The Denisonian

Issue date: 2/10/09 Section: News

"Dr. Bryan is a talented and versatile professor. He is very aprapproachable, and if we ever need to talk about anything, he always makes time." Garrett Dooley is a senior theatre major from New York.

"Dr. Moller is just a genuinely nice guy. He does a great job connecting to his students and he is extremely knowledgeable - a great resource." Vaughn Morrison is a junior PPE major from Atlanta, Georgia.

"Dr. Weingart does her best to cater to the needs of her students. Always asking for positive and negative feedback, she is interested in our opinions." Julia Maguire is a junior biology major from Columbus, Ohio.

"[Professor Davis is] just so enthusiastic about what he does, and it really shows in the classroom." Marissa Nicolais is a freshman biology major from St. Louis, Mo.

Some favorite professors on campus are here for good, thanks to the tenure process.
Denison's board of trustees recently gave 10 professors tenured positions.

These professors, members of departments spanning the arts, humanities and sciences, will have lifetime employment at Denison.
These professors received tenure based on the Denison academic community's three criteria for receiving tenure: teaching, scholarship or art and service, defined as "contributions to the other purposes of the College" in the faculty handbook.
All professors hired at Denison are on the tenure track as part of their contract.

After six years of employment, individual departments meet to discuss whether that particular faculty member should remain on the tenure track.

The head of each department drafts a letter addressed to the provost's advisory board, with comments from members of the department.

The advisory board votes to accept or reject the candidate for tenure.

The board makes its recommendation to President Knobel, who can choose independently to accept or reject the candidate's continuation on the tenure track.

In the event Knobel recommends tenure, he passes on his recommendation to the board of trustees, who ultimately decide the candidate's fate.

Having tenure signifies professors' teaching ability, contribution to their field and service to the goals of a liberal arts education.

Each tenure candidate must draft a professional statement, in addition to submitting many other items for a dossier, that states his or her philosophy of liberal education.

Bradley Bateman, the university provost who oversees the tenure review process, said that the advisory board reviews each candidate based on the three criteria.
"We read about scholarship," he said. "We look at what their colleagues in their department say, and we look at external review. We try to make a judgment. [We ask] has this person demonstrated excellence as a scholar?"

Bateman added that a professor will not receive tenure if he or she does not satisfy all three criteria. "There are no simple yardsticks," he said.
Student evaluation and opinion factor into whether a faculty member receives tenure.
"We read teaching evaluations carefully, but we don't consider the averages," Bateman said. "We look at the scores and student comments."

If a professor does not receive tenure, he or she can appeal.

The grounds for appeal, according to Bateman, are discrimination, denied academic freedom or inadequate consideration.
This year, three professors did not receive tenure.

Last year four out of five faculty members on average received tenure.
Bateman stressed the importance how the advisory board reviews professors throughout their careers. "It's important to understand that the advisory board is looking for evidence of critical self reflection and efforts to improve teaching."

Look forward to next week's issue to find out more about your professors fighting to stay on the hill, appealing for tenure.


Mark Bryan
Assistant professor of theatre

Adam Davis
Assistant professor of history

Dosinda Garcia-Alvite
Assistant professor of modern languages

David Goodwin
Assistant professor of geosciences

Daniel Homan
Assistant professor of physics

Veerenda Lele
Assistant professor of sociology/anthropology

Songhua Lin
Assistant professor of economics

Mark Moller
Assistant professor of history

Jeffrey Thompson
Assistant professor of biology

Christine Weingart
Assistant professor of biology

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools