ISU mulls tenured faculty policy

AMES, Iowa — Discussion was heated Tuesday as members of Iowa State University’s Faculty Senate considered changes in how tenured faculty could be terminated.

Proposed revisions to the faculty handbook outline procedures for the termination of tenured and tenure-eligible faculty, which many fear must happen if Iowa State wants to maintain its standard of excellence in a time of budget cuts.

“I realize this is a difficult time for all of us,” said Faculty Senate President Arnold van der Valk. “Unfortunately, circumstances force us into this situation. It can be a very emotional time, because a lot is at stake here.”

The handbook now only states that in an “extraordinary financial crisis leading to termination of faculty members with continuous appointment (tenured), notice of termination shall be given not less than twelve months prior to the effective date of termination.”

The revised version states that a tenured faculty member can be terminated only if there is adequate cause, if their academic program is eliminated or if the university declares financial urgency. The proposal comes from the Faculty Senate Governance Council, made up of 10 senators and a Provost’s Office representative. Revisions must be approved by university administration before the Faculty Senate votes on them. A vote on these won’t come until the next Faculty Senate meeting April 6.

Some faculty members expressed concern about a statement in the revision that reads, “Before proceeding with appointment termination, the university and faculty member are expected to make a good faith effort to transfer the affected faculty member to another college or department with an academic program where his/her professional services can be used effectively.”

Igor Beresnev, a professor of geological and atmospheric science, said the term “good faith effort” is too vague and should be more specific.

“If we leave it undefined, then the document falls flat. It doesn’t achieve its goals,” Beresnev said.

A solution proposed by Tony Townsend, an associate professor of logistics operations and management information systems, was to replace the section about “good faith effort” with a promise to move tenured staff within the university with a minimum of 75 percent of their salary.

Van der Valk responded that some tenured faculty members may not be interested in moving if they are forced to teach a subject in which they have no interest.

Townsend disagreed.

“I’m enormously comfortable with that as opposed to standing in the unemployment office,” Townsend said. “Most faculty members would happily take placement in the most heinous area of the university rather than be terminated summarily.”

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