By Sherman Dorn, Special to the St. Petersburg Times

Published Thursday, February 25, 2010

The majority of faculty in the United States do not have tenure. They are either part-time adjuncts or non-tenure-track instructors.

And that is a shame, because tenure is vital to provide a core foundation for freedom on our campuses, and it’s necessary for Florida’s colleges and universities to attract the best faculty in the world.

Last Sunday in Perspective, William McKeen, the journalism department chair at the University of Florida, criticized the principle of tenure, claiming that achieving it has become an all-consuming passion among faculty members and that professors, once they are tenured, are no longer beholden to anyone.

He is wrong, based on my experience at the University of South Florida as president of the United Faculty of Florida chapter there. First, there certainly are limits to tenure protections. Just ask the 21 tenured professors at Florida State University who received layoff notices last year. Read the entire article at tampabay.com.

Click here to read Sherman Dorn’s blog on education policy.