fsfaculty: Messgae from Dr Mark Goodman

The Robert Holland Faculty Senate voted Friday on a revision to the university Post-Tenure Review Policy (www.msstate.edu/dept/audit/0121.html).

About two years ago, IHL requested that all universities create a post-tenure review policy. Faculty Senate did that. IHL reviewed our policy and asked for an addition: The policy must contain language to permit a tenured faculty member to be fired.

Randy Follett’s committee, Faculty Affairs, has come up with an interesting approach, which the Senate approved.

Any faculty member can be fired under IHL policy (IHL Board Policy 404.01-401.02)

for specific reasons, usually for cause or financial cutbacks. The solution chosen by the Faculty Affairs committee was to tie post tenure review into this board policy. The end result is that MSU faculty will have no greater nor no lesser protection under the revised post tenure policy than it has under the current policy.

Both the new post tenure review policy and the old one provided for the following procedure in most cases. Six years after being tenured, a faculty member will be reviewed by the dean of the college. Based on annual reviews, the dean will determine if the tenured person’s performance is below standards in teaching, research, and service.

If so, the dean will ask that a faculty committee be formed to review the performance of that faculty member. If the faculty committee agrees, the faculty committee will recommend remediation. The faculty member will have two years to improve performance. If the faculty committee determines that improvement has occurred, the procedure comes to a close.

If the faculty member’s performance does not improve, then the dean can initiate the procedure to fire a faculty member under the IHL policy.

No dean nor department chair can act alone to fire a tenured faculty member. Faculty must be involved with the procedure and agree with the determination that the performance is unsatisfactory. In most cases, a faculty member would retire before the process reached a conclusion.

One caveat: IHL can request further revision or create its own post tenure review policy.

If you have views on this issue, send me your emails: mgoodman@comm.msstate.edu.

Mark Goodman

President

Robert Holland Faculty Senate