ATTACKS ON TENURE IN HIGHER EDUCATION

WHEREAS, tenure in higher education is an assurance that faculty members who have passed through a rigorous probationary period cannot be removed by management without the protection of due process; and

WHEREAS, tenure is the cornerstone that protects academic freedom in higher education and ensures the independence of the academy; and

WHEREAS, tenure provides our academic institutions with a permanent cadre of academic professionals that makes American higher education the envy of the world; and

WHEREAS, attacks on tenure are on the rise in our newspapers, on bookshelves, on television, in corporate board rooms and even among some academic organizations; and

WHEREAS, these attacks consistently, and wrongly, portray tenure as an unjustifiable lifetime guarantee of employment; and

WHEREAS, in addition to the direct attacks on tenure, we are witnessing an erosion of tenure around the country as tenured faculty retire and are replaced by temporary and part-time faculty; and

WHEREAS, temporary and part-time faculty, while they are capable professionals committed to doing a good job, are often not in a position to exercise the same degree of academic freedom, attention to students and institutional commitment as full-time tenured faculty; and

WHEREAS, it is particularly important to ensure that an increasing number of tenured positions be made available to the next generation of academic faculty:

RESOLVED, that the AFT reaffirm its support for the traditions and principles of academic tenure, which ensure freedom of inquiry, teaching, research and professional opinion; and

RESOLVED, that AFT will undertake public information efforts, wherever possible in collaboration with other higher education organizations, to highlight the importance of tenure and the need to continue to maintain a strong cohort and to increase significantly the number of permanent full-time faculty in our colleges and universities; and

RESOLVED, to serve the needs of the next generation of faculty, that AFT will work to ensure that the systems by which faculty obtain tenure are flexible enough to reward superior teaching and service, and to permit appropriate times to assume child care and other responsibilities.