If cash-strapped universities want an easy way to save money, Lawrence B. Martin, a professor of anthropology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, has an idea. By tallying faculty output in areas such as publication rates in scientific journals, Mr. Martin has concluded that there could be as much as $1-billion to $2-billion in…

Pogo recognized long ago that we often are our own worst enemies. Sure, he was a cartoon character, but he had a point--especially in higher education, where self-sabotage seems to be a standard characteristic of academic careers. In the author's 30 years as a professor, five years as a dean, and three years as a provost, he has observed many…

In this article, the author explains why giving early tenure to assistant professors is not really a great idea. Usually, tenure is granted only after a faculty member has reached his fifth year of service to an institution. However, if he or she is doing fine work and presents no indication of any problems for the future, an institution may award…

The author discusses the shift from criticism-as-explanation to criticism-as-performance that has taken place in literary criticism over the past five decades, and the resultant surge in published offerings to what has become a diminishing audience. The question of supersaturation applies to the institutions that demand and reward humanities…

Flip through a stack of anonymous student evaluations of professors and the mild comments, even the compliments, tend to blend together. But often, hidden among them, is a dagger. Then there are the out-and-out insults. Students' comments can be more than simply mean. Sometimes student comments aren't cruel, just weird. In this article, some…

Any university that is seriously committed to equity must value faculty contributions to diversity made through teaching, research, and service. If diversity is truly part of the core academic mission, it should be included in the criteria used to evaluate and reward faculty achievement. Toward this end, the faculty of the University of…

In spousal hires, university administrators too often fail to make the important distinction between partners who most likely would not have been hired under normal circumstances and, thus, could be a burden on an institution, and those who would be an attractive hire under any circumstances. One is a "trailing" spouse in need of "an…

Almost two years ago, Boise State University instituted a workload policy that worried some faculty members. Its basis is an algebraic-seeming formula with components--"teaching: 6 + x; scholarship: 2 + y; service: 2 + z"--that critics found difficult to believe could provide the flexibility that administrators promised. Some professors thought…

The tenure system is a tenure of one's own making. It can be flexible, supple, and responsive to the diverse needs and life situations of faculty members, or it can be rigid and uncompromising. The tenure years need not be a time of high anxiety, but for that to happen, institutions will need to make structural changes in the tenure system. In…

University presses have complained for years that tenure committees unfairly expect their editors to be arbiters of what counts as tenure-worthy work. At the same time, the presses have been caught in a business-side squeeze between dwindling sales (and shrinking subsidies) and the ever-greater pressure on scholars to publish. In this article, the…

Describes how faculty at Drexel University, fearing a system of post-tenure review imposed from above, devised a voluntary, penalty-free program for post-tenure "renewal." (EV)

Describes how Peter Berkowitz, well known for his caustic political commentary, sued Harvard after it denied his tenure bid. As the first professor ever to take the institution to court for such a denial, Berkowitz has incurred disdain; supporters say he simply follows through on what he believes and expects others to do so. (EV)

The debate over opening Ohio public college and university faculty tenure and promotion documents to the public, mandated by the state supreme court, is examined with reference to specific cases and decisions. Concerns are for the integrity of the faculty evaluation process and the maintenance of academic values. (MSE)

The Supreme Court decision to let stand a lower-court ruling that allows a government agency to inspect confidential documents in a faculty tenure case is discussed. An appeal by Franklin and Marshall College on a decision granting the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission access to tenure materials was declined. (MLW)

Discusses Pick-A-Prof, an online service for evaluating college instructors. The firm says the practice is good for teaching, while critics say it tells students who gives out easy A's. (EV)