Faculty members with strenuous personal or professional situations may soon be able to “stop the tenure clock” with a more flexible tenure policy.
The Faculty Senate passed the policy at this month’s meeting by a vote of 53 in favor of it, none against and four abstentions. It is now in the final stages of review by University President Carol Cartwright before she can send it to the next Board of Trustees meeting in December, said Kris Blair, Faculty Senate chair.
The policy, formally called the “policy for extending the probationary period at BGSU,” would not alter tenure criteria. Instead, it would allow for a one-year delay of the review date for tenure, which would then take place in year seven, rather than the typical year six, Blair said.
“It simply allows faculty members with unique circumstances to request a delay, which is a great benefit for a lot of people,” she said. “It connects to a lot of diversity and conclusion issues and fits in very well with the initiatives of the strategic plan.”
According to the academic charter, the probationary period would be extended for “rare, specified, and limited circumstances that make it necessary.” Some qualifications for extension include childbirth, adoption, “extraordinary professional circumstances” or “a serious health confutation” afflicting the individual or a family member. Any qualifying leave from the Family Medical Leave Act is also included in the policy.
The existing charter improved on one reviewed in May by the Faculty Senate, Blair said.
After some tweaks and clarifications, specifically concerning a faculty member’s time frame for extension requests, the policy was ready for a second review.
“As a new chair, I’m really happy that this piece of business successfully passed this time,” she said. “All of us who worked on it feel so great. Many people are in favor of this policy, and we’re confident it will do well at the Board of Trustees because it’s necessary for issues of faculty welfare.”
Barbara Waddell, executive assistant to the provost, said she remembers early discussions of a more flexible tenure policy at the University since she began working in the provost’s office in 2002.
“I think it’s absolutely wonderful to see happen,” she said. “Although people had made requests concerning tenure policies in the past, this will make the way we apply standards consistent. It’s a good thing.”
When the lengthy process reaches its potential final stages, Ken Borland, senior vice president for Academic Affairs and provost, said he will assist in exchanging ideas concerning the flexible tenure policy’s final draft.
“[President Cartwright] and I will sit down and I’ll go over this with her and let her know how supportive I am of seeing it get to the Board,” he said. “We picked up a document that was pretty well stalled out and within a year we got it done and approved by the Faculty Senate.”
After a successful year of conversations and refinement into charter language, Borland said he is optimistic about how the policy will fare with the Board of Trustees.
“It gives faculty the opportunity to be successful in their quest toward tenure, even when life’s difficult circumstances come up against that,” he said. “Now that it’s all in charter language, all faculty members can be dealt with equitably in response to those circumstances.”
