Professors’ Opinions and the Role of Tenure

Re “When Tenure Jumps the Track,” Commentary, March 17: Max Boot’s argument against tenure is flawed. If we were to abolish all systems that protect people who make offensive statements, the U.S. government and the free market would certainly be on the list. Ward Churchill’s other alleged crimes -- fraud, threats and intimidation -- are worse than his description of the World Trade Center victims, and each would be considered grounds for dismissal in spite of his tenure. His critics might be less incensed if they realized that tenure protects the jobs of many more low-profile people with whom they agree.

They might also recall that Churchill’s provocation -- unlike the firestorm of criticism against him -- was not originally aired in a major media outlet. Yet his far more powerful critics, who dominate mainstream Op-Ed space and airtime, seem intent on crushing this small-time crank. If Churchill really represents liberal power, then conservatives surely have nothing to worry about.

Susan Zieger

Asst. Professor of English, UC Riverside

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Boot argues for abolition of tenure by comparing disparate cases. He has not the slightest inkling what tenure does or does not. The resignation of the president of the University of Colorado and the plight of the president of Harvard are not the result of tenure jumping the track. The Colorado president’s woes are the result of pressures removed from scholarly work. The pressures on the president of Harvard are the result of self-inflicted loose emotional outbursts.

Brahama D. Sharma

Retired Prof. of Chemistry

Pismo Beach

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Boot makes some good points. One thing to keep in mind, however: Tenure was developed, not because “it is supposed to allow scholars to pursue their work without outside pressure,” as he states, but to allow knowledgeable people to speak out about important matters without fear of losing their jobs.

There are important things we need to hear, even if we disagree with them, and especially if these things are coming from a scholar, an expert who has spent a lot of time learning and thinking about the subject. When those in power can have them easily dismissed, these scholars are more likely to remain silent, and everybody loses.

Barnes Bierck

Chapel Hill, N.C.