Running head: TENURE COUNTERPOINT SCRIPT

Audrey Batista Point/Counterpoint Presentation: Tenure should not be eliminated Kent State University

Running head: TENURE COUNTERPOINT SCRIPT

Contradictory to Johns discussion regarding the elimination of tenure, I will be discussing the importance of tenure and the rationale behind keeping tenure in our colleges and universities. I will discuss three major points in the next few minutes. These points will consist of the protection of academic freedom, faculty motivation and recruitment management, and finally, research and cost. I will now begin by discussing the protection of academic freedom. Protecting Academic Freedom Tenure is not just protecting professors from losing their jobs; it is protecting their right to academic freedom and the ability to advocate on behalf of the students. Tenure gives faculty the ability to engage students and provoke critical thinking in a way that may spark some controversy but produce students who are able to see the world from a variety of opinions and not just the ones they have been exposed to at home. If we lose tenure, we risk losing professors confidence in presenting controversial material and sharing opinions as well as overall innovation in their teaching for fear of their efforts being negatively scrutinized. As discussed in an interview between Daniel Hamermesh, a tenured economics professor at the University of Texas in Austin and Naomi Schaefer Riley, the author of the book The faculty lounges and other reasons why you wont get the college education you paid for, the idea of academic freedom is discussed. It is argued by Riley that controversial material should not be brought into the classroom especially if it has no relevance. However, Hamermesh argues in favor of tenure that professors are not looking to protect eccentric views that are not longer relevant to society, but rather, expose the students to opinions and beliefs that will affect them now and in the future. (Hamermesh,2011)

Running head: TENURE COUNTERPOINT SCRIPT

This being said, the day tenure is eliminated is the day when academic freedom lacks security and student learning opportunity is reduced. Faculty Motivation and Maintaining Recruitment The next brief point I would like to discuss is in regards to faculty motivation and maintaining faculty recruitment. With tenure, faculty members are given the opportunity to excel in multiple areas of the academic field and are not limited solely to teaching. The tenure track gives faculty members the motivation to develop their skill set and grow stronger in their beliefs and desire for student success. With Tenure, faculty members are able to strive towards the goal of advancement within their field without feeling trapped in a position that has a one or three year clock. Motivation should be cultivated with faculty encouragement to expose themselves to new ideas and ways to implement creativity and engagement in their classrooms. Not through fear of losing their job with an annual contract review. In addition, according to the website procon.org in which tenure is debated, the point is established that the promise of a secure job attracts more people to the profession. If tenure is eliminated there is a high possibility that recruitment for faculty will become more difficulty and quality professors will become limited. (Banchero, 2010) Research and Cost The next point I would like to address is in regards to the suspicions surrounding the faculty concentration on research and the cost of staffing tenured faculty. The argument is often made that professors on the tenure track are more focused on their research than actually teaching in the classroom. However, according to a research study conducted by the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, East Carolina University, Greenville, South Carolina regarding the

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building of a support system for faculty on the tenure track, out of eight universities studied, six placed a heavier emphasis on teaching while only two ranked teaching and research on the same level. (H.C. Green et al). This number is significant and represents the clear argument that teaching does not come second to research at any level of the tenure process. But rather plays a vital role in the faculty career. Research is not part of tenure as a distracter but rather as an informer. Research creates relevant, interactive teaching that allows students the opportunity to be exposed to issues and trends in modern society that will affect academic and professional performance. In regards to cost, there is only one thing to say, and that is, that there is no price that can replace experience, passion and the desire to promote student and personal success through research, creativity, and dedication to academia. The Final Statement Tenure not only represents loyalty to students and the mission of universities around the globe. It represents the ability to strive for freedom, the welcoming of open minds, the desire to strive for excellence and the dedication to education, for it is with tenure that we create motivation and with motivation, that we create passion.

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References Banchero, S. (2010). Teacher tenure. Retrieved from www.procon.org Greene, H. C., OConnor, K.A., Good, A. J., Ledford, C. C., Peel, B. B., & Zhang, G. (2008). Building a support system toward tenure: challenges and needs of tenure-track faculty in colleges of education. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 16, 432-43. doi:10.1080/13611260802433791 Hamermesh, D. (2011). A debate on university tenure. Retrieved from www.freakonomics.com