On a prime site in Manhattan, a block from the lions guarding the New York Public Library, the City University of New York (CUNY) opened its newest community college in the fall of 2012. Designed to achieve greater student success, as measured through increased graduation rates, the New Community College at CUNY (NCC) is seen as a beacon of hope…

The alarming stories from adjunct faculty, who now comprise a majority of higher-education teachers nationally, share troubling commonalities. The frustrations are financial, personal, and professional. In decades past, most adjunct faculty worked full-time outside of academe and taught an occasional course based on a particular expertise or…

As anyone who has ever defended a thesis or been on a tenure track must know, American institutions of higher education have rigorous and finely calibrated ways of according respect to those who work in them. What they do not have enough of is respect from those beyond their gates. The author argues that the system that created the two-tiered…

Asserts that despite attempts by critics of higher education to use tenure as a scapegoat for a plethora of institutional shortcomings, there is no persuasive evidence that tenured faculty aren't doing their jobs. Describes the need for and benefits of tenure, argues against its critics, and calls for more attention toward creating organizational…

A study at San Diego State University (California) investigated the decision-making process in 388 cases of faculty reappointment, tenure, and promotion (RTP) over a period of five years. It examined the degree of support for RTP decisions at six different decision-making levels and in nine colleges, particularly when "no tenure/no promotion" or…

Argues that higher education's response to change is resulting in the disappearance of tenure, and provides a bibliography of actual institutional and faculty decisions in relation to tenure since the mid-1970s. Focus is on six issues: changes in the meaning of tenure; management of tenure decisions; financial exigency or discomfort; faculty…

The progressive gains of college faculty since the 1960s (affirmative action, ethnic studies, expansion of access to higher education, emergence of faculty unions) are threatened by social and political shifts toward conservatism. Senior, tenured faculty are challenged to use their privileged positions and the gains made in recent decades to…

Drawing on longitudinal data from federal surveys for 1974-75 and 1992 and other studies, tenure patterns and trends are examined in 3 groups of college faculty: full-time faculty with at least 50% teaching responsibility; women faculty; and all faculty. Conclusions are drawn about the meaning of tenure, and steps to be taken in clarifying its…

The impact on college tenure and promotion practices of a Supreme Court decision, "University of Pennsylvania versus the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission," is discussed. The decision required the university to disclose confidential tenure files to the EEOC in the investigation of employment discrimination charges. (MSE)

A strategy for assisting candidates for promotion is outlined. Teaching, research, and service remain the key criteria for faculty evaluation. Untenured faculty must devote time to research and teaching: developing manuscripts for publication, writing proposals for extramural funding, conceptualizing a program of research, formulating new courses,…

People in the creative arts are no less scholarly, but their scholarly efforts are less quantifiable. A rationale for accepting creative works as scholarly equivalents is developed by examining creativity, the creative process, and the creative product. An historical viewpoint about creativity, creative works, and their social importance is…

Analysis of the progress of women college faculty looks at trends in awarding of doctorates, academic employment patterns, promotion and tenure, academic rank and discipline, salaries, and publishing. Some comparisons are made with statistics on men faculty. Special issues in performance and evaluation that affect salary and rank are considered.…

The report of a study of 18 junior faculty in varying stages of tenure eligibility at a research university presents the experiences of two, a man and a woman, felt to be representative of faculty experiences and perceptions. Issues addressed include peer relationships, competition, publishing, performance feedback, social expectations, personal…

A study examined college faculty (n=485) perceptions about the role the department head should and does play in awarding of tenure. Of 19 roles played by department heads, 13 were seen by respondents as facilitating tenure acquisition. Almost half of those roles were administrative; research roles were also seen as important. (MSE)

A study of 104 junior faculty at a research university attempted to develop a model of career development for tenure-track assistant professors and to demonstrate the effect of specific teaching and research activities on success in achieving tenure and promotion. Results and implications for institutional policy are discussed. (MSE)