Tenure at a Crossroads, Again?: An Examination of the Devolution of Higher Education in the Age of Corporatization

Tenure at a Crossroads, Again? goes beyond the explication of tenure to explore the contemporary challenges facing academia at the K–12 and higher education levels. This edited volume is unique in the sense that it grapples issues from multiple viewpoints―that of the university/college administrator and professor, to the K–12 educator.
The book examines increased expectations and how existing policies have spilled over into institutions of higher learning once high school graduates enter this domain. Students’ educational expectations resonate with college administrators and policy makers forcing institutions to adapt to these needs. This moves professors to “dumb down” the curricula and teaching to avoid negative evaluations and protect themselves from unwarranted retaliation.
This confluence of factors reverberates throughout the educational system, producing unintended effects that have collectively led to an alliance between the administration and students in higher education, much like those experienced by our K-12 colleagues yet now questions the rationale for tenure to re-examine dilemmas that have long dogged higher education. The most recent solution - the corporatization of institutions but to the detriment of a quality education. Weofferpracticalstrategies to mitigate this unilateral approach while incorporating innovative mechanisms for the system’s survival.

G.L.A. Harris is senior associate dean of the faculty and administration, and professor of global affairs at the Thunderbird School of Global Management

Dwight Vick is adjunct professor of public administration at Excelsior College, and adjunct professor in public policy at Texas A&M International University