Tenure is a good gig if you can get it.
If professors are tenured, it takes the president of the University and the Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure to fire them.
Instructors are subject to a six-year probationary period and undergo a comprehensive evaluation in a tenure track.
"The three basic dimensions on which we judge are teaching, scholarly work and service," Deputy Provost Richard Holder said.
Junior Alyssa Skrepcinski said she recognizes the need for tenure in order to protect and promote an instructor's free expression.
"Our professors should be free to speak their minds without fear of retribution," Skrepcinski said.
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But she said, she sees a downside.
"I think there is the potential to become lazy when you know you can't lose your job," she said.
Tenure is based on a series of approvals beginning with already tenured professors at the department level. Once approved by the department, paperwork is sent to the dean, then onto Provost Brian Foster for a final decision.
Holder used a military-rank analogy to better explain the advancement process.
The first rank is assistant professor. It is at this level instructors go through the six-year trial period. Next comes associate professor, awarded after successful completion of the first. Associate professors commit themselves to teaching for an additional five-year minimum.
Finally, there is the title of professor. Barring being found guilty of moral turpitude, such as sexual harassment, or gross incompetence, tenured professors are guaranteed their jobs for life.
The number of tenured faculty at UNM varies year to year. There are four levels at which tenure can be earned - assistant, associate, full and distinguished professor. In 2003, full professors made up 16.2 percent of tenured and tenure-track faculty.
Graduate student and teaching assistant Paul Lynch said tenure is necessary to protect academic freedom.
He said the importance of securing an instructor's right to express unpopular ideas and teach unpopular subject matter outweigh the downsides of academic tenure.
Lynch said students with good tenured professors have a valuable source from which to learn.
"The good ones have kept working," he said. "They've done the research and reading and have a tremendous amount of expertise."
Lynch acknowledges there are problems with the system.
"Its possible to be a lousy teacher who publishes a lot and get tenure, which is a problem for those who really value teaching," he said.
In 2003, females made up 38 percent of the tenured faculty. White males make up the majority of tenured faculty.
