Mississippi Higher Learning Board Puts University Presidents in Charge of Tenure

The Mississippi Establishments of Greater Studying (IHS) Board of Trustees just lately amended a coverage that may shift the dynamic of college tenure throughout the state. Per the modification, which was handed with out dialogue from the board, the presidents of Mississippi’s eight public universities will now have management over which school members obtain tenure.

New language within the coverage states that presidents can take into account a school member’s “collegiality” and “contumacious conduct” in addition to their “effectiveness, accuracy, and integrity in communications” through the tenure approval course of. Though school who’re denied tenure can nonetheless enchantment the choice to the IHS, some professors at state establishments are involved that the brand new coverage might curtail educational freedom. 

“I fear these new phrases can be used to try to chill school speech and participation in shared governance,” College of Mississippi professor and tenure professional Neal Hutchens advised Mississippi Right this moment. 

The official motivations behind the modification and its long-term results on tenure in Mississippi are but to be seen. Nevertheless, the choice serves as the newest instance of lawmakers and better training officers making an attempt to considerably alter the tenure course of in Southern states. One other regarding issue is that the IHS made adjustments with little to no enter from school members within the state, in keeping with specialists.

“It will’ve been good to have some actual city halls on this, in order that we might ask questions, like ‘What do these requirements try this present [human resources] don’t?’” Hutchens advised the publication.