Dr. Durant, where have you BEEN??
My Big Blue Behemoth, as it’s affectionately called, is a tenure dossier. When professors are hired by universities, it takes a lot of time and resources to choose someone who’s a good fit for the department or program needs and goals, so there’s a long “getting to know how you work” period of five-seven years.
And then the university has to decide: are we keeping this professor or shall we send him or her back into the world to find a better fit?
If the professor wishes to stay at Metro, he or she must demonstrate competency in five main areas of professor’s duties: I. Teaching, II. Scholarship and/or Creative Accomplishments, III. Contributions to Student Growth (i.e., advising), IV. Continuing Study and Preparation, and V. Service. So professors stick all the student evaluations and course syllabi in the dossier, all their articles or chapters or conference presentations, all their evidence of helping students, and all their evidence of service on committees, unions, community, etc.
Tenure often comes under fire from the corporate world, but such criticisms are misdirected and fail to understand the unique nature of the academy. It’s not here to make money. For instance, if I’m lucky enough to be awarded tenure, I now have a lifetime’s investment in the university’s long-term health and excellence. If my job were a year to year contract , do you think I’d spend my summers planning new courses I’d wouldn’t be guaranteed to teach? Do you think I’d serve on endless committees and spend three years helping to design, say, the new Gender Studies Program? Tenured faculty are secure enough to undertake longitudinal studies of decades’ worth of data accumulation. That kind of research could never even be imagined if a professor was working from year to year. And in some ways, a faculty with a long memory and a lot at stake in the future of the institution can serve as a balance to administrative forces which tend to be more temporary than most faculty.
So, all in all, tenure generally translates into a loyal faculty who take vast pride in their achievements and who can securely speak out in the name of academic freedoms without fear of recriminations. Colleges and universities are under a lot of public pressure and scrutiny from various interest groups: it’s good to know that the intellectual free play of ideas is still protected in the halls of academia.
Now you know where I’ve been: I’ve been photocopying, punching holes, organizing, and writing my dossier to make my case for tenure. I hope I am awarded tenure: the Faculty meet and give their recommendation in February, the Dean and Provost in March, and the President in April. That’s a lot of nails to chew through!!!!
College professors are not required to undergo training in educational techniques. There is no teaching certification, no educational liscensing board. Upon obtaining a Master’s or Ph.D., one is assumed to be qualified to teach at the college level. It should seem obvious that there are some inherent problems with this approach-specificaly poor teachers are often let in to the system. In my 60 plus years I have encountered a fair number of bone head teachers at the college level.
Students at Metro State are very fortunate to have a professor who has a natural ability to teach. Dr. Durant presents with an enthusiasm and obvious depth of knowledge that makes one look forward to the next class. Granting tenure should be a clear choice to the university when a professor demonstrates the level of skill shown by Dr. Durant. I, for one, would be happy to give the President a call on your behalf. Perhaps the students under your charge could all pay the President a visit.
Thanks, Greg! But a call to the President isn’t necessary: I’m honored to have the unanimous support of my department and I’ve had positive reviews from the Deans. But it’s a tough question, the broader issue of how to find/create/nurture good teachers, at all levels of schooling. The accusation often leveled at secondary schools, for instance, is perhaps teachers shouldn’t take so many “ed” classes and should take more of their subject classes. In other words, it’s the inverse of the problem you outline above, so you end up with people who’ve been taught to teach…but haven’t much substance? Like my seventh-grade science teacher who listed humans as a staple of the dinosaur diet! Sigh. I guess wrestling with education will always be one of the geat cultural constants (she pronounced with a sagacity and dignity well-suited to one seeking promotion to associate professor….)
I knew it took a lot of work to beocome a profesor but I didn’t know how hard it will be. You are doing a great job so far!