MAINTENANCE OF ACADEMIC TENURE

WHEREAS, college and university administrations have begun to use such devices as declaring financial exigency in a single program as an excuse to eliminate tenured positions; and

WHEREAS, administrations have begun to use academic program elimination decisions to legitimate eliminating tenured positions for budgetary reasons; and

WHEREAS, administrations have begun to increase the numbers of so-called full-time "temporary" faculty positions as well as expanding the use of part-time faculty in order to avoid providing what ought to be the customary professional opportunity to achieve tenure; and

WHEREAS, these and other such practices, often presented as cost-saving measures, undermine the institution of academic tenure by confining it to a smaller and smaller proportion of faculty under more and more limited circumstances; and

WHEREAS, maintenance of the institution of academic tenure is essential to the preservation of academic freedom in our nation's colleges and universities; and

WHEREAS, continuation of the customary professional opportunity to earn academic tenure is necessary if our colleges and universities are to be able to continue to attract qualified and competent faculty:

RESOLVED, that the AFT reaffirms its commitment to the preservation of the institution of academic tenure as an essential part of our nation's colleges and universities; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT urges its college and university faculty locals to fully explore the potential for utilizing both collective bargaining and political action to secure and enhance the institution of academic tenure.