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How Important Is Tenure in Higher Education?

时间:2021-09-10 05:40:00

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(单词翻译)

 

How valuable would it be to have a guaranteed job for the rest of your life?

In the United States, few jobs come with lifetime appointments. Federal judges, including justices on the U.S. Supreme1 Court, and college professors are on the short list.

Professors can earn what is known as tenure2.

The idea of tenure got popular over 100 years ago when university presidents at some famous schools decided3 it was important to protect professors from outside interference. The idea is that a professor with tenure is free to teach or do research even if their state's leader does not like the subject. As a result, it is rare for a professor with tenure to be dismissed.

Those who argue against tenure say professors might work hard leading up to what is known as a tenure review, and then stop working as hard after their job is safe. In addition, some experts worry that tenure protects professors who are accused of bad behavior.

Young professors who are hired for jobs where tenure is a possibility are said to have "tenure track" jobs. They often have a review after their fifth year. If they earn tenure, then they have a job that is largely guaranteed for as long as they want it.

The review is extremely detailed4. Professors are judged by other members of the university on the quality of their teaching, the amount of research they have done in their subject and books and studies they have written. Professors at other schools write letters and past students can add their thoughts.

Tenure disputes in news stories

The idea of tenure has been in the news recently. Two well-known Black professors recently made public disputes they had with the tenure process at some famous universities.

Cornel West is a well-known professor who taught philosophy and African American Studies at Harvard. In February, he said Harvard rejected his request to be considered for tenure although he had a good five-year review. West had a tenured position at Harvard in the past but left the school in 2002 after a conflict with the university president. He went on to teach at Princeton University.

He went back to Harvard in 2016. West said he would leave Harvard to teach at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City.

Over the summer, reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones also was involved in a dispute over tenure. Hannah-Jones is the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the New York Times' "1619 Project" and has received the famous MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant."

She was offered a position at the University of North Carolina at Chapel5 Hill that did not include tenure. Professors at the university's Hussman School of Journalism6 and students protested. Widespread criticism caused the university to reconsider and include tenure in its offer. Hannah-Jones rejected the new offer and decided to join Howard University in Washington, D.C. She will use money from outside organizations to start a journalism center there.

The tenure review is an important moment in a professor's career. Young professors often worry they will not do enough to get tenure, and they then worry that being denied tenure will be a bad mark on their record. One young professor, Geri Kerstiens, teaches at the University of California in Santa Cruz. She said Twitter is full of comments from professors worried about their tenure review, "because there are a lot of us and not as many jobs."

But being denied tenure can be a new beginning. Some professors are rejected for tenure but go on to find a better place to work. One professor found a position that offered job security and supported her best work.

How to value a professor's work

Anne Baranger is an experienced chemistry professor at the University of California at Berkeley. Half of her job is tenured and half is not. Her status, she said, is "unusual." She said her job is secure because "it is difficult to imagine getting rid of half a person and not the other half."

Before moving to California, she taught at universities in Illinois and Connecticut. She now helps graduate students think about their career path. Most start to plan their careers in their third or fourth year. At that point, they decide if they want to become a professor or work for a business that hires chemists. Students also decide if they want to center their career on teaching or research.

In the past, universities often gave equal weight to a new professor's ability to carry out research, teach and serve the university. If a professor was not good in one of those areas, they would be denied tenure. Now, however, some universities think about hiring professors who can spend more time in areas where they are strong. Geri Kerstiens is one of Baranger's former chemistry students. She just started a tenure-track job in Santa Cruz.

Kerstiens will teach chemistry, but one of her main jobs is to help the university revamp its chemistry program. She said she will do research on ways to teach chemistry, but she will not run a laboratory like many professors. Finding a job that centered on chemistry education was "a dream."

"I feel incredibly lucky to have gotten what I've gotten. It was lightning striking. It's just not something I was expecting."

What if tenure is denied?

Hannah Love is a philosophy professor at Portland Community College in Oregon. She was denied tenure at a different school early in her career. She was worried about what opportunities she would have after that. Now, however, she is happy at a community college because she can put more energy into teaching and helping7 students. She has a "continuous appointment," which means if she continues to do good work, her job is safe. She spoke8 with VOA about her earlier disappointment.

"In retrospect9, it's one of the best things that happened because I kind of always wanted to teach at a community college. I think I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, and professionally, it's a much better fit."

Baranger, the Berkeley professor, said she would like to see non-teaching employees at universities considered with the same intensity10. It might make the university better overall.

"So it's a filter that's pretty serious and I don't think we would do something that required both so much work and was so frequently negative...I've never seen anybody fired. Ever."

Words in This Story

tenure –n. the right to keep a job, especially the job of being a professor at a college or university, for as long as you want to have it

review –n. an act of carefully looking at or examining the quality or condition of something or someone : examination or inspection11

journalism –n. the activity of collecting, writing and editing news stories for newspapers, radio and television

revamp –v. to make (something) better or like new again

get rid (of) –v. to remove or throw away something

in retrospect –n. when thinking about the past or something that happened in the past

filter –n. a device that is used to remove something unwanted from a liquid or gas that passes through it

negative –adj. harmful or bad; not wanted


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
2 tenure Uqjy2     
n.终身职位;任期;(土地)保有权,保有期
参考例句:
  • He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
  • Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。
3 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
4 detailed xuNzms     
adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的
参考例句:
  • He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
  • A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。
5 chapel UXNzg     
n.小教堂,殡仪馆
参考例句:
  • The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
  • She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午,她在小教堂的演出,可以说是登峰造极。
6 journalism kpZzu8     
n.新闻工作,报业
参考例句:
  • He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师,可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
  • He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。
7 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
8 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
9 retrospect xDeys     
n.回顾,追溯;v.回顾,回想,追溯
参考例句:
  • One's school life seems happier in retrospect than in reality.学校生活回忆起来显得比实际上要快乐。
  • In retrospect,it's easy to see why we were wrong.回顾过去就很容易明白我们的错处了。
10 intensity 45Ixd     
n.强烈,剧烈;强度;烈度
参考例句:
  • I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
  • The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。
11 inspection y6TxG     
n.检查,审查,检阅
参考例句:
  • On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查,发现肉变质了。
  • The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

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