New Iowa regent report shows declines in tenured faculty

One day after a national professor's organization released a report showing a decline in support for tenure across the United States, Iowa's Board of Regents issued its annual tenure report showing similar trends.

The proportion of total University of Iowa faculty members with tenure dropped from nearly 41 percent in the 2013-14 academic year to 38 percent this year. Likewise, the proportion of UI employees on a tenure track dropped from 12.4 percent to 11.5 percent, while its percent of non-tenure-track employees jumped from 47 to 50.4, according to the regents documents made public Tuesday.

Iowa State University and University of Northern Iowa also saw declines in tenure percentages over the past two years, although both ISU and UNI saw increases in tenure-track faculty.

The American Association of University Professors on Monday issued its annual report on the 'economic status of the profession,” highlighting a nationwide decline in commitment to tenure - defined as an employment status ensuring faculty appointments are continued indefinitely, except for dismissal with just cause.

Tenure typically is granted to faculty members in tenure-track positions - including instructors, assistant professors, and associate professors - who serve a probationary period of about seven years, according to a Board of Regents definition.

The national AAUP report argues a shift away from tenure indicates increasing reliance on part-time faculty members - the proportion of U.S. academics holding full-time tenured positions has fallen 26 percent in 40 years, and the proportion of those with full-time tenure-track jobs has dropped by half.

'The majority of tenured and tenure-track faculty is employed on a full-time basis, while the majority of non-tenure track faculty is employed on a part-time basis,” according to the regent documents.

The AAUP argues those declines destabilize faculties 'by creating an exploitive, two-tiered system” that has contributed to drops in 'student retention and graduation rates.”

'There are clear economic benefits to expanding academic tenure,” according to the AAUP report. 'Greater job security allows faculty members to mentor students and junior colleagues more effectively. It also enables them to take greater risks in instruction and research.”

But Iowa's annual regent reports on tenure, including the one issued Tuesday, warn that 'an institution should provide close oversight when more than one-half to two-thirds of its faculty is on tenure appointments.” Iowa State and UNI have tenured more than 50 percent of their employees, but UI has not.

'A conclusion by the Commission on Academic Tenure was based on the assumption that ‘a larger proportion of tenured faculty is likely to curtail opportunities for the appointment and retention of younger faculty, with undesirable effects on institutional vitality … and to diminish opportunities for the recruitment and promotion of an increased number of women and members of minority groups',” according to Tuesday's regent report.

The document indicates a 'significant number” of departments across Iowa's three public universities have provided tenure to 70 percent or more of eligible faculty. At UI, at least 70 percent of eligible faculty members are tenured in 78 out of 112 departments and in nine of 12 colleges. Iowa State has tenured at least 70 percent of its eligible faculty in 41 of 65 departments and in three of seven colleges. And UNI has provided tenure to at least 70 percent of its eligible faculty in 27 of 38 departments and in all four colleges, according to the report.

The board, according to the report, collects and assesses tenure actions across its campuses annually to make sure they align with its priorities in educational excellence, efficiency, and productivity.

New UI President Bruce Harreld, since before officially taking over as president Nov. 2, has been pressed on his support for tenure. And he reiterated that support to The Gazette on Tuesday.

'Tenure is the backbone of an institution like this,” he said. 'Do I support tenure? Absolutely I support tenure.”

When looking at the three universities combined, the total number of faculty members has climbed every year for the past 14 years. And, in the past decade, the average number of tenured faculty was 2,715 - with a high of 2,762, recorded in the 2009-10 school year, and a low of 2,645, recorded this year.

Conversely, this year marked the most tenure-track faculty members at the three universities combined in at least 10 years - at 864, according to the regent report. That is mostly due to a big jump in those faculty at Iowa State, from 294 in the 2013-14 school year to 370 this year.

UI's tenure-track totals, meanwhile, dropped from 381 to 363, according to the board.

Harreld, in his request for more state funding for the coming budget year, showed his commitment to tenure by vowing to use the money to increase pay for tenure-track faculty.

'There is a reason why United States higher education institutions are considered the pre-eminent around the world,” he said. 'It has to do with academic freedom, research freedom, and tenure.”