The situation at the University of Southern Mississippi is alarming, since it involves the sudden termination of two tenured professors. Apparently, the administration acted against them for exposing the fact that the Vice-President had falsified her employment history when she applied for the job. Both professors are members of the AAUP, and one is, or was, the organization's president.

It is sad, but true, that we professors rarely act in concert, even when it is a matter of our own defense, or the defense of the disciplines we represent. That has got to to change. The administrative elite that now runs most of our colleges want to operate them like businesses, which means creating a flexible and pliable workforce that can hired and fired at will.

Forget tenure. It's over, or will be soon, at most public colleges and universities -- at least in all but name. Already low salaries will probably go lower, and as for health and retirement benefits? Forget about it. Think University of Phoenix.

If you, the readers of this blog, do not begin to take action by joining in the defense of your colleagues and disciplines, then should not be suprised to find in a few years that you have neither.

Join the AAUP; join FIRE; join the NAS today!

Robert L. Campbell - 3/8/2004

University administrators at state universities like USM would like to hire and fire faculty at will, but they are not interested in running their institutions on a business model. There are no owners or shareholders for them to be accountable to.