The column by Mat Gendle, professor of psychology and director of Project Pericles,
Inside Higher Ed has published a column by Mat Gendle, professor of psychology and director of Project Pericles, urging fellow tenured faculty members to advocate for their programs an institutions.
Titled “A Tenured Full Professor’s Call to Arms,” the column focuses on the challenges higher education is facing including reductions in government funding, the coming decline in college-age students, resistance to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, to name a few. Gendle writes that it is us to tenured faculty members to defend the ideals higher education holds dear.
“Tenure exists, in part, to provide a specific type of protection that allows for faculty to participate in shared governance meaningfully and effectively,” Gendle writes. “Tenured full professors have been provided a relatively secure intellectual space to continue their work, in ways that allow for reasonable intellectual risk taking in teaching, research and institutional service. In return for this, these faculty are obligated to preserve and defend that space against all threats. The privileges conferred to tenured full professors are unique, and faculty must utilize these protections in the service and support of colleagues across their institution.”
Visit Inside Higher Ed to read the full column.