Academic tenure is a beast. The topic has been discussed for years and years throughout the academe, and now with new technologies, has gone the way of the blogger. Tenure is highly sought after by those that don’t have it and lamented by some that do. It’s appeal is understandable, but is it worth the trouble and endless amounts of antacids that it sometimes requires?
I am curious to see the effect of tenure on the Millennial generation. As the super educated and highly mobile generation begins working into the faculty ranks, I wonder where they will place priority. Will the Millennials be content with a paycheck for life, or, will they go the route of exorbitant short-term contracts and the freedom to move where they choose? If my students are any indication, they might go with the latter. Students today don’t like to be locked into anything (cell phone contracts, meal plans, on-campus housing, majors, etc.) so I don’t know how they would feel being locked into something like tenure, even if a paycheck is involved.
- Landon C. Clark
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