04 Feb 2005 Regarding Ward Churchill: Abolish Tenure

Rarely do I criticize another for being old-fashioned, but I find the very notion of tenure distastefully medieval.

Literally.

In the Middle Ages there were few institutions offering scholars the opportunity to ponder — not just few alternatives to universities, but very few universities, period. If that were the case today, perhaps tenure for the purpose of protecting academic freedom would make some sense. But it isn’t, and it doesn’t.

A simple question: If professors at universities need tenure to feel free to think, how is it that think-tanks do so well without it?

Associate Professor Mike Adams at the University of North Carolina says: “Tenure is supposed to foster academic freedom on our nation’s campuses. Instead, it fosters socialism, laziness, and incivility.”

Let’s get rid of it. That way, the next time a Ward Churchill situation develops, his employer — the public, in this case — can simply do what it thinks best.