Taking Tenure

Iowa Senator, Brad Zaun, introduced a bill in January 2017 that would eliminate a tenure
system for any institution in Iowa governed by the state board of regents. This would mean
major changes for many universities in Iowa including community colleges as well. For the
University of Northern Iowa (UNI), this issue has hit right at home in what seems to be a debate
between the students and the faculty.

According to the Iowa Board of Regents tenure report, between Iowas three regent universities
there are 5,905 faculty members. Of those members, 2,644 have tenure. Individually, UNI has
423 faculty members with tenure. According to the American Association of University
Professors, A tenured appointment is an indefinite appointment that can be terminated only for
cause or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency and program
discontinuation. The purpose of tenure is to protect the academic freedom for those who
conduct research and teach in higher education.

This protection is especially essential to Dr. Dennis Clayson, a Professor in the Marketing
department at UNI. Dr. Clayson also writes for an opinion column in the Waterloo Courier. Due
to his unpopular political opinions, there have been two attempts made to fire Dr. Clayson from
UNI. Having tenure protected Dr. Clayson from losing his job. He explains, In today's
atmosphere, I could not express my views in the Courier and be a professor at the same time
without tenure.

For some professors receiving tenure means more than just protection of their academic
freedom. At is a validation of what they bring to the university. Dr. Tom Hall, an Associate
Professor in the department of Communication Studies at UNI, explains, receiving tenure felt
like an affirmation from my colleagues and Northern Iowa broadly that they valued me, my
teaching, my research, and my service.

Although the purpose of tenure has good intentions, a few bad apples abusing the system have
caused for some people to wish away tenure. Nicole Shutt, a student from the University of
Northern Iowa, explains, Tenure affects my education because sometimes I get stuck with
professors who dont really care about teaching anymore. I wish we could still evaluate
professors even if they have tenure. That way we can make sure they are still fulfilling their
responsibility to teach. Shutt is not the only one with this opinion. According to the National
Education Association (NEA) people are often against tenure for many reasons including ideas
such as: tenure is a lifetime job guarantee and tenured faculty dont work very hard. There is
debate about whether these ideas can be supported by research, but research or no research,
they are still popular and widely accepted opinions amongst people.

There is a lot of disagreement between how the elimination of tenure would affect Iowas
universities and students. However, all sides seem to agree that the effects would be largely
noticeable. According to Clayson, removing tenure removes a professors loyalty to the school.
Instead of being loyal, Clayson explains, They (faculty) become like coaches. If you win, you
get the next better job. Tenure weds a faculty member to a school.

The proposed bill eliminating tenure in Iowa has not been rejected or passed. However, even
the idea of tenure elimination has started causing problems for Iowas universities. According to
Hall, who chaired a search this semester for an Assistant Professor position in the
Communication Studies department, one of the first things every candidate asked was, What
are Iowas plans regarding tenure? The simple idea that the opportunity to receive tenure could
be removed has potential candidates questioning their decisions to work at a university in Iowa.

Both Hall and Clayson agree that eliminating tenure would not be beneficial to UNI or any other
university in Iowa. Hall explains that eliminating tenure could cause universities to lose some of
their best faculty, as well as, having great teachers decide not to work at universities in Iowa.
Mary Kapsch, a senior at UNI, largely disagrees with Hall and Clayson, explaining that she is
very much in support of eliminating tenure. Kapsch explains, There is a bias for professors with
tenure, and it isnt fair to the students. They can get away with whatever they want all because
they have the title of tenure.

While many students are in support of this bill, professors at UNI are on the edges of their seats
as they wait to see how this bill will play out. Hall explains that while tenure will not be the
biggest factor in his future career decisions, If I start to see my best colleagues leave, and I
start to see continued difficulty hiring the best and the brightest, then it is pretty easy to see that
UNI might begin to be more of a burden to me than a place where I am excited to get up every
morning, do the job that I love to do, and work with students and peers who inspire me.