Tilghman to wait before reviewing tenure system

Though President Tilghman said she remains determined to review the University's current tenure policies, she said she will not undertake any reforms until at least the second year of her administration.

Tilghman said tenure was not the appropriate issue to deal with first in her presidency. "It's been useful to go through an entire year of hiring, promotions and retention issues because it's given me better insight about which questions to ask," she said.

But the issue has long been important to Tilghman, who in a 1993 New York Times editorial argued that younger female professors seeking tenured status are forced to choose between their careers and starting families.

The University allows assistant professors to hold their position for six years, after which they lose their post if they have not been granted tenure. It is this "tenure clock" that Tilghman believes should be closely examined.

Some other institutions have recently introduced more flexibility into their tenure policies. Seattle University has part-time tenured positions, though only one professor currently is employed in that manner.

"Most faculty are not going to be interested because they can't afford to be interested," said Joe Phillips, dean of the Albers School of Business and Economics at Seattle University, noting that salaries for part-time professors are prorated based on the number of classes taught.

Calvin College, a Christian school in Michigan, has "reduced-load" positions, both tenure and tenure-track. Donna Anema, executive assistant to the provost at Calvin, said one of the reasons behind the policy is to allow women raising families more opportunity to reach tenure.

Currently about 20 of the 280 Calvin faculty members carry a reduced class load, Anema said. These professors must still teach at least half of a full load.

"If we have a good teacher who has some other demands on their time we want to keep them," said Anema.

One key benefit of the reduced load positions at Calvin is the extension of the tenure clock, allowing professors the equivalent of the required six or seven years of classes before they come up for review. Reduced load professors, therefore, have more time to carry out the research and publishing necessary for tenure.

Tilghman expressed skepticism about the possibility of part-time positions as a solution to the tenure question, noting that part-time professors would not have the time to be adequate thesis advisers.

She suggested adjusting the tenure clock to fit the needs of different fields, saying that different departments have different expectations for professorial research.

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"Is the current tenure clock serving all of our junior faculty equally well? That's an open question, one that we have not reviewed for some time," she said.

Tilghman said that when it came time, a group would study the tenure issue at the University and at other institutions, giving a recommendation as a first step toward change.

Though no administrative action has been taken thus far, Tilghman is very adamant about putting the tenure system under review. "I will certainly say that we're going to do it," she said.