Tenure, promotion requests at Iowa universities hit five-year high

COUNCIL BLUFFS - The Board of Regents on Thursday approved 209 recommendations for faculty tenure and promotion for the upcoming academic year – the most in at least five years.

The University of Iowa has proposed the most tenure and promotion actions with 113, up from 100 last year. Iowa State University has proposed 70 actions, down from last year's 76. And the University of Northern Iowa has asked to take 26 promotion or tenure actions, also down from 32 last year.

Although no national standards exist for appropriate levels of tenured faculty, national analyses have concluded institutions 'should provide close oversight when more than one-half to two-thirds of its faculty is on tenure appointments,” according to a regents report.

The Commission on Academic Tenure, according to the board office, has reported 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.”

It also could hamper recruitment and promotion opportunities for women and minorities, according to the board report.

About 44 percent of the 209 tenure and promotion recommendations across the three regent universities for next year involve women - the highest percentage in at least five years. The 56 percent involving men is the lowest percentage for male faculty is as many years.

In the current academic year, a 'significant” number of departments at the regent institutions report 70 percent or more of tenure-eligible faculty have tenure. At UI, at least 70 percent - more than two-thirds - of tenure-eligible faculty have tenure in 68 of 112 departments and in nine of 12 colleges. That includes the colleges of business, dentistry, education, engineering, law, liberal arts and sciences, medicine, pharmacy, and public health.

At Iowa State, more than two-thirds of tenure-eligible faculty have tenure in 45 of 65 departments and in five of seven colleges. And at UNI, more than two-thirds of tenure-eligible faculty have tenure in 29 or 38 departments and in all five colleges, as well as the library.

Iowa's three regent universities report a total 5,795 faculty members in the current academic year - an increase of 67 or 1.2 percent from last year. The number of tenured faculty, however, has decreased about 1 percent from 2,705 to 2,681, while the number of tenure-track faculty and non-tenure-track faculty increased by 3.4 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.

Although total faculty numbers have increased every year for the past 13 years, the average number of tenured faculty sits at a 10-year low of 2,681 in the current academic year.

This year saw a 5.9 percent increase in tenure-eligible minority faculty to 669, an all-time high. The number of tenure-eligible female faculty members likewise increased 1.6 percent in the current academic year to 1,205, which also represents an all-time high, according to the board report.