Road to tenure for professors is six years long
University faculty endure
an intense process to become
a tenured associate professor
By Chelsea Duncan
News Reporter
While students are spending four
to five years of their lives working to
ward a degree, some of their teachers
are spending a rigorous six years
striving for status as a tenured mem
ber of the faculty.
To become a tenured associate pro
fessor at the University, assistant pro
fessors must undergo an intensive
process of evaluations and critiques
from their peers and supervisors.
"It improves the school because
tenure is the backbone of the na
tion's best universities," said Vice
Provost for Academic Affairs Jack
Rice. "A strong tenure system, I
think, goes hand-in-hand with that
expectation of excellence."
Over a nearly six-year period, var
ious committees throughout the
University and the faculty member's
department analyze the teacher's
progress. Toward the end, experts
outside the University are called on
to objectively evaluate a faculty
member's contributions to his or
her field. In the end, a comprehen
sive report is submitted to the Se
nior Vice President and Provost
John Moseley, who makes the final
decision.
Rice said a candidate's strengths and
weaknesses are judged and examined.
"It is a subjective decision," he said.
Assistant professors are evaluated
in three areas, including scholarship,
teaching and service.
"1 think the most challenging as
pect is just finding the appropriate
balance for each individual," Rice
said, adding that spending too much
time in one area can weaken the val
ue of a tenure proposal.
Scholarship includes research in
the assistant professor's career field,
which must usually be published in
some form. The teaching section fo
cuses on areas such as the contribu
tions faculty make to courses and stu
dent evaluations. Service involves
faculty involvement with department
endeavors such as committees and
conferences.
Psychology Department Head Mar
jorie Taylor said tenure provides pro
fessors with job security, which en
sures they can explore research
ventures over longer periods of time.
"You can do more risky research,"
she said.
Ill is year about 20 assistant profes
sors will come up for tenure, which is
an average number, Rice said. He said
the majority of those faculty members
will achieve tenure.
"Over the last 15 years, the average
success for granting of tenure is about
90 percent," he said.
Rice said assistant professors are
given one year to explore other op
tions if by chance they are denied.
"They're not given a second
chance," he said, but they can appeal
the decision.
Taylor said those on the tenure
track receive feedback throughout
the process in time to compensate
for weaknesses..
"A negative tenure decision rs
devastating for everybody involved,"
she said.
Taylor said assistant professors must
excel in all three areas of evaluation.
"It has to be exceptional across the
board," she said.
Chemistry Department Head Tom
Dyke agreed.
"Those three areas are given sub
stantially equal weight," he said. "You
can't flunk one area and get tenure
and promotion."
Dyke added that many people
don't realize how rigorous the process
is for professors.
Rice said faculty are hired at the
University with the expectation that
they will eventually achieve tenure.
"When we hire new faculty, they are
very good," he said.
Chemistry Assistant Professor Dar
ren Johnson was hired in June, and he
said he is ready to begin the tenure
process.
"The things that you have to do to
get tenure are more or less a contin
uation of what you've been doing,"
he said.
Johnson, whose research focuses
on supramolecular chemistry and
nanoscience, said it is important to
get his work published.
"You want to make a name for
yourself in your field," he said.
English Professor Suzanne Clark
— who has been a professor for 23
years, including six years as a full
professor — said tenure is also im
portant for retaining professors at the
University over time.
"A university has to have stability,"
she said.
Clark said the most difficult part
about getting her tenure was writing a
book, which took her five years. She
added that students need to recognize
what their professors go through.
"A lot of people don't realize that
University professors have to go
through a tenure process," Clark said.
"It's really quite an enterprise"
Contact the higher education/
student life/student affairs reporter
at chelseaduncan@daiiyemerald.com.
COUNCIL
continued from page 1
Council meetings on television, he
came to the conclusion that the
Council doesn't listen to the people
of the city.
"If something was going to hap
pen, I needed to do it," he said.
After coming to that conclusion,
Walsh said he quickly decided to
file. He canvassed his neighborhood
for signatures, finding that most
people he talked to didn't even
know who their city councilor was.
The whole filing process gave him
no problems, he said.
"Everybody that I talked to
signed my petition," he said. "It
was really easy."
Walsh's campaign is still in its ear
ly stages. He said he just started writ
ing fund-raising letters and spread
ing the word about his candidacy.
He plans to invest in yard signs,
bumper stickers and other cam
paign paraphernalia closer to tire
May 18 primary date.
Though the native Eugenean's
only political experience prior to
this was holding office as high
school class president, he feels good
about his political future.
"I think I have just as good of
chance as anybody else," he said.
Blues musician Willie Nicholas
also filed for office.
"The process of how many candi
dates running is a bit crazy," he said.
The campaign itself, though, is
easy.
"It doesn't really take up a lot of
time, actually," he said.
Nicholas, who ran for mayor of
Springfield in 2000, said the stage is
his pulpit. He plays in the band For
est T. Black and gathered most of his
signatures during gigs around town.
"The working poor need some
one to represent them in city gov
ernment," he said.
Nicholas said he doesn't plan to
run a big campaign, though he
said he is thinking about creating
television commercials as he did in
his previous run for mayor of
Springfield. Even with the televi
sion ads, however, the process is
not expensive.
"I think during my entire 2000
campaign I spent $700, and I took
30 percent of the vote," he said.
Information about filing for can
didacy is available at the City
Recorder's Office in Room 105 of
Eugene City Hall at 777 Pearl St. or
online at
http://www. ci .eugene. or.us/cityre
co/Elections/index. htm.
Contact the city/state politics reporter
at nikacarison@daiiyemerald.com.
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UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
COURT
continued from page 1
people have responded since Septem
ber, Foster said one was not qualified
and another was appointed to the
EMU Board. Foster estimates the oth
er two applicants — one who applied
Wednesday and one who applied
Thursday — will be interviewed dur
ing the next week to establish whether
they are qualified.
"I think (the court) has a valid ar
gument ... and though the argument
is valid, we have been actively trying
to fill these positions, but it just seems
there hasn't been any interest," Foster
said. "If there isn't interest we're kind
of at a loss to fill the position.
"We hope these two applicants will
pan out."
Foster said ASUO waited until fall
to advertise specifically for court po
sitions because ASUO officials
believed student interest would be
too low during the summer, and the
influx of students in the fall would
garner more interest.
Harris declined to comment on
why he thinks the vacancy has not
been filled, but he did reiterate that
the sole purpose of the hearing will be
for Melton to show cause regarding
the vacancy and her failure to fill it.
In addition to the appearance or
der, the court also urged Melton in the
writ to "diligently fill the present va
cancy in question," adding that the
recommendation "is not tantamount
to a license to act with haste, derelic
tion, or inattentiveness with respect to
filling the aforesaid vacancy.
"A thorough screening process and
a well-qualified candidate shall not be
sacrificed in the name of expediency,"
the writ said.
A second position became vacant
just one day earlier, on Wednesday,
when the court issued a different writ
of mandamus ordering Melton to re
place within the next 30 days
Meghan Madden. The former justice
is studying in Spain for the term and
is ineligible to continue her work on
the court.
The constitution dictates that
court justices are appointed until
they graduate, leave the University or
are removed for non-fulfillment of
duties, with exceptions for absence
during the summer. The court ruled
that Madden's study abroad didn't fit
into the exception, and therefore her
term expired.
The constitution grants the court
"supreme and final authority" on the
constitution itself and allows justices
to address questions about non-ful
fillment of duties by student leaders.
Contact the managing editor
at janmontry@dailyemerald.com.
News reporter Chuck Slothower
contributed to this report.
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