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…

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…

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 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…

Results of a new survey of family-friendly benefits by the Center for the Education of Women at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor show that stopping the tenure clock has become the most common family-friendly benefit in higher education, following paid maternity leave. Other family-friendly policies that top the list in academe allow…

The University of California campuses are among a small but growing number of research universities adopting new policies--or reinvigorating old ones--that allow tenure-track and tenured professors to work part time. Typically, professors interested in scaling back their work want more time to care for young children, a sick relative, or an aging…

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…

At North Dakota State University, only 10 of 156 full professors are female. This places the university near the bottom of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP)'s report ranking 1,445 institutions on the basis of what proportion of their tenured faculty members are female. At a time when recruiting women has become a top…

Examines reactions of faculty, administrators, and state policymakers after three years of experience with a contract (rather than tenure) system at Florida Gulf Coast University. Reports that a faculty panel issued a report calling for automatic contract extensions for professors performing well and the possibility of legislative intervention…

Describes how a tenure dispute at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst pitted a successful researcher against senior scholars who believed her teaching was inadequate; the dispute led to rifts on race, affirmative action, and the role of teaching versus research. (EV)

At Texas A&M University and the University of South Florida recent changes have limited some benefits of tenure. While these changes do not yet reflect a trend, some experts note that universities should deal with troublesome faculty members individually rather than by establishing rules eroding tenure for all. (SLD)

Describes Brothers of the Academy, a support group for young black scholars making their way to tenure. (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)

Discusses how the American Association of University Professors wants colleges to give scholars who have newborns extra time before tenure reviews. There appears to be a reluctance of the part of faculty to take advantage of such policies, however, because of fear of being stigmatized. (EV)