Teaching, scholarship required for tenure

By Sarah Harbison (Last updated: 08/28/09 6:29pm) Sheila Teahan said it can be difficult for faculty members to balance the responsibilities of research and teaching — especially when many are looking to obtain and maintain tenure.

"Many people probably have a tendency to concentrate on teaching and to defer at least some of their scholarly work into the summer," said Teahan, an English associate professor who received tenure status in 1995. "The summer is really the only time one has to devote full time to that sort of thing."

The discussion of tenure, a status granted to a teacher after a trial period that gives protection from summary dismissal, has come up recently because of journalism Associate Professor Kim Piper-Aiken's decision to leave MSU after she learned she would not be awarded tenure status.

Robert Banks, associate provost for academic human resources, said in order to obtain tenure, there are expectations not only from the university, but also from the faculty member's particular department, school and college.

A faculty member must balance the different requirements, including research and creative scholarship, as well as classroom responsibilities, in order to obtain tenure status.

"There is a strong expectation on being effective as a teacher, and also on research and scholarly domain — creating knowledge as well as disseminating knowledge," Banks said.

Banks said that within the review process, a compilation of student evaluations and letters are read. Faculty members also are required to produce a summary essay on their teaching history.

The average faculty member works between 60 and 70 hours a week, Banks said. In the first few years of teaching, he said a lot of work goes into preparing syllabi and lessons for classes.

"We do have some situations where faculty are excellent scholars, but have not paid as much attention as they could to their classroom responsibilities," he said. "And in a number of cases, they end up not being reappointed."

For Piper-Aiken, the situation was the reverse. She was informed she would not be awarded tenure status, which led her to accept a position in Wayne State University's journalism department in March.

Journalism senior Aisha Howard, who took four of Piper-Aiken's classes and worked at Focal Point with her for two semesters, said she is concerned about the future availability of experience for broadcast journalism students and about the quality of Piper-Aiken's successor.

"All the experience is all hands-on," Howard said. "She gives us all the tools that we need to get good entry-level positions in such a competitive field."

Focal Point is a student-run broadcast news organization, of which Piper-Aiken is faculty adviser and executive producer. The program airs on two local channels, KAR2 and RHA TV.

The dean of the College of Communication Arts and Sciences did not consider Focal Point creative scholarship, nor could Piper-Aiken gain support from other administrators, Piper-Aiken told The State News last month.

"Kim has experience in front of and behind the camera," said Jane Briggs-Bunting, director of MSU's School of Journalism. "Oftentimes, that is hard to get in a person with an advanced degree. But in Kim's case, Kim was the full package, and she's a terrific teacher — absolutely first-rate. We're very saddened to have her leave."

While Teahan acknowledged the difficulties, she said there are benefits to juggling both teaching and scholarship throughout the semesters.

Teaching often takes priority during the school year, but Teahan said it helps her students when she is working on scholarly activities, which includes writing books, essays and articles.

"I find I'm a better teacher when I'm actively engaged in my own work," she said. "I have more to give to students."

Teahan said professors feel the demand to produce scholarly work.

"It's a lot of pressure for the individual," she said. "Having said that, I think that Michigan State is more humane than a lot of places."

In fact, the American Association of University Professors, a national organization that represents professors, is concerned that more and more of them are not being awarded tenure — even while possibly being required to do more with their research.

"Nationwide, the percentage of tenure or tenure-track faculty has been steadily dropping," said Teahan, who is president of the MSU chapter. "That's a very, very dangerous phenomenon.

"You can't have a university composed of contingent people who come and go on a year-to-year basis."

Ultimately, the MSU Board of Trustees decides whether a recommendation for tenure is approved or denied, Banks said.

Typically, if tenure is going to be denied, faculty members resign before a formal decision is made, he said.

In 2006, one faculty member was formally denied tenure, while 54 faculty members were promoted to the status.

Currently, there are 1,542 tenured faculty members at MSU.

Banks said once a faculty member receives tenure, there are two circumstances in which they could lose their position at the university: if funding at the university is dramatically reduced, or if the level of performance is consistently below expectation.

The fact that Piper-Aiken did not receive this job security will leave a definite mark on the university, and especially on the School of Journalism, Howard said.

"She was the heart of the broadcast news curriculum," she said.

Sarah Harbison can be reached at harbiso9@msu.edu.

Originally Published: 04/10/07 12:00am