The Chronicle (NC) - Duke officials tout tenure plan

By Iza Wojciechowska,

DURHAM, N.C. —As part of Campus Equity Week, professors at universities across the country held protests to raise awareness about their posts as contingent faculty members.

CEW, which took place last week, is a national annual event that aims to inform the public about the disparities in employment practices for tenured and non-tenured professors.

According to a study by the American Association of University Professors, only 35 percent of faculty in the country currently have tenure, which guarantees them full-time positions, or are on the tenure track. The study states that the percentage of non-tenured, or contingent, faculty members is growing annually.

At Duke University, professors who do not have tenure are in one of two situations. They are either on the tenure track and will eventually apply for it, or they are on an established non-tenure track because of the nature of their teaching. Non-tenured professors are required to do less research, but their position provides long-term contracts and a set system of promotions.

Sixty-three percent of Duke faculty are tenured or on the tenure track.

"At other schools -- especially at many public [schools] -- there are many faculty who have neither of these characteristics," Provost Peter Lange said. "They have one-year contracts, they're hired at will... so they're in a much more precarious position."

He added that Duke does not usually encounter such problems because the employment situation is more stable than at larger schools, where decisions to hire contingent professors on shorter contracts often stem from financial restrictions.

"As universities come under financial pressure, they sometimes seek to relieve that financial oppression by hiring more [faculty for] jobs that people with regular rank would do," he said. "They tend to hire more people whom they can deal with more flexibly."

Duke's employment practices were not regularized until the early 1990s when the position of professor of the practice was introduced, Lange said. According to the Chairs' Handbook, the position has a long-term contract and requires academic preparation, professional development and significant activity in the field.

Before the implementation of professor of the practice positions, the University had more faculty on one-year contracts than it currently does. Now it is the primary alternative for professors not on the tenure track.

"The University has been very responsible and very much in the forefront in identifying and creating these kinds of positions for faculty who are not tenured but with which the University still intends to have a long-term relationship," said Alexander Motten, associate professor of the practice of biology.

William Noland, associate professor of the practice of visual arts, applied for his position when it was implemented several years after he became an artist-in-residence. The position was offered to non-Duke artists or writers affiliated with the University on a short-term basis.

"At a certain point we discussed the possibility of going in the tenure track or staying in the professor of the practice, and I chose to stay in the professor of the practice," Noland said. "I think that the way the whole [tenure-track] system is set up, it's not the way that's made to gauge the performance of artists, as opposed to academic knowledge."

Despite certain disadvantages -- such as unpaid leave -- many professors of the practice at the University are satisfied with their positions because it gives them opportunities to do what they enjoy.

"It allows me to concentrate more on teaching, and I can spend more time with the students," Motten said. "I think that's the main advantage."

(C) 2005 The Chronicle via U-WIRE

FAIR USE NOTICE:

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to:

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml

If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Any copyright holder of material on this site who desires their material to be removed from this site should contact Chris Storer and it will be promptly removed once the validity of the request has been varified.