Sort of Tenure (SOT)

Although we finally disagreed to disagree about the issue of whether we have
tenure or not under the new policy, I notice that there are still
affirmations or at least hopes that we do have a real tenure system left.
Verbie Prevost has a different reading than some of us regarding the April 5
resolution of the UTK Faculty Senate. Let's look between the lines.

First, they are trying to maintain the idea of  "tenure as a presumption of
continuous employment..." and they affirm the importance of due process.
What is the background of this?

I have been sent a long and insightful reading of each of the main goals in
the UTK implementation (reflecting their resolution) that were rejected by
the administration (I presume Bob Levy, who seems to be the ghost writer of
all this, but this is pure speculation on my part). Time does not permit
going over all the lost provisions, but understanding the crucial ones is
the key to understanding just where the long knives are.  I have debated
sharing this information with you since it is so depressing, but we should
not be discouraged and roll over.  Remember, although UTK certainly did not
get all they want, their implementation plan has some improvements over the
one we are currently revising.

In the first UTK plan they deleted the important word "annual" in the
definition of tenure. This was RESTORED (sorry about the shouting, I wish
there was a way to add emphasis in Eudora without such emotion). So their
resolution is a challenge, not an affirmation, because it again leaves out
"annual."  When you think about, "continuation of his or her annual
appointment" doesn't make much sense.

That is why I prefer to use "sort of tenure" (SOT) to avoid confusion.  For
example, what sense is there now in our "probationary" period?  Correct me
if I am wrong (I was corrected at the Faculty Council Meeting for assuming
all departments had the same timing of the EDO process...mea culpa), but
this is what we have. For six years, a new faculty will be told by March 1st
(year one) and December 15 (year two) and a YEAR in advance (years three to
six) if they will not be retained. Time for a new job search.

So, after obtaining SOT, what happens under our implementation plan?  A bad
rating gives warning, and if in the following year the EDO is again bad,
then there are THIRTY DAYS before the PRC affirms the head. Unless the
Provost agrees on a remediation period, that's it. Thirty days as opposed to
a year in the probationary period. Maybe this will be "rare and unusual" but
it is possible.

By the way, will we be advertising SOT-track positions? Truth in advertising?
George Orwell had some interesting things to say about this in his essays on
language: tenure good, SOT better.

More on this later.

Richard Rice
History