Taking Tenure for Granted? Exploring Tenure Policies in the Modern Research University

• In Event: A Continuum of Faculty Experiences: Teaching at Different Ranks

Abstract

Tenure plays an important role within U.S. higher education, fundamentally organizing faculty work and shaping institutional governance. Yet institutional adherence to the historical principles of tenure is rarely empirically studied and often taken for granted. To remedy this, this study explores tenure policies to understand how institutions frame the tenure and promotion process. Using data from 60 tenure policy preambles at research universities, this study utilizes qualitative content analysis to described and uncover patterns among tenure policies across institutions. Findings demonstrate that the historical foundations of tenure are intact yet differences exist across institutions.

Authors

• Kim Nelson Pryor, Boston College

• Michael S. Harris, Southern Methodist University