Independent scholars are a growing part of the academic landscape. They may have been jilted by the academic job market, or are uninterested in either being on the tenure track or in cobbling together full-time work as adjuncts. Like traditional professors, they perform research, secure grants, and publish books and papers. In some cases, their…

The academic work force has been transformed over the past several decades, less by design than out of expediency. In 1969, professors who were either tenured or tenure-track made up 78 percent of the faculty. Those working part time made up only 18.5 percent. By 2009, those proportions had almost flipped, with tenured and tenure-track making up…

While most of the national focus following charges of child sex abuse at Pennsylvania State University has centered on its coaches and administrators, the scandal has reached deep into the professoriate as well. Responding to constant questions has taken an emotional toll on the university's faculty members, who have been asked by neighbors,…

Life as an associate professor with tenure can be even more isolating and overwhelming than being an assistant professor on the tenure track. The path to achieving what amounts to higher education's golden ring is well marked and includes guidance from more-experienced peers. But once a professor earns tenure, that guidance disappears, the amount…

Although the percentage of female authors is still less than women's overall representation within the full-time faculty ranks, researchers found that the proportion has increased as more women have entered the professoriate. They also found that women cluster into certain subfields and are somewhat underrepresented in the prestigious position of…

The Jones Theatre at Washington State University is getting a $500,000 face-lift this summer. A construction crew has already ripped out its 500 orange and blue seats and is replacing them with new ones covered in a wine-colored fabric. The theater's walls are being painted a light beige, and a new set of black velour curtains will grace the…

The number of colleges freezing faculty hiring seems to grow each week. Yet some institutions are going against the grain of the poor economy and appointing new professors. This decision has given those campuses an edge, yielding top-quality candidates who might not have been within reach in a more-competitive job market. In the nation's few flush…

Steven Kurtz, a professor of visual studies at the State University of New York, has been working with various bacteria as part of his counterculture exhibit artworks for nearly 20 years. Four years ago, federal agents raided his home in a bioterrorism investigation. The federal agents had been called to the house by local police officers…

The author reports that tough economic times are leading administrators to propose changes that short-circuit faculty governance, long a prized principle that gives professors wide-ranging authority over educational matters. The results, faculty members say, are hastily conceived plans that reorganize academic programs, decrease professors' roles…

This article describes the work-life benefits Gettysburg College offers its employees. 400 of Gettysburg's 725 full-time employees participate in the college's wellness program. About half of them stick with it long enough to earn discounts of up to $500 a year on their health-insurance premiums. The wellness program--which includes free on-campus…

Sexual harassment broke into the national consciousness in 1991, when Anita Hill accused Clarence Thomas--then a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court--of having made sexually inappropriate comments to her. The controversy spawned a flood of charges nationwide, including on college campuses. Since then colleges have tried to stem harassment with…

Steven Bitterman was fired by his school after he offended his students for telling them that they could easily appreciate the biblical story of Adam and Eve if they considered it a myth. Several adjunct and full-time professors who work off the tenure track have been fired after saying something, as Mr. Bitterman did, that offended students or…

A professor whose conservatism places him in a distinct minority not only at his own institution, but in higher education generally, has conducted research that suggests conservatives may simply not be well suited to careers in academe. Matthew Woessner and April Kelly-Woessner have found that liberal students have values and interests that point…

This article reports on an unsettled tenure case at Columbia University. The high-profile and controversial tenure bid of Joseph A. Massad, a Palestinian-American professor of Arab politics, was turned down by Columbia University's provost, Alan Brinkley. Mr. Massad's case follows closely on two other high-profile tenure bids affected by the…

This article reports that Gary Rhoades, who has spent his entire 22-year career at the University of Arizona studying issues that affect the professoriate, has been named general secretary of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). Mr. Rhoades directs Arizona's Center for the Study of Higher Education. Leaders of the AAUP hope…