Tenure crunch grinds faculty through gauntlet
Nick Tabor
Issue date: 3/6/08 Section: News
When a professor enters his sixth year at Hillsdale College, he faces a pivotal point of his career thus far: applying for tenure.
A tenure grant means acceptance into the Hillsdale fold, job security and, usually, a promotion. Rejection means one year to find a new job.
But, Dean of Faculty Mark Kalthoff said, rejections come rarely, as any professor who lasts for six years at the college probably has what it takes to teach here permanently.
"If you're incompetent, that's pretty hard to hide," he said. "If you're a bad fit for the institution, that's pretty hard to hide."
"It also works to the faculty member's advantage," Associate Provost David Whalen said of the probationary period. He also said the period helps the professor make sure he wants to stay at the college before he applies.
Kalthoff said most faculty members endure the probationary period and successfully receive tenure, due to the administration's careful hiring process.
Adjunct faculty, visiting professors and artist/teachers are ineligible, Kalthoff said. Athletic coaches cannot apply either, though they are faculty.
For professors who can apply, the Tenure and Promotion Committee examines three points of criteria: teaching excellence, professional development and service.
"The most important is teaching," Kalthoff said. "On the whole, if somebody's a pretty good professor, people tend to know it."
Still, he said, administrators analyze teaching by watching classroom lectures, reading student course evaluations and reviewing the applicant's course syllabi.
The committee also reviews the applicant's scholarly activity in his given field. This includes books, essays and articles the applicant has published and public speeches delivered outside the college.
"We like to know that our professors who teach our students to be mentally engaged and active are themselves mentally engaged and active," Kalthoff said.
Professor of Christianity and Literature John Reist said Hillsdale focuses less on publishing and more on teaching than many other academic institutions, in his experience.
A tenure grant means acceptance into the Hillsdale fold, job security and, usually, a promotion. Rejection means one year to find a new job.
But, Dean of Faculty Mark Kalthoff said, rejections come rarely, as any professor who lasts for six years at the college probably has what it takes to teach here permanently.
"If you're incompetent, that's pretty hard to hide," he said. "If you're a bad fit for the institution, that's pretty hard to hide."
"It also works to the faculty member's advantage," Associate Provost David Whalen said of the probationary period. He also said the period helps the professor make sure he wants to stay at the college before he applies.
Kalthoff said most faculty members endure the probationary period and successfully receive tenure, due to the administration's careful hiring process.
Adjunct faculty, visiting professors and artist/teachers are ineligible, Kalthoff said. Athletic coaches cannot apply either, though they are faculty.
For professors who can apply, the Tenure and Promotion Committee examines three points of criteria: teaching excellence, professional development and service.
"The most important is teaching," Kalthoff said. "On the whole, if somebody's a pretty good professor, people tend to know it."
Still, he said, administrators analyze teaching by watching classroom lectures, reading student course evaluations and reviewing the applicant's course syllabi.
The committee also reviews the applicant's scholarly activity in his given field. This includes books, essays and articles the applicant has published and public speeches delivered outside the college.
"We like to know that our professors who teach our students to be mentally engaged and active are themselves mentally engaged and active," Kalthoff said.
Professor of Christianity and Literature John Reist said Hillsdale focuses less on publishing and more on teaching than many other academic institutions, in his experience.
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