Comments on: The Veil http://blogs.swarthmore.edu/burke/2008/03/25/the-veil/ Culture, Politics, Academia and Other Shiny Objects Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:54:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: Jerry White http://blogs.swarthmore.edu/burke/2008/03/25/the-veil/comment-page-1/#comment-5127 Jerry White Wed, 02 Apr 2008 06:11:48 +0000 http://weblogs.swarthmore.edu/burke/?p=544#comment-5127 At my institution (U of Alberta), tenure decisions are made by the same (faculty-elected) committee that evaluates our files for annual salary increases. Tenure still has to go to the Provost and the Board of Governors, but they almost never overturn those committee decisions. The process still has some veil of secrecy, but the fact is that it??s almost impossible for that committee to give a faculty member his or her yearly increase and then after six or seven years deny them tenure; that would make the committee look impossibly foolish, to say nothing of opening the case wide open to appeal. Thus there is some accountability there, in that there is an annual (and by tenure time pretty extensive) paper trail of the committee??s sense of the candidate. That sense can be radically altered by something specific to the tenure process itself (most especially external reviews, by far the most unpredictable part of said process if you ask me), but in my limited experience that??s mercifully unusual. Maybe it??s because I moved through the process pretty smoothly, but that annual evaluation really strikes me as in everyone??s best interest, most especially the faculty member??s. It means it??s a lot harder to be surprised. At my institution (U of Alberta), tenure decisions are made by the same (faculty-elected) committee that evaluates our files for annual salary increases. Tenure still has to go to the Provost and the Board of Governors, but they almost never overturn those committee decisions. The process still has some veil of secrecy, but the fact is that it??s almost impossible for that committee to give a faculty member his or her yearly increase and then after six or seven years deny them tenure; that would make the committee look impossibly foolish, to say nothing of opening the case wide open to appeal. Thus there is some accountability there, in that there is an annual (and by tenure time pretty extensive) paper trail of the committee??s sense of the candidate. That sense can be radically altered by something specific to the tenure process itself (most especially external reviews, by far the most unpredictable part of said process if you ask me), but in my limited experience that??s mercifully unusual. Maybe it??s because I moved through the process pretty smoothly, but that annual evaluation really strikes me as in everyone??s best interest, most especially the faculty member??s. It means it??s a lot harder to be surprised.

]]> By: The Constructivist http://blogs.swarthmore.edu/burke/2008/03/25/the-veil/comment-page-1/#comment-5112 The Constructivist Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:48:39 +0000 http://weblogs.swarthmore.edu/burke/?p=544#comment-5112 Craig Smith and I have been starting from the ground up on tenure. Here's my <a href="http://citizense.blogspot.com/2008/03/cease-fire-proposal-in-tenure-wars.html" rel="nofollow">most recent post</a>, which allows interested to work backwards (along the way, we've kind of gotten Lumpenprofessoriat and profacero into the mix). It's less on process than on structure.... Craig Smith and I have been starting from the ground up on tenure. Here’s my most recent post, which allows interested to work backwards (along the way, we’ve kind of gotten Lumpenprofessoriat and profacero into the mix). It’s less on process than on structure….

]]> By: withywindle http://blogs.swarthmore.edu/burke/2008/03/25/the-veil/comment-page-1/#comment-5111 withywindle Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:38:46 +0000 http://weblogs.swarthmore.edu/burke/?p=544#comment-5111 There's something very meta about a post on how tenured professors can't comment which has attracted no comments. I'm just glad <i>Iron Dragon's Daughter</i> isn't a how-to on how to get tenure. I hope. There’s something very meta about a post on how tenured professors can’t comment which has attracted no comments.

I’m just glad Iron Dragon’s Daughter isn’t a how-to on how to get tenure.

I hope.

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