Protect Teaching, Not Tenure
This article is for subscribers only.
Jan. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Like tweed jackets and same-sexdorms, academic tenure is fast becoming a relic of the past. In1975, almost half of all teachers at U.S. colleges anduniversities either had tenure or were in line for tenure; by2011, that share had fallen to one-fourth. Now, almost two-thirds of instructors are part-time adjuncts, most of thempoorly paid, or graduate students.
Reasonable people can disagree on the merits of tenure,which protects professors from summary dismissal. The morepressing question is whether the system that is replacing itmakes sense for students or society as a whole.