The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 28, 1993 - 5 BEHIND CLOSED DOORS Secretive evaluations leave some profs. without tenure -and in the dark Those proce the whole pr( really quite Sometimes g never finds they fell thro what they improv - Wa Tenure is an extremely important and se- rious process that can make or break faculty careers. Many University instructors vie for the lucrative promotion - but some members of the University community question the fairness of the procedure used to determine who does and does not get tenure. "The decisions about tenuring faculty are the most important decisions that a college makes," said John Chamberlain, associate dean for academic appointments in LSA. After working at the University for about six years, an assistant professor is evaluated in a long-term, thorough process and is either promoted to associate professor, given a one- year terminal appointment, or, in rare cases, transferred to a position off the tenure track. The tenure track is the series of positions that faculty members who are eligible for tenure hold. Tenure-track positions in- clude instructor, assistant, :edngS associate and full profes- sors. However, the most ocess, IS common starting point is secret. assistant professor. a person "As a candidate, you see your case progress through out why these various stages. Until ugh and you're all the way through should it, it's fairly nerve-wrack- ing," said Vincent Price, re. who was recently promoted from assistant to associate iter Debler professor in Communica- tion. When Price learned of vechanical his promotion, he said he ngineering was "relieved, but very dis- appointed that my col- leagues didn't enjoy the same fate. ... That was difficult." Many students and faculty members were surprised and upset when certain assistant professors were not granted tenure last year. The candidates have both been on the Univer- sity tenure track for about six years, and have contributed in research, teaching and service. Professor, E three criteria used in evaluating candidates - are substantial and does not agree with the University's decision to deny him tenure. "It wasn't a thorough review. That kind of thing should be carefully and thoroughly docu- mented. They simply weren't. "The University essentially asks for rec- ommendations. The expectation is that rec- ommendations will be based on a thorough review of capabilities, and the only formal way to correct departures from procedure is through an official appeal," he added. A majority of the tenured faculty in the mechanical engineering department signed a petition on his behalf, he said. In addition, several of Brereton's colleagues outside the University who are familiar with his research accomplishments wrote letters protesting his non-recommendation. "It's certainly possible to orchestrate (the tenure evaluation) to achieve almost any deci- sion you want, depending on who you choose to be on the review committee," Brereton said. "The process is definitely imperfect." Students agreed, questioning how such an admirable teacher could fail to achieve pro- motion. "He's a great professor," said Starrman. "He was one of those people that his office was always open if you ever needed to talk to him about class, about getting a recommenda- tion letter. He was always there for the stu- dents." Brereton averaged an end-of-semester stu- dent evaluation rating of a rare 4.75 out of 5. He serves as the faculty adviser for the Ameri- can Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). ASME President Karen McClure, an En- gineering senior, said, "He always makes an effort to make sure the students' needs are met." Assistant Prof. Brereton received the Col- lege of Engineering Excellence in Teaching Award in 1992. He was denied tenure in 1993. His appeal is currently being evaluated by the University's Provost. If the appeal is success- ful, Brereton will be allowed the opportunity to be evaluated for promotion again. Senior Associate Dean White defended the tenure process. "Personally, I think (tenure evaluation) is done in a very fair and rational way, and I think the collective judgment and wisdom of a variety of different people who get involved with the tenure promotion decisions help to ensure the high quality of the process," he said. "Any time someone doesn't get tenure ... the person who didn't get what they wanted may view that as a problem," said Colleen Dolan-Greene, former assistant vice presi- dent for academic affairs-personnel. "It's natu- ral (for those not recommended) to assume that it's not a fair process." White added, "I think the collective judg- ment and wisdom of a variety of different people who get involved with the tenure pro- motion decisions helps to ensure the high quality of the process." ONN Another notable tenure case is that of Richard Campbell, a Communication assis- tant professor whose denial surprised many students and faculty. His promotion was not recommended last year by the college executive committee (CEC), a group of elected faculty in most colleges that, among other things, assists the dean by evaluating tenure candidates. Campbell received the University's Fac- ulty Recognition Award in Oct. 1992 in ap- preciation of his teaching, scholarship and service contributions. He has authored sev- eral publications, including "60 Minutes and the News: a Mythology for Middle America." And he belongs to several campus study groups and has served on many University commit- tees and as mentor for many student groups. Communication Lecturer Don Kubit, a colleague of Campbell, said, "My feeling on this is that the tenure system is archaic and ... (tenure evaluations) are also a lot of tirne African American: Hispanic Native 123 Asian Heritage: American: 4.5% American: 39 1.4% 6 0.2% 170 6.2% Who's on the Tenure Track by gender . ! -l Two out of three University instructional staff members are on the tenure track. A tenure promotion brings much sought-after prestige and security. The following figures are taken from University statistical profiles and faculty reports. Who's on the Tenure Track by positlon Female: 483 20% Who's not on the Tenure Track by gender Male: 486 54% Female: 414 46% .Men 1,991 8010 -ull Protessors: 1,301 47% Associate Assistant Professors: Professors: 647 761 28% 24%/ Instructors: 43 2% Who's on the Tenure Track by racial background Non-Minority: 2414 87.7% U.. The tenure is archaic (tenure eva are also a Io judged by who have v contact students... making call thinking at educati syste One of the most recent examples is the case of Assistant Prof. Giles Brereton in the mechanical engineering department. "Last year ... he didn't get tenure, and the rumors that were going around were ...that being a good teacher system pretty much signified that and you weren't going to get "nd tenured," said Jennifer luations) Starrman, an Engineering t of time senior and the president of people the University Engineering peoptle Council. ery little Starrman and several with other students said they be- . They're lieve the tenure process is S Without biased against staff who are excellent teachers and popu- )out the lar with students. onal John Senger, a graduate m. student in Engineering and external vice president of the Engineering Council, Don Kubit agreed. "If the (student evaluations) are too high, )n lecturer that means the professor is doing too good a job. That means students really like him too much. That's usu- judged by people who have very little contact with students. ... They're making calls with- out thinking about the educational system." Graduate and undergraduate students, as well as Campbell's colleagues within and outside of the University, wrote several let- ters and made phone calls on his behalf. "I've been to a number of academic con- ferences with him," said Chris Martin, a gradu- ate student in Communication who served as Campbell's teaching assistant for two years. "Professors from all across the country have very positive things to say about Dick Campbell. "He's really wonderful at having lots of personal contact with students.... I just found him to be an incredibly well-liked teacher for undergraduates." Richard Allen, associate professor of Com- munication, agreed. "I thought his qualities were adequate ... because he was such an excellent teacher. ... He's also a prolific scholar. In short, the quantity of his work was impressive and the quality of his work is well- received not only in circles within the Univer- sity, but throughout the country," he added. Campbell was granted a new tenure evalu- ation to take place this academic year. The "official" reason for the rehearing is that new information was brought forward. Campbell declined to comment. E .. Why candidates are denied tenure is un- known - sometimes even to the faculty be- ing evaluated themselves. Candidates receive a letter informing them whether or not they have been promoted; no written explanation for the decision is in- cluded. However, candidates have the option of discussing the case with their departments. But some professors who have been de- nied tenure complained they never really learned why. They said either the committee was not specific in its explanation, or differ- ent committee members gave them different reasons. "Those proceedings, the whole process, is really quite secret," said Walter Debler, a tenured professor in mechanical engineering. "Sometimes a person never finds out why they fell through and what they should im- prove." Assistant Vice President Dolan-Greene added, "We always encourage the department chairs to have frank discussions with their faculty members all throughout their career about what's happening." Additionally, neither the CEC nor indi- vidual departments keep records indicating why the instructor has been denied tenure. Thus, there is no way to determine the fairness of the process. Prof. Glenn Knoll in the College of Engi- neering and senior member of the CEC, said, "We do not attempt to produce a document that's an evaluation of the candidate. ... That's always a very difficult call. It doesn't hinge on just a few reasons. ... You can't very easily distill it down to just a few sentences." The Affirmative Action Program Office reviews cases of female and minority candi- dates who are not rec- ommended. The let- ters explaining the non-recommendation are usually not spe- cific, said Sue Rasmussen, affirma- done in a' tive action planning rational1 officer. Collective ju "The difficulty with the whole pro- wisdom of cess is the cases of the different pe people who are not involved recommended gener- ally end at the level decisions h they are not recom- the high q mended. Most of the pro time, the non-recom- mendation cannot be r e v i e w e d Rasmussen added. University poli- Senior, cies are not unique; Colleg the process for evalu- ating tenure candi- dates is similar to other systems. "All universities are always working to improve ... their tenure promotion process," said Dolan-Greene. White continues to advocate the system. He claims that being granted tenure re- quires research and publication because it is important that a professor "generate ,°new knowledge, stay on the cutting edge of the world in terms of what's out there to teach students, and then in the classroom do a good job of disseminating that information. "We want to make sure that our faculty are very current in their particular areas of exper- tise to ensure that our students are being well- taught," he said. BY K DAILY S -i Communicatio valuation) is very fair and way ... the udgement and f a variety of eople who get d with the ielp to ensure uality of the cess. - Chelsea White Associate Dean, ;e of Engineering ATIE HUTCHINS TAFF REPORTER 0 ally not good because that means he is spend- ing too much time with students." But Chelsea White, the senior associate dean of the College of Engineering, said be- ing a popular teacher does not directly cause tenure denial. A lack in research or service, however, is a common justification. "The University, the College (of Engi- neering) in particular, is in the business of generating and disseminating knowledge ... and the generation of new and important knowledge is also very important," he said. Brereton said he believes his qualifica- tions in teaching, research and service - the This is the way the tenure evaluation process works: LSA 4- Whitaker then reviews the candidate's file and makes his ov wn Board of Regents -11 AzQnrintP nrnfncenrc ...