The Questions of Tenure
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Book Overview
Tenure is the abortion issue of the academy, igniting arguments and inflaming near-religious passions. To some, tenure is essential to academic freedom and a magnet to recruit and retain top-flight faculty. To others, it is an impediment to professorial accountability and a constraint on institutional flexibility and finances. But beyond anecdote and opinion, what do we really know about how tenure works?
In this unique book, Richard Chait and his colleagues offer the results of their research on key empirical questions. Are there circumstances under which faculty might voluntarily relinquish tenure? When might new faculty actually prefer non-tenure track positions? Does the absence of tenure mean the absence of shared governance? Why have some colleges abandoned tenure while others have adopted it? Answers to these and other questions come from careful studies of institutions that mirror the American academy: research universities and liberal arts colleges, including both highly selective and less prestigious schools. Lucid and straightforward, The Questions of Tenure offers vivid pictures of academic subcultures. Chait and his colleagues conclude that context counts so much that no single tenure system exists. Still, since no academic reward carries the cachet of tenure, few institutions will initiate significant changes without either powerful external pressures or persistent demands from new or disgruntled faculty.Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0674016041
ISBN13:9780674016040
Release Date:February 2005
Publisher:Harvard University Press
Length:352 Pages
Weight:1.15 lbs.
Dimensions:1.0" x 6.5" x 8.9"
Customer Reviews
1 rating
Solid read for those interested in the subject matter
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
I purchased this book as background material for a research project concerning the replacement of tenure-track positions with part-time faculty. It provided concise, relevant information and helped me get a grasp on the evolving tenure situation currently facing faculty in higher education. As the previous reviewer stated, I highly recommend it for anyone considering a career in the university-level academic setting.
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