Applying Civic Professionalism Theory to the Fight to Keep Tenure

• In Event: Saturday Roundtable 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Policies and Politicking: The Impact of and on Higher Education (Table 31)

Abstract

While recent headlines have highlighted varying attacks on tenure and academic freedom throughout the United States, we posit that such attacks not new but rather a trend within the history of the academy (Ludlum, 1950). We argue that we must renew the fight to secure tenure to safeguard academic freedom to address pressing social and environmental problems. Civic professionalism, which invokes a focus on community toward engendering real change, offers a lens for action toward safeguarding tenure. We review common arguments for and against tenure and apply civic professionalism towards a call to action for AERA and its membership to safeguard tenure for ensuring the tenets of academic freedom.

Authors

• Elizabeth Jach, State University of New York, System Administration

• Gene W. Gloeckner, Colorado State University