Shared Governance

Pennsylvania’s Muhlenberg College may have become the first institution since Oct. 7 to oust a tenured faculty member for such statements, though the professor is appealing the decision and still receiving a salary.

After years of a disciplinary procedure, the lightning-rod law professor accused of “incessant racist, sexist, xenophobic and homophobic actions and statements” is now being punished.

From a historic strike to pro-Palestine protests and an athletic director’s resignation, the first African American president of one the nation’s largest universities faced controversy atop controversy over the past two years.

Some American Political Science Association members are criticizing their organization for welcoming back a pro-Trump think tank that has been absent from annual meetings since 2021. But the association says it was never banned.

The university says creative writing faculty recommended returning its Jones Lectureships to their “original intent” as short-term teaching appointments for talented writers. A lecturer of 20 years said he thinks there’s a “peasants and lords issue” in the program.

The conservative transformation of the institution continues, with gender studies texts being tossed and the faculty chair, plus other professors, taking leave.

After the state required post-tenure reviews, roughly one-fifth of the UF professors evaluated in the first round were either found lacking, decided to leave or chose to give up research—and likely their tenure with it. At Florida State, by contrast, all professors passed muster.

A study of around a decade of legislative proposals to ban tenure finds some common characteristics of states where these bills appeared. But while outright bans have so far failed, other laws—and actions outside of statehouses—have weakened tenure anyway.