Shared Governance:

UW tenure Policy Task Force

Josh, Katie, Libby, Callie
 2015-2017 UW Budget Cut
$250 million cut to UW System

Walker wanted to give state university officials more independence

from state lawmakers
Faculty tenure state statute targeted

Maybe its time for faculty and
staff to start thinking about
teaching more classes and doing
more work...
 Joint Finance Committee
Approved, by a vote of 12-4, the elimination of tenure from state
statute

Added new limits to the faculty role in shared governance and

procedures for eliminating faculty members in good standing
outside of a true financial emergency

Many saw it as an attack on tenure - the traditionally strong system of

shared governance in Wisconsin.
Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R)

"We are not eliminating tenure. We

are moving it to the Board of
Regents and they are going to have
the ability to write policies on
tenure."
 UW Board of Regents
Responsibility to address the issue of tenure moving forward
16 of whose 18 members were appointed by the Scott Walker

Following JFC motion, Ray Cross, UW System president, and Regina

Millner, board vice president, affirmed their interest in preserving
the tenure policy
 What is Tenure?
3 pillars of tenure:
Scholarship
What are they bringing to UWL in grants/Published worked
Service
Sitting in on Faculty Senate sub-committees
Teaching
Classes in the faculty workload
Wisconsins Shared Gov. and Tenure Task Force
Tenure Task Force
What they did
Changes in Tenure from the Tenure Task Force
What Walker wanted vs what Task Force Came up with
What legislature wanted
What Task Force/board of regents wanted
What Professors wanted
 UW system update
Josh
Hmong language
 Faculty Impact
Faculty Poaching
Mashesh Mahanthappa, Frank Keutsch and Gray Jackson
Reduction in participation in professional development
Tenure-track professors are more likely to engage in professional
development activities without incentives; this in turn betters their
teaching and has an overall positive effect on students
Academic freedom
Can faculty really express academic freedom without tenure protection?
Does classroom content struggle in effect?
Section 39
Layoff due to budget or program decision: Modify current law to specify that the Board may, with
appropriate notice, terminate any faculty or academic staff appointment when such an action is deemed
necessary due to a budget or program decision regarding program discontinuance, curtailment,
modification, or redirection, instead of when a financial emergency exists as under current law.
 Student Impact
Are student learning outcomes affected by pressure on professors?
ACPA: Yes-taking away protections from tenure track professors
makes them worry more about their job security
Cornell University: Using more adjunct and part-time faculty
reducing 4 and 5 year graduation rates at comprehensive
universities (Cornell, 2004)
Effect on classes offered and how many sections available
 Point-Counterpoint
Why Tenure may be problematic:
Tenure in the United States has not been helped by the fact that
universities regularly fail to undertake proceedings for termination
when good cause does exist (Leiter, 2017).
Tenure is an unusual practice for the United States who usually
utilizes at-will employment methods
Professors will accommodate more viewpoints in order to make
students happy and in turn keep their student reviews generally
positive
Students who take a course taught by an adjunct professor are
more likely to enroll in a second course in the same subject (Figlio,
Shapiro, Souter, 2013)
 Conclusion
There have been arguments that there is not enough empirical
data to support or challenge the effectiveness of tenure-track
professors
There is no doubt the amount of work professors put into applying
for tenure is greatly underestimated
Questions?
 References
Ehrenburg R. G., &, Zhang, L. (2004). Do tenure and tenure-track faculty matter?. Cornell University IRL School. Retrieved from
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1051&context=workingpapers
Figlio, D., Schapiro, M., & Soter, K. (2013). Are tenure-track professors better teachers?. Institute for policy research: Northwestern University.
http://www.ipr.northwestern.edu/publications/docs/workingpapers/2013/IPR-WP-13-18.pdf
Flaherty, C. (2015, June 1). Trying to kill tenure. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/06/01/wisconsin-
faculty-incensed-motion-eliminate-tenure-state-statute
McCollum, M. (2015, June 3). Educators worry tenure policy changes will harm UW System. Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved from
http://www.wpr.org/educators-worry-tenure-policy-changes-will-harm-uw-system
Salzberg, S. (2015, June 12). Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's dual attacks on the University of Wisconsin. Forbes. Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensalzberg/2015/06/12/wisconsin-gov-scott-walkers-dual-attacks-on-the-university-of-
wisconsin/#6786daffc2df
Schuman, R. (2015, June 17). The tenure apocalypse. Slate. Retrieved from
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2015/06/scott_walker_and_the_post_tenure_university_an_apocalyptic_scenario.html
SlidesCarnival icons are editable shapes.

This means that you can:

Resize them without losing quality.
Change fill color and opacity.

Isnt that nice? :)

Examples: