In an attempt to remain competitive in the areas of faculty recruitment and retention, the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and Whiting School of Engineering recently loosened their tenure policy to parallel policies of other institutions.
Effective as of July 1, 2004, the revised policy permits faculty to seek tenure after seven years while still at the level of associate professor. Under the old system, faculty had to wait until they achieved the status of full professor -- a ten-year process -- to be considered for tenure.
"Until last July, what distinguished the Hopkins system was that they granted tenure only to faculty who were already full professors," said Krieger Dean of Faculty Adam Falk, who headed a committee pushing for the change.
This decision came about after three years of deliberations, beginning with a committee comprised of Arts and Sciences and Engineering faculty, headed by professors William Connolly and William Sharpe. In December 2002 the committee passed along a report to the Academic Council suggesting the change. A year and a half later the policy was adopted.
"Most universities grant tenure at the promotion from assistant to associate professor," said Falk. "Our change is to do this too. This change brings us into line with most of our peers. Over the last decade we've been out of step with our peers."
"The vast majority of schools around the country, including Stanford, Princeton, Cal Tech, and Cornell -- all schools that we compare ourselves too -- do well with this rule. We found that to be a compelling reason for change," said Whiting Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs Andrew Douglas.
Falk said that Harvard and Yale are among a dwindling number of schools clinging to a system like the one that Hopkins recently abandoned.
"The university has functioned well under the old system for 125 years," said Falk.
"So this change was a difficult decision," Falk added, "but it was made for a number of reasons."
The primary reason for the change in policy was an attempt to build and maintain a strong faculty at Hopkins.
Associate professors from other universities aren't likely to consider transferring to Hopkins if they are going to lose their tenure upon arrival.
"There was realistic pressure to make this change in looking to compete for top faculty," said Douglas.
"The tenure process is the most stressful event in the life of a young professor," noted Falk. "The old system was a hindrance in recruiting young faculty."
"For women and minorities tenure becomes even a bigger issue," Douglas said.
"In competition for top minorities, any competitive disadvantage is something we don't want. And for women, their biological clocks pose an issue."
Also key in the decision to implement the new tenure policy are the opportunities that it will afford the professors.
On many occasions faculty were hesitant to undertake heavy projects in fear that they wouldn't be completed within their allotted time or that it would stand in the way of their looming tenure evaluation.
Additionally, the change in tenure policy increased the time that it will take for faculty to rise to the position of full professor.
Under the new system, it will typically take five years after gaining tenure status to become a full professor -- making for a total of twelve years.
While Falk noted that this was not a driving force in pushing for the change in tenure policy, he noted that the increased window of time is beneficial.
"People were being promoted to full professor too quickly," Falk said.
"This way they can wait until a person is very distinguished and has done deserving work. If one has more time for faculty to develop it strengthens the overall faculty," Falk said.
Both Falk and Douglas said that the policy changes were welcomed by most all of the faculty.
"The tenure system is universal in American academia," said Falk. "This is an essential value for a university, and an important institution for protecting the academic freedom of the professors."
