Abstract
Addressing tenure during periods of institutional retrenchment, this article explains tenure as a protection for academic freedom rather than simply a guarantee of economic security. It reviews common criticisms of tenure, including claims that it protects unproductive faculty or limits hiring flexibility, and distinguishes those concerns from cases involving incompetence, misconduct, or financial exigency. The article argues that although tenured faculty may legally be dismissed when financial exigency is properly established, doing so can weaken the conditions that sustain academic freedom. It cautions that program elimination during budget crises may threaten precisely the kinds of intellectual independence that tenure is designed to protect.
Recommended Citation
Goldberg, Alvin
(1983)
"Straight Talk, Tough Issues: Tenure in Times of Retrenchment,"
Association for Communication Administration Bulletin: Vol. 46, Article 11.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/aca/vol46/iss1/11
