Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

State House may pass bill to change U. Colorado tenure process
From Staff Reports
Colorado Daily (U. Colorado)
03/06/2006

(U-WIRE) BOULDER, Colo. — Members of the Colorado House of Representatives are trying to pass a bill that would re-evaluate CU's tenure review process. Officially, a University of Colorado remains neutral on the new bill, because the university already has a tenure-review policy.

"We stand behind the post-tenure policy we have in place," said Michele McKinney, the spokeswoman for CU president Hank Brown, on Sunday. "We already have a post-tenure policy — as most higher education institutes in the state do."

In CU's current policy, a tenured professor's peer work is reviewed every year and there is a post-tenure evaluation every five years. Professors can be fired if they fail to improve after receiving poor marks.

The new bill, proposed by State Rep. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs, comes in the distant wake of the Ward Churchill scandal, which raised questions about the tenure process. Churchill, an ethnic studies tenured professor, compared some 9/11 victims to a major Nazi, in an essay published Sept. 12, 2001.

"Both research and teaching can become controversial if the topic being explored is itself controversial. This is true whether the topic is a law of physics or a law of social interaction," wrote Brown in an open letter about tenure on www.cu.edu. "But the pursuit of understanding, even in controversial areas, is what academic universities are all about."

CU conducted a poll of its Regents on Friday about the proposed tenure-review bill. Four of the Regents oppose the bill while five are neutral about it, said McKinney. The poll only reflects the personal opinions by individual Regents.

Most of the Regents asked, "What problems is this new bill trying to fix?", according to McKinney.

The House Committee of Education passed a version of the bill on Feb. 23, but it since has been amended and to go before a committee this week.

Faculty, staff and students will probably testify against this bill this week, according to McKinney.

The proposed bill did not just have repercussions for professors, but also for alleged funding for the university.

The Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News reported that Brown said state legislators threatened to halt funding if CU did not take an official stand against the bill. Legislators in the State House deny allegations that members threatened to block further funding from CU.

Democrats control the House, while Brown and King are Republicans.

CU is trying to receive $23 million in funding for its Health Sciences Center in Denver. The Joint Budget Committee (JBC) denied CU $11.5 million, but the university will still try for the rest of the money. The JBC unanimously agreed to spend about $45 million on each of higher education, K-12 education and health care.

[ Back to Student Voices ]