Abstract
This article evaluates whether traditional tenure practices remain viable within contemporary higher education. It argues that the lifetime employment guarantee awarded after a brief probationary period has drawn increasing criticism from legislators, administrators, faculty, and students. Abuses associated with tenure include faculty members who remain minimally active for decades and the perception that tenure shelters incompetence. The article contends that earlier justifications for tenure, namely protection of academic freedom and insulation from administrative or public pressure, have been overtaken by court decisions and faculty unionization that already safeguard those rights. Economic pressures, declining enrollments, and public scrutiny are identified as forces likely to spur reexamination of tenure. The article discusses short term solutions such as early retirement incentives and the redistribution of positions to younger scholars, but concludes that only structural reform will address underlying issues. It proposes replacing tenure with renewable two to five year contracts that preserve stability for research, offer more consistent legal protection, and increase institutional flexibility in personnel decisions. Contracts are presented as offering uniform safeguards for academic freedom while relieving institutions of permanent commitments to unproductive faculty.
Recommended Citation
Bradley, Bert E.
(1985)
"Tenure: A Concept Whose Time Has Passed?,"
Association for Communication Administration Bulletin: Vol. 52, Article 14.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/aca/vol52/iss1/14
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