This is tremendous legislation and Iowa should not be far behind in seeking to eliminate tenure at Iowa's public colleges and universities.
In addition to eliminating the system meant to protect academic freedom at centers of higher education, the bill (LB1068) from Sen. Loren Lippincott of Central City would require college and university boards to adopt policies outlining employment agreements and grounds for termination.
The University of Nebraska system, the Nebraska State College System and the six community colleges in Nebraska would be affected by the bill, which also requires boards to establish annual performance evaluations, standards for review and discipline, as well as procedures for dismissal for faculty.
“A very long time ago, it was a necessary thing to protect the free-thinking of academia,” Lippincott said. “Now, it seems like the professors have more of a freedom to express their opinions than do the students and the students are expected to regurgitate what the professor’s ideas are.”
The second-year senator said tenure, in addition to allowing some faculty to work few hours and dictate work to those without tenure, also protected faculty who hold beliefs that “oftentimes (run) counter to the parents of the student, the culture in general and society.”
In an email to all faculty on Monday, the faculty senate presidents said they “had been alerted that there could be similar conversations in Nebraska” regarding the possibility of eliminating tenure like those that had occurred elsewhere in the country last year.
Lippincott, who serves on the budget-writing Appropriations Committee, said the Legislature controls some $600 million of the NU system’s annual budget and could use that authority to bring the public university system in line.
“Since we are invested in the university with money, we should have a say,” he said.
Eliminating tenure would bring back “some degree of accountability” within the system by empowering administrators to fire faculty who are “not pulling their weight” or “operating outside the boundaries of legitimacy,” Lippincott added.
In addition to eliminating the system meant to protect academic freedom at centers of higher education, the bill (LB1068) from Sen. Loren Lippincott of Central City would require college and university boards to adopt policies outlining employment agreements and grounds for termination.
The University of Nebraska system, the Nebraska State College System and the six community colleges in Nebraska would be affected by the bill, which also requires boards to establish annual performance evaluations, standards for review and discipline, as well as procedures for dismissal for faculty.
“A very long time ago, it was a necessary thing to protect the free-thinking of academia,” Lippincott said. “Now, it seems like the professors have more of a freedom to express their opinions than do the students and the students are expected to regurgitate what the professor’s ideas are.”
The second-year senator said tenure, in addition to allowing some faculty to work few hours and dictate work to those without tenure, also protected faculty who hold beliefs that “oftentimes (run) counter to the parents of the student, the culture in general and society.”
In an email to all faculty on Monday, the faculty senate presidents said they “had been alerted that there could be similar conversations in Nebraska” regarding the possibility of eliminating tenure like those that had occurred elsewhere in the country last year.
Lippincott, who serves on the budget-writing Appropriations Committee, said the Legislature controls some $600 million of the NU system’s annual budget and could use that authority to bring the public university system in line.
“Since we are invested in the university with money, we should have a say,” he said.
Eliminating tenure would bring back “some degree of accountability” within the system by empowering administrators to fire faculty who are “not pulling their weight” or “operating outside the boundaries of legitimacy,” Lippincott added.
Proposal would eliminate tenure at Nebraska's public colleges, universities
The bill (LB1064) from Sen. Loren Lippincott would eliminate tenure protections for faculty and researchers at the University of Nebraska, state college system, and community colleges.
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