Iowa universities report low in tenured faculty; high in faculty resignations

AMES — With questions about tenure, its value, and its threats still top of mind for some Republican lawmakers — who continued in the recent Legislative session to press Iowa’s public universities about post-tenure review and faculty performance plans — the number of tenured and tenure-track faculty on the campuses is continuing a generational slide to its lowest in recent history.

The total number of tenured faculty across the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and University of Northern Iowa campuses dipped to 2,333 this academic year — lower than any point since at least the 1980s, according to a new Board of Regents report.

At the same time, the regents are reporting the most-ever faculty resignations across its campuses — at 186 in the 2023 budget year. That includes 93 across the three universities who either had tenure or were on a tenure track, according to regent documents requested by The Gazette.

The reports come as university leaders increasingly find themselves balancing the need to recruit and retain top faculty — who often are tenured or on a tenure-track — with rising concerns from Republican lawmakers, like Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis, who earlier this year sought more information on the universities’ post-tenure review.

Taylor was among backers of a proposal in the last session that, if passed, would have imposed new restrictions on the regents and universities — like limiting their ability to raise tuition; curtailing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts; and allowing university presidents to initiate post-tenure reviews of any faculty member at any time.

Current UI policy requires annual and five-year performance reviews of all tenured faculty; Iowa State also has annual reviews and post-tenure reviews at least every seven years; and UNI does comprehensive post-tenure reviews every six years, in addition to annual evaluations.

Tenured faculty who fall short in those reviews can be placed on performance improvement plans, and lawmakers last year pressed the campuses on how often faculty end up on those plans.

UNI reported that in the 2021-2022 academic year, 33 faculty were cited for needing improvement — including nine each for teaching and for service and another 15 for scholarship. All those faculty received no pay raise that year.

Iowa State said three to four tenured faculty are placed on an improvement plan every year “as a result of receiving an ‘unsatisfactory’ rating through this process.” And UI reported one to two tenured faculty members are placed on improvement plans annually.

Tenure wanes

Compared to this year’s 2,333 total tenured faculty, a 1998 report indicated 2,949 of the total 6,538 faculty members that fall had tenure, and 788 were on a tenure track. A 2005 tenure report for Iowa’s public universities said 2,728 of the 6,799 total faculty had tenure, with 911 tenure-track.

“The total number of tenured faculty is the lowest number during the past 18 years,” according to that 2005 report.

This academic year’s 604 total tenure-track faculty and 2,333 with tenure represents a 21 percent drop from 1998. And while all three campuses have seen tenure and tenure-track numbers wane, UNI has seen some of the biggest drops — reporting 326 tenured faculty and 63 on a tenure track this year, down 28 percent from 450 tenured faculty a decade ago.

UNI’s tenure-track count has been cut nearly in half from 119 in the 2013-2014 academic year.

“The goal of tenure is to ensure academic freedom to innovate, create and engage in explorations that advance knowledge,” the Board of Regents wrote to lawmakers in 2021 — in response to a Legislative request for evidence “that empirically shows that tenure produces better outcomes for students and Iowa taxpayers”.

“As any entrepreneur in any field knows, innovation involves risk-taking, but the rewards can be tremendous,” the regents responded, referencing some of the protections tenure affords. “Iowa’s public universities want faculty who create, innovate, push boundaries and take risks in ways that result in progress across many different fields of study. These efforts enable them to win hundreds of millions of dollars in grant funding (from federal, foundation and other sources) annually.”

Although UNI’s tenure and tenure-track decreases are commensurate with overall drops in total faculty, from 801 a decade ago to 635 this year — which also align with enrollment losses over that period, from 12,159 in fall 2013 to 9,021 in fall 2023 — the UI tenure and tenure-track losses have come as its faculty total has increased from 3,064 in 2013 to 3,295 in fall 2023.

Those UI faculty increases can be tied to jumps in its non-tenure-track faculty — from 1,440 in fall 2013, when that group accounted for 47 percent of the UI faculty, to 1,888 in fall 2023, now accounting for a majority 57 percent of the faculty.

All three of the public universities have seen non-tenure-track numbers swell over the years, but UI has a much higher count in that category because of its “clinical” faculty who work in the UI Hospitals and Clinics and don’t have tenure.

Faculty resignations

In speaking to the Board of Regents on Thursday about the need for adequate compensation and support for faculty and staff, representatives referenced both pay and tenure — and the risk they’ll leave without it.

In the regents’ new faculty resignations report, 78 of the 186 are on a clinical track and 89 left from the UI College of Medicine. Just like tenured faculty resignations, clinical-track resignations have been growing over the years — jumping from 45 in the 2019 budget year to the most recent year’s 78.

“Clinical faculty in the health sciences are part of a very competitive job market outside of academe,” according to the board resignation report, “while tenured and tenure-track faculty are most likely to leave for a position at another university.”

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com