Public universities could no longer offer tenure for professors under Texas Senate bill March 30, 2023 “Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick declared a war on the tenure system last year after faculty at the UT Austin voted to reaffirm a professor’s right to teach about race and racial justice. However, the bill may not gain traction in the Texas House. Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, has said he opposes such plans. Texas is not the first state to consider a proposal to end tenure. Last year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law that requires professors with tenure to undergo a review with the state every five years. Many have said such a law makes it hard for professors to retain tenure.” What Ending Tenure Would Mean to Texas April 20, 2023 Senate Bill 18 would change the landscape of Texas public higher education for the worse, Jennifer Ebbeler writes. “The chair of the Senate Higher Education subcommittee, Senator Brandon Creighton, describes tenure as “the practice of guaranteed lifetime employment” and has justified the need to eliminate it with the argument that, “We’ve seen the brand and the reputation of several of our colleges and universities, including our flagships, that certainly have been damaged because of the actions of a few vocal and fringe tenure faculty.”” https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2023/04/20/what-ending-tenure-would-mean-texas
Eliminate tenure and you're one more step towards determining what can and cannot be taught. This is a real fascist move.
Incidentally, removing protections for college professors is another page from the Nazi playbook. These hard right GOP people are running true to type.
There is a misunderstanding about tenure that pervades outside of academia. That is, that tenured professors cannot be fired. This is not so. They can be fired for cause. They can be laid off for financial reasons. Tenure protects their speech and the integrity of their research. It allows them to pursue controversial topics and to, if indicated, publish unpopular findings. It allows them to say things that are legal, but unpopular. (This is the thing fascists fear the most.)
It possibly persists because it's true. Maybe not in the US, but I know of at least one country where it's apparently impossible to fire tenured professors, no matter what. They could (as I understand it) essentially be jailed for bank robbery and maybe not lose their tenured position. Positions typically only open up when the professor dies. Not as much to retirement, because why give up such a cushy do-nothing job to live off an even smaller pension? Most people who want to teach have to leave and go to other countries.
I was thinking mainly of Italy, but I've heard that there are similar situations in other European countries. How "bad" it is depends on the country in question.
We could definitely use term limits in Texas. It's almost impossible to win a primary against an incumbent, and a Republican is guaranteed to win in Texas. Abbott could remain governor until he passes away, if he wanted to.
