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发帖数: 270 | 1 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-15/lawmaker-s-bill-would-
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A House bill to eliminate tenure for professors at
Utah's public universities has higher education officials concerned because
of its impact on their ability to recruit quality faculty.
Rep. Chris Herrod, R-Provo, told The Associated Press that professors who
receive tenure cannot be held accountable by taxpayers and the benefits of
competition are removed.
"The taxpayers shouldn't be writing a blank check," Herrod said.
Although Herrod believes Utah would be the first to ban tenure, he said
federal funding cuts to higher education grants will force other states to
consider it. Fewer dollars means universities will need to be more flexible
in their faculty needs, something tenure prevents.
Instead of a "lifetime contract," professors would be evaluated like any
other state employee if House Bill 485 were passed, Herrod said. The best
professors would be retained by a university or college, even if they aren't
the most experienced.
"Competition brings out the best in people," Herrod said. "I have a hard
time believing professors don't want to compete."
The prohibition on tenures would begin July 1. Any professor tenured by that
date would remain tenured.
Utah Commissioner of Higher Education William Sederburg said they are "very
opposed" to the bill. If tenure were removed, the state's universities would
not be able to recruit top-flight faculty, no matter how much they offered.
The University of Utah and Utah State University would be hit especially
hard as major research institutions that compete for faculty nationally.
Both universities are also partners in the Utah Science and Technology
Research Initiative, which funds technology research that can be
commercialized.
Through USTAR, professors have been recruited from schools such as Harvard
University, University of Virginia and University of Texas. The USTAR
faculty includes Mario Capecchi, who won the Nobel Prize in 2007 for his
genetic research.
"It would be hugely expensive to even try, and I don't think you could ever
recruit the type of talent we want," Sederburg said. "It would significantly
hurt the state's economy."
Tenure is often misunderstood, Sederburg said. In Utah, tenured professors
still get reviewed every three years and can be fired at any time for just
cause.
It takes about five years to qualify for tenure, Sederburg said, but it is
not guaranteed. Before granting tenure, student evaluations, peer reviews
and administrative reports are all considered. |
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