Texas Tech University - La Ventana Yearbook (Lubbock, TX)

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Heated debates between staff and admin istrators make headlines Controversy on tenure The 1984-85 school year was barely getting started when a heated debate over faculty tenure sparked into a flame between faculty mem- bers and administration officials. The debate made the headlines almost every morning of the first month of school and left many in- coming freshmen running to their dictionaries in hope of learning what tenure meant. Tenure is a system set up to en- sure that experienced faculty mem- bers gain job security without fear of dismissal at the discretion of their superiors. Faculty members usually must serve for a period of several years to be eligible for tenure, and once a faculty member becomes te- nured, he can be terminated only under specific circumstances that usually involve lengthy proceed- ings. The controversy began in 1982 with a series of proposals for revis- ing the university ' s tenure policy. In April 1984, a revised proposal final- ly was released after long hours of work and discussion by university FYesident Lauro Cavazos and an ad hoc committee. The reasons for revision of the old policy included facts and statistics that showed that under the old poli- cy, nine out of 61 departments at the university were 100 percent te- nured. Reports also showed admin- istrators that three of the seven col- leges in the university were more than 90 percent tenured, putting the overall tenure figure at 58 percent. In the June 29 issue of The Uni- versity Daily, Cavazos stated that the design of the proposed tenure policy was intended to prevent Tech from becoming over-tenured. According to Cavazos, a high num- ber of the tenured faculty would cause the university a loss of creativity as well as preventing the school from being flexible. Cavazos also was quoted by re- porters as saying, Tf we don ' t hire another person in the next seven years, and if we were to have all people in tenure tracks approved, we ' d be 76 percent tenured in less than seven years. Upon the release of the April proposal, temperatures began ris- ing, and two very different and yet well-defined positions on the tenure issue arose. The controversy was so intense that the Board of Regents tabled the proposal at its May meeting, leaving the policy open for discussion and revision by administrators during the summer months. As soon as the fall semester started, the tenure issue again stir- red controversy between adminis- trators and faculty. The faculty ' s primary objection to the tenure poll- ing faculty members, 596 responded to the ballot put out by the senate. Of the respondents, 524 dis- approved of the proposed policy and only 53 approved of the docu- ment. Nineteen faculty members ab- stained. The great majority of faculty feel this document will not help us make Tech the best possible univer- sity. said Ernest Sullivan, vice president of the Faculty Senate. This proposal would make it har- der for us to do our jobs. It would compromise our ability to do our research and to teach what we think is right. cy concerned the lack of a prob- ationary period in which a faculty member would have a specific amount of time to prove himself worthy of tenure. Faculty members also contended that the renewable term contracts would restrict facul- ty recruitment. September 28 was the day the Board of Regents was scheduled to decide once and for all on the tenure proposal. In a last-minute effort to sway the board, the Faculty Senate conducted a faculty vote that showed that the majority of the fac- ulty opposed the administration ' s tenure proposal. Of 802 eligible vot- Some Tech students also got in- volved in the controversy over te- nure. One student ' s response to the question was one of disappointment in the faculty for their childish atti- tude toward the situation. The stu- dent, u ho preferred to remain anonymous, said it disturbed him to see the faculty so up in arms over an administrati e decision v hich is in the best interest of the universi- ty. He went on to say, In public elementary, junior high, and high school there is no tenure because they must maintain a standard of quality education for the youth of Q 24 — Tenure Policy

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Students more conservative during presidential election year sued across campus. I was amused (by the debates), said senior Cecile Kittock, saying there was no debate on the issues. The whole thing was a personality expose. Sophomore Cindy Davis agreed that the debates had a humorous vein running through them. Nonetheless, the political fervor continued. Debates between U.S. Vice President George Bush shakes hands with local residents and Tech students after speaking on campus during his election cam- paign. Bush and other Republicans discussed some of the issues of the platform. House candidates Larry Combest and Don Richards evoked similar reactions from students. Throughout the campaign, to the apparent surprise of many and perhaps to the chagrin of some, the Tech campus emerged as being largely conservative. Said Davis, I feel like such a hippie because everyone else is so conservative. Everyone was Re- publican in this election except me and Sid and Eric! Ardis agreed that Tech students were conservative and said they are becoming more and more so. A lot of things they heard as they were growing up didn ' t make sense, and now they ' re changing their outlooks and ways of think- ing, he said. Even after the election was over, there were signs that the debate over the issues would continue. Conservative or liberal, the trend toward involvement may extend into the next election. — Jane Quinn President Reagan won re-election with the biggest electoral vote in the nation ' s history. He won 49 states with 49 percent of the total vote. President and Mrs. Reagan celebrate the victory on election night, November 6, 1984. Electiona — 23

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policy the state. Tech should claim the same responsibility to its students as well. Other students had differing opin- ions. Scott Thompson, a sopho- more in the College of Arts and Sci- ences, wrote a letter to the editor of the University Daily that appeared on the Viewpoint page of the paper. Personally, 1 find it hard to be- lieve that 40 percent of the faculty plan to seek other employment if the tenure policy is not changed. If I were a member of this university ' s administration, I would take this statistic as a serious indication of the faculty sentiments and. there- fore, treat them with more respect than they have recently been shown, wrote Thompson. Despite the protests of many fac- ulty members, the Board of Regents approved the proposal, but only af- ter certain revisions were made at the request of the faculty on the morning before the vote. One such request was that an insert be made to include a due process clause that would apply to the termination of employment action and causes of dismissal. The new clause allows a tenured faculty member to be dis- missed only for good cause, with the burden of proof resting with the university. Yet, even with specific revisions made, many faculty members still were not pleased with the wording and content of the policy. Faculty Senate President Evelyn Davis spoke during the committee session to request additional changes in the revised tenure policy. Much to the dismay and disappointment of the faculty, Regent Jerry Ford ex- plained to Davis that it would not be appropriate to edit and re-edit the policy at this stage. The board went ahead with its plans to pass the new tenure policy. By spring, the issue had been pushed aside temporarily as faculty and administration tried to cope with looming budget cuts. — Jane Qiiinn Faculty members show concern in poll No confidence Though the Board of Regents passed the controversial tenure pol- icy on September 28, the cold war between Tech faculty members and administrators was by no means over. Faculty members continued to fight by showing rebellion against the main administrator whom they felt brought about their defeat, university President Lauro Cavazos. Almost immediately after the de- cision was made to pass the tenure policy opposed by most faculty members, the Faculty Senate began planning a campuswide faculty vote to determine the extent of the facul- ty ' s confidence in Cavazos ' pres- idency. I hoped the time would never come that the faculty of a university would have to vote on the com- petency of their president. This is the most somber occasion in my ser- vice at Texas Tech University. said Henry Wright. Horn professor of range and wildlife management. Faculty members said the vote was taken in response to several campus issues, of which tenure was only one. In the resolution voted on by the faculty, Cavazos was said to have intervened inappropiately and subsequently failed to resolve problems in the administration of a faculty research project in the de- partment of electrical engineering. resulting in loss of morale, faculty, and research funds. The resolu- tion also stated that Cavazos re- fused to adhere to established te- nure procedures, precipitating the series of events that led to the te- nure controversy. According to the faculty, Cava- zos twice sought adoption of tenure policies against the interests of both faculty members and students. The faculty ballot also pointed out that Cavazos rejected repeated solicita- tions by the faculty to meet faculty or its representatives to discuss the faculty ' s views. The results of the faculty ' s vote of no confidence were announced less than a week after the tenure policy passage b y the Board of Regents. Of 672 voting faculty members who re- turned ballots, 81.1 percent indi- cated that they did not have confi- dence in Cavazos as president. Only a little more than 12 percent of the faculty indicated they did have con- fidence in Cavazos. and 6.2 percent of the faculty abstained from voting. No major outcome was the result of the no confidence vote by the faculty, but the vote itself was just one of the many defiant actions taken by the faculty to show discon- tent with the approval of the tenure plan. — Donan Young Tenure Policy — 25