A Massachusetts Institute of Technology biology professor ended his hunger strike Feb. 16 protesting the MIT biology department's decision to deny him tenure.
James Sherley claimed he was denied tenure because of racial discrimination, but decided to cease his 12-day hunger strike. With 428 adjunct faculty members at AU, the tenure process affects many AU professors as well.
MIT has previously evaluated its tenure process for discrimination. In 1993, MIT biology professor Nancy Hopkins filed a complaint about gender discrimination. When analyzing the process, the university concluded that discrimination against female professors existed and altered their process, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
"The way to deal with it was just to review it once in a while to just look at the data and make sure it wasn't happening," Hopkins said in the Chronicle's Feb. 6 story on Sherley.
Hopkins and other department professors thought that Sherley's protests on the process should be considered, but did not really debate the decision on his tenure case, according to the article.
According to AU's website, 16 percent of faculty members are from minority ethnic groups.
Kathleen Getz, an associate professor and dean in the Kogod School of Business, said she was skeptical of Sherley's methods. Tenured 10 years ago, Getz said she believes in taking other avenues for protest.
"Well, I didn't go on a hunger strike," Getz said. "Those kinds of tactics get a lot of attention, but they're not as effective. I'm sure there are other modes of appealing decisions."
According to the AU Web site and faculty manual, professors at AU must go through a series of levels to gain tenure. A teaching unit rank and tenure committee that usually looks at the curricula for each college and is composed of faculty and student members first considers the application. Then, department chairs and the university provost look at the applications and recommendations.
"The uncertainty is the hardest part," Getz said. "You think you've done everything, but it's up to someone else and if they agree with you."
In addition to the process, the AU faculty manual lists several criteria for a faculty member to become tenured. Professors must have six years of service including four years at AU, have a rank of assistant professor or higher and be full-time.
For the university to grant tenure, a professor must have demonstrated high quality in both teaching and scholarship or creative activities, according to the manual. For many professors, this means being involved in research or getting published in scholastic journals.
Fantu Cheru, a professor in the School of International Service, said the process was fairly politicized.
"If you get published, you get tenure," Cheru said. "A lot of emphasis is put on publishing, even though we say teaching is important too."
Tenured professors must continue to achieve in their fields even after gaining tenure, and the university expects them to maintain research while teaching.
"Everyone expects you to be a good teacher and over and above that do good research," Getz said. "But in every job there are things to balance."
Elysa Baron, an adjunct Spanish professor and graduate student in the department of Language and Foreign Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, said in a conversation with another professor there were concerns because the tenured professors devote hours to research and do not teach as much.
"And it's sad because those who don't have tenure have to leave even if they're good teachers," Baron said.
She said she wants to eventually become a tenured professor, but Baron worries her love of languages and traveling may make it difficult to balance the research and teaching requirements.
