Faculty: Students & Tenure at Yale

Some student protests have a way of producing results. Last winter Yale decided not to grant tenure to Associate Philosophy Professor Richard J. Bernstein. He was a capable enough teacher, so the argument went, but he had failed to publish a sufficient number of scholarly papers (TIME, March 12). Bernstein was popular with the Yalies and they raised a ruckus. As a result, President Kingman Brewster Jr. named a committee to look into the whole matter of tenure. Last week, after studying the committee’s report, Brewster proposed a new plan for tenure procedures. Henceforth, suggested the president, certain Yale students would be permitted to offer their recommendations on the question of faculty careers.

Brewster’s eleven-man study committee proposed only that a candidate’s teaching ability should be considered by his department in recommending tenure. But Brewster insisted on spelling out the teaching factor. Under his plan, departments must provide written statements “specifying the candidate’s teaching record and an evaluation of his effectiveness as a teacher.” Moreover, each honor graduate and student who gets a graduate degree would be invited to submit “a written appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of his educational experience, including the quality of instruction in lecture courses, discussion courses and seminars.” These reports would be made available to tenure committees.

Student evaluation of a teacher’s performance is naturally a controversial matter. Many teachers contend that students can be too easily swayed by the showmanship of popular lecturers, who may not, in fact, be on top of their disciplines or who may not demand enough of their students. By limiting teacher appraisal to the brightest graduates, Brewster hopes to get mature, objective judgments. The plan is still subject to full faculty approval—and a lively debate is likely.

While willing to listen to the kids, Brewster and Yale are not about to let even a good teacher reach tenure without publishing. The study report still insists that the published papers of a tenure candidate are “the most tangible and enduring demonstration of a scholar’s distinction.”