Members of the Board of Regents met with the Tenure Policy Task Force Thursday, Sept. 17, to discuss policy concerning the board’s new powers over tenured faculty and post tenure policy.
Board of Regents Vice President John Behling chaired the meeting. He outlined the purpose of the task force — to give input on the criteria and standards which should guide when the board will be able to layoff tenured faculty. The current state statute does not provide any criteria and as such, the board’s power is very broad.
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Behling said the board hopes to enact a unifying policy that covers all University of Wisconsin campuses, with the only exceptions being “research one” campuses. Research one campuses are universities with high levels of research, Behling explained in an email to The Badger Herald.
Members from UW System schools voiced their concerns regarding the unwritten policy. Some members felt the policy should be integrated with shared governance to ensure faculty has input on layoff decisions.
UW-Madison representatives distributed draft policy, which included provisions to relocate faculty if programs they are part of are discontinued.
The policy also features provisions to address the termination of faculty members, including procedural hearings and layoff status rights, such as continued use of university facilities.
The task force addressed the issue of post-tenure reviews within the UW System. Each campus reported they did indeed conduct them, but it was made clear among individual campuses the procedure for these reviews varies.
Post-tenure reviews occur in the middle of a professor’s tenure to evaluate their progress. These reviews usually occur within four to six years after tenure is awarded.
Behling said the issue of post-tenure reviews is being revisited because many in the Legislature see granting tenure as providing a job for life, with little to no accountability for performance.
Greg Wise, director of the Center for Community and Economic Development, said currently there is little incentive for professors to do post-tenure reviews due to the lack of merit pay in recent years.
He and other members said its important post-tenure reviews maintain a formative tone, not a punitive one, citing issues of moral.
Christine Roth, professor at UW-Oshkosh, said it’s important to note the immense weeding out seven-year process which occurs prior to tenure being granted.
Roth said because of this long weeding out period, most people do not make it, leaving only the most dedicated tenure applicant.
Roth concluded compromises must be made to ensure the UW System’s position is defensible to everyone.
“We have to deal with all of you and we have to deal with the Legislature,” Roth said. “We may not make everyone happy, but I believe the result will be the result we need to have.”
