Editorial, Opinion

STAFF EDIT: Keep race out of tenure

After recent complaints concerning Emerson College officials denying tenure to black professors, a question of race and policy is brought to the forefront. While racial diversity is important to and definitive of the higher-education microcosm ‘- especially in large metropolitan locations like Boston ‘- there is no stipulation explicitly regarding diversity in tenure procedures at Emerson.

Among Emerson’s three black tenured professors, two received their positions following lawsuits against the college. The administration claims that denial of tenure positions is purely a matter of the candidates not meeting academic and professional qualifications, yet history and statistics, to some, suggest otherwise. The fact that these cases ultimately led to lawsuits indicates a flaw in hiring procedure.

If the question of race really does come into play in the case of achieving tenure at universities and colleges throughout the country, it signifies a lack of necessary of policy regulations ensuring an equal opportunity for all eligible applicants. Race should not be a deciding factor in a job application, but it should never be a hindrance, and proper documentation of diversity policy must be clearly noted in all professional protocol. Without such disclaimer, incidences like the Emerson controversy become more cogent ‘- as Emerson’s position becomes less defendable – and onlookers become wary of the ethics of the institution.

Without some clearly delineated technicality forbidding discrimination in the hiring of university employees, candidates not only face the normal pressures of having to meet rigorous criteria for consideration for the position, but they face being subjectively judged based on race, gender, religious belief, or otherwise. And if this is a problem for candidates reaching for some of the highest-ranking positions in the institution ‘- becoming a tenured professor ‘- a question of trickle-down discrimination is raised. If there is unclear policy considering the discrimination of the most prestigious members of faculty, likely there are similar discrepancies throughout the rest of the hiring system as well.

This is not a question of affirmative action, nor is it an absolute accusation of university hiring policies being racially biased. Rather, it is a realization of an incomplete system, one that is missing basic expectations like the guarantee of anti-discrimination clauses in hiring procedures. Simple notations like this one might be as small as a sentence. However it could make a world of difference in streamlining hiring procedures, not only for professors at universities, but for all minorities seeking the employment for which they are, otherwise, unquestionably qualified.

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One Comment

  1. I applaud your effort to grapple with a complex issue in an even handed way. That said, I think you have misunderstood the matter. Discrimination in hiring decisions is not the issue. The hiring policies of Emerson and most other institutions clearly prohibit discrimination on the basis of factors such as race, religion and gender. Such discrimination is also illegal under federal and state law. <p/>You have also suggested that the tenure procedures at Emerson are deficient because “there is no stipulation explicitly regarding diversity in tenure procedures …” Are you suggesting that the tenure process should explicitly be used to increase diversity by holding candidates of color to a lower standard that other candidates? Or are you suggesting the absence of a diversity provision means that candidates of color are held to a higher standard than other candidates? Either way you are incorrect. Tenure decisions are made on a case-by-case basis based on an assessment of an individual’s teaching, scholarship and service to the community. All candidates are held to the same standards regardless of the race, religion, gender or any other inappropriate characteristic, and that is the way it should be.