Five professors under review to prepare for tenure this fall.
Samantha Green '11
Issue date: 11/7/07 Section: News
Every year, certain faculty members are reviewed with the hope of attaining tenure. This year five professor are up for tenure: John Partridge from Philosophy, Tim Harbold from Music, and three from English: Lisa Lebduska, Charlotte Meehan, and Josh Stenger.
According to Professor Hyun Kim, of Sociology and the Associate Provost, tenure is a system of job security and protection of academic freedom provided to faculty by universities and colleges.
Currently, these professors' dossiers are being collected, which include letters from students, reviews of classes and peer reviews from other faculty.
Over January break, these will be reviewed and the Tenure Committee will hear their cases.
The Tenure Committee is comprised of the Provost, the President and five faculty members. The faculty elects four of the five faculty members, one from each of the three academic divisions plus one additional person from any division. The fifth faculty member is the department's representative who presents the tenure case on behalf of the department.
The Committee gathers as complete an understanding of the candidate's performance and contribution as possible by weighing all the evidence and documents.
Hyun says this includes everything from student input to syllabi for every course the candidate teaches at Wheaton.
Aside from the teaching, a key aspect is scholarship. Potentially tenured professors need to be published in academic journals, and they need to have external scholars review that work.
Student input is important as well. Student opinions are asked if they have taken two or more classes with the professor, or if he or she is their advisor.
Jessica Roche '09 explained that her input would probably include "things that the committee wouldn't otherwise know, like the dynamic of classes and teaching methods."
After reviewing all of the material, the committee votes. A candidate needs at least five of the seven people to vote yes for them to be recommended to the Board of Trustees. They proceed to award tenure to those they deem worthy based on the recommendations of the committee.
As Hyun says, it is extremely important that professors have academic freedom in order "to ensure that faculty examine, investigate, probe, debate and pursue original inquiries (and controversial or even disagreeable ideas) that they are passionate about without worrying about repercussions and consequences."
Provost Molly Easo Smith agrees, saying it is a "very important aspect of academic life."
Smith goes on to say, "We are very proud of our tenure process, which provides an exemplary model of shared governance and community input."
According to Professor Hyun Kim, of Sociology and the Associate Provost, tenure is a system of job security and protection of academic freedom provided to faculty by universities and colleges.
Currently, these professors' dossiers are being collected, which include letters from students, reviews of classes and peer reviews from other faculty.
Over January break, these will be reviewed and the Tenure Committee will hear their cases.
The Tenure Committee is comprised of the Provost, the President and five faculty members. The faculty elects four of the five faculty members, one from each of the three academic divisions plus one additional person from any division. The fifth faculty member is the department's representative who presents the tenure case on behalf of the department.
The Committee gathers as complete an understanding of the candidate's performance and contribution as possible by weighing all the evidence and documents.
Hyun says this includes everything from student input to syllabi for every course the candidate teaches at Wheaton.
Aside from the teaching, a key aspect is scholarship. Potentially tenured professors need to be published in academic journals, and they need to have external scholars review that work.
Student input is important as well. Student opinions are asked if they have taken two or more classes with the professor, or if he or she is their advisor.
Jessica Roche '09 explained that her input would probably include "things that the committee wouldn't otherwise know, like the dynamic of classes and teaching methods."
After reviewing all of the material, the committee votes. A candidate needs at least five of the seven people to vote yes for them to be recommended to the Board of Trustees. They proceed to award tenure to those they deem worthy based on the recommendations of the committee.
As Hyun says, it is extremely important that professors have academic freedom in order "to ensure that faculty examine, investigate, probe, debate and pursue original inquiries (and controversial or even disagreeable ideas) that they are passionate about without worrying about repercussions and consequences."
Provost Molly Easo Smith agrees, saying it is a "very important aspect of academic life."
Smith goes on to say, "We are very proud of our tenure process, which provides an exemplary model of shared governance and community input."
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