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Article SMG's renewable tenure system could become model for other professional schoolsby Marion Sawey The School of Management has created a new 10-year "renewable" tenure system that could become a model for other business schools nationwide. "In the slow-changing world of academia, this is nothing short of revolutionary," says SMG Dean Louis Lataif. "We have kept what is best about tenure -- the intellectual horsepower of tested and proven scholarly excellence -- while getting rid of the burden of unaccountability." The new system, details of which were recently published in the Wall Street Journal, retains the traditional six-year probationary period for incoming junior faculty members. Those who survive the selection process are then given the option of taking a renewable 10-year tenure contract instead of lifetime tenure. A salary premium ranging from 8 to 10 percent is offered from the first day of employment as a way of offsetting any perceived risk of forgoing a lifetime appointment. The 10-year tenured professor also enjoys all the same tenure privileges and voting status as lifetime-tenured professors. One year before a tenured professor's 10-year period is up, the faculty member will be re-evaluated by tenured colleagues for a contract renewal. This unique approach to tenure, explains Lataif, balances the traditional advantages of lifetime tenure while helping to ensure continuing faculty productivity. Lataif points out that the time is right for considering alternatives to lifetime tenure as the system comes under increasingly critical scrutiny and as more and more universities hire contract staff. "There is no question that it is time for innovation in academia," he says. "Managers, legislators, and the public don't buy the argument that guaranteed lifetime employment is required in academia. I think our approach will gain the respect of business people as a sound management system." The alternative tenure program has already won the backing of half the new staff hired by SMG over the past two years -- seven out of fourteen have opted for the 10-year contract, including a tenured senior faculty member transferring from another university. "This shows that the system is passing the ultimate test -- the free market," says Lataif. He also notes that while the University is paying a premium in exchange for a measure of flexibility in its faculty contracts, those faculty subject to renewal or nonrenewal of their contracts based on performance will invariably remain productive unless they wish to leave the institution. "The simple fact of real accountability undoubtedly will influence the motivation and productivity of the affected faculty members," he says. "This inherent productivity incentive should therefore inevitably result in an ever-higher quality educational product -- our teaching and our research." One reason for picking a 10-year contract period, he adds, is that it is long enough for faculty members to develop and implement an effective research agenda, allowing them to establish a reputation that is marketable elsewhere. Also, as 10 years is longer than the average stay of administrators, faculty are able to avoid short-term pressures that may constrain the focus of their work. "In other words, the candidate will probably outlast the dean, the provost, and the president -- eliminating some of the concern, real or imagined, about the administration's impact on 'academic freedom,'" he points out. Lataif says that for the foreseeable future, both tenure options will be offered to eligible faculty. "People have to have time to get accustomed to the idea of the 10-year contract; they have to realize that there aren't two classes of citizens, that there is no curse or stigma associated with the 10-year opt |
