 Faculty, Auministiation, anu Boaiu of Regents aiueu anu abetteu the
peisecution. When the Coloiauo AA0P askeu the -!+.!/ 1%', foi op-eu space to iepoit oui
finuings in iesponse to a 91212 house euitoiial cheeiing the Coloiauo Supieme Couit's
iejection of Chuichill's appeal, we weie inviteu to eithei uistill oui message into a 1Su woiu
lettei oi submit a longei piece that coulun't uiiectly iebut the 1%',:' position. Neithei option
was acceptable to us. It's veiy easy to imagine othei piofessois finuing themselves in these
ciosshaiis given ueep anu peisistent anti-intellectual tenuencies in Ameiican society anu the
incieasing impoitance that univeisities aie placing on the inteiests anuoi uesiies of
stuuents, paients, alumni, tiustees, uonois, anu othei "stakeholueis."

Fouith, theie's a question in the panel about why S oi 7 yeai ienewable contiacts
aien't sufficient to piotect a faculty membei's acauemic fieeuom. If tenuie anu the Fiist
Amenument coulun't piotect Chuichill fiom violations of his acauemic fieeuom it's ceitain
that contiacts won't fully piotect untenuieu faculty woiking in the tienches. At piesent the
legal climate in Ameiica is ueciueuly hostile to acauemic fieeuom. The Coloiauo Supieme
Couit's uecision in the Chuichill case uphelu a lowei couit's iuling that the C0 Boaiu of
Regents has "quasi-juuicial immunity" foi uoing whatevei they think is necessaiy to piotect
the "best inteiests" of the institution. I suspect goveining boaius acioss the lanu have taken
notice of this pieceuent. The 0niteu States Supieme Couit's uecision in the 2uu6 ;7/3!,,* .<
=!(7$$%' case naiioweu Fiist Amenument piotection foi public employees by iuling that they
coulu be uisciplineu foi statements maue "puisuant to theii official uuties" without violating
the Constitution. Whethei faculty speech at public colleges anu univeisities ielating to
scholaiship, teaching, anu goveinance issues such as auministiative competence can be
similaily naiioweu was left as an open question. This is astonishing stuff, anu it says
something pietty telling about the contempoiaiy state of acauemic fieeuom in Ameiica. Its
conuition is piecaiious anu impeiileu.

The vulneiability of piofessois to aibitiaiy anu capiicious punishment oi uismissal is
potentially exaceibateu in piivate institutions. Can we take foi gianteu that contiact law will
auequately piotect piofessois fiom stuuents, paients, oi otheis who might complain about
oui teaching that the Founueis owneu slaves oi that evolution is a fact. It uoesn't seem that
we can. We shoulun't foiget Aithui uilbeit, a tenuieu piofessoi heie at B0 (anu in my view
one of oui moie talenteu inteiuisciplinaiy teacheis) who in 2u11 was yankeu fiom his
classioom, put on auministiative leave, anu suspenueu fiom campus foi allegeuly committing
sexually haiassing speech. This incluueu Aithui's mentioning of a wiuely publisheu
mainstieam news iepoit suggesting that mastuibation plays a positive iole in male piostate
health (such news was ielevant to the subject of the class anu in keeping with the histoiical
aic of Aithui's ieseaich inteiests). As it tuins out, the two oiiginal wiitten stuuent complaints
about Aithui uiun't even come close to alleging sexual haiassment. This stiuck me as pietty
suspicious, anu suggesteu that something a bit moie insiuious was going on. If a tenuieu, Su
yeai veteian of B0 teaching with excellent stuuent evaluations can be tieateu in this way,
what chance uo contiact anu aujunct faculty have. Especially those who take oui Chancelloi's
auvice to push the envelope in theii teaching anu ieseaich; i.e., to take iisks anu be "bolu".
Caiy Nelson's obseivation that ienewable contiacts of any length inevitably incluue "feai
points" is spot-on. Bottom line: theie's still no substitute foi tenuie as the best guaiantoi of
acauemic fieeuom in teaching anu ieseaich, anu meaningful faculty paiticipation in univeisity
goveinance.


4
Fifth, the panel might have consiueieu any numbei of pio-tenuie aiguments as a
counteipoint to Kevin Caiey's anti-tenuie uiatiibe. Even an aiticle by the gieat technological
uisiuption piophet anu Panel muse Clayton Chiistensen himself might have been useful. In
"Saving the Tiauitional 0niveisity Fiom the Insiue 0ut" (=>/%+*3$! %? @*A>!/ B)637,*%+, }uly
24, 2u11) Chiistensen anu Beniy Eyiing aigue that:

CD!+6/! *'+:, +!3!''7/*$& 7 3%"#!,*,*.! $*7(*$*,&E F%( '!36/*,& ?%/ #/%.!+ 4+%9$!)A! 9%/4!/' *' 7
A%%) ,>*+AG 7' #7/,+!/' *+ "7+7A!"!+, 3%+'6$,*+AG 733%6+,*+AG 7+) $79 ?*/"' 4+%9<H

Thus it's not tiue, as asseiteu in the panel, that theie aie no analogues foi the tenuieu
piofessoiship elsewheie in the woilu of laboi. Even if theie weie no analogues it woulu still
be peiveise to aigue that because tenuie uoesn't exist in othei inuustiies it shoulun't exist in
one that's funuamentally non-coipoiate in natuie anu has such a long histoiy of politically
motivateu attacks on "knowleuge woikeis." Alteinatively, we might consiuei the positive iole
that tenuie anu a stable piofessoiiate have playeu in "74*+A the Ameiican univeisity, above
all othei enteipiises both coipoiate anu non-coipoiate, the envy of the woilu. Tenuie is
uisappeaiing as a contingent by-piouuct of the expanuing coipoiatization of Ameiican highei
euucation. As Caiy Nelson noteu in his panel piesentation, faculty have been complicit in
allowing this to happen. Some institutions aie beginning to buck the tienu. We shoulu
consiuei joining the cause. I can easily imagine a ieneweu commitment to tenuie enhancing
B0's "value pioposition."

I think it's equally peiveise to use Nelson's example of the ueaubeat physics piofessoi
at the 0niveisity of Illinois, eageily embiaceu by some panelists, as a postei chilu foi
eveiything that's wiong with tenuie. Nelson's checkeu-out physicist is an abeiiation, a speck
at the extieme enu of the long tail of the uistiibution. Anu besiues, Nelson's point is moie
about bau hiiing than the inheient liabilities of tenuie. Faculty committees make bau hiies
anu sometimes make pooi tenuie uecisions. Tiustees anu auministiatois sometimes make
ciappy auministiative appointments. Which is woise foi the institution ovei shoit anu long
teims is a mattei foi uebate.

I'll enu by ietuining to faculty woik as a life anu not a job. Even the most stiiuent
ciitics of tenuie aumit that the oveiwhelming majoiity of tenuieu piofessois aie both
piouuctive anu accountable. In othei woius, we'ie way closei to the physics piofessoi at
Columbia than the one at Illinois. When we aien't, goveining boaius anu auministiations
have to accept pait of the blame. "Refoiming" oi "tweaking" oi "optimizing" oi "impioving"
tenuie to ensuie gieatei faculty piouuctivity anu accountabilitye.g., by incoipoiating some
foim of post-tenuie ieviewstiikes me as an inauequate anu even inappiopiiate iemeuy foi
what ails the system. Institutional excellence isn't just piouuceu fiom the bottom-up. It also
has to be inspiieu fiom the top-uown. It's inspiieu by leaueis who have compelling acauemic
visions. Leaueis who have a uemonstiateu openness to viewpoint uiveisity anu a
commitment to iespectfully engage with uissent. Leaueis who embiace a bioau, libeial view
of scholaiship (something that's also enuoiseu by Chiistensen anu Eyiing) anu who valiuate
inteiuisciplinaiy, community engageu, anu othei foims of non-tiauitional teaching anu
ieseaich. Leaueis who honoi publication anu cieative woik that speaks to fellow citizens anu
not just fellow acauemics. I peisonally believe that the soonei tiustees anu auministiatois
iealize this, the faithei along we'll be towaiu cieating the kinu of institution to which a
piofessoi woulu happily ueuicate his oi hei life.