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A new bill has been filed in the Texas House by Representative Matt Shaheen (R-Plano) that would effectively end the practice of giving tenure to professors at all public universities in the State of Texas.
Tenure effectively gives professors a job for life, and HB-1830 aims to put a stop to that. Though professors who already have tenure would be grandfathered in.
It was supposed to help promote more academic freedom, but according to former tenured professor Tom Lindsay with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, it's done the exact opposite. He says that, "Under traditional tenure, 62% of students 'self-censor,' because there is no longer robust discussion of controversial issues."
Lindsay says it makes sense for professors to want the job security that comes with tenure, but like everyone else, they need some accountability in their work. He said, "We're human beings. We require incentives. We do better when we're rewarded for it, and we get straightened out when we're punished for not doing the job."
He believes he has a way to give professors the job security they need without the lack of accountability that comes from tenure. He proposed a "3-3-5 system." He said, "You hire a professor the first time, he or she gets a three-year contract. If they do well, they get a second three-year contract. If they do well on that one, they get a five-year contract."
According to Lindsay's system, professors would then be given a new contract every five years, provided they do well in a performance review.