Tite. CtWofUMJCIb ^OWVMjJi
The Student Newspaper of tlie University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
olume XII, number 5
September 21,1976
“We’d, all very much like to see him buried, but he is
tenured, you know . . .
By Steve Bass
The concept ot tenure, or the
'ranting of permanence of an academic
josition, has been widely discussed on
he UNCC campus this year with
;ontroversy surrounding Dr. George
\bernathy of the History Department.
Vhen an individual acquires tenure, the
Jniversity must show grounds for
lismissal. In Dr. Abernathy’s case,
reported in the Carolina J ournal on
j/7/76) after- legal proceedings in
donroe, he was dismissed from his
position at the University. University
tfficals insist Dr. Abernathy’s dismissal
rad nothing to do with his legal
rroblems, saying the dismissal was due to
another problem we cannot discuss at
;his time.’ However, Abernathy’s
lismissal still represents the first release
rf a tenured professor in university
listory.
Tenure began in earnest in the United
states in the 1950’s during the Joseph
McCarthy era. It was devised as a system
rf protection and as a guarentee of
Tenure: What is it?
academic freedom in the face of mass
persecution by government. According to
Dr. Phillip Hildreth, vice chancellor of
academic affairs, the original goal of
preserving academic freedom has
remained the paramount reason for the
existence of the system? however, ‘the
system has also evolved into a form of job
security. Basically, when a person gets
tenure he gets protection. In order to
separate a tenured individual from the
university, the burden of proof rests with
the institution.’
The chief problem with sUch a
system would appear to be that
incompetent individuals are protected at
the expense of education. Dr. Hildreth
disagrees, ‘the system is a good one if you-
are careful.’ Stressing the vast screening
process which constantly occurs from the
decision to enter graduate school, to the
point of acquiring a Ph.D and beyond.
Dr. Hildreth concludes that very few
incompetent instructors survive.
Dr. Hildreth emphasised that tenure
is not automatically given an individual
due to senority or time spent at a
particular institution. He pointed out,
tenure is actually a slow, painstaking
process governed by syrict rules and
regulations, each designed to screen out
incompetency. ‘First of all tenure can
only be granted in the professorial rank
(assistant, associate, and full
professorship ranks). Generally, to get the
professorial rank you must have the
terminal degree in your field or the
equivalent.’ Dr. Hildreth said the terminal
degree in most fields would be a Ph.D,
but in some, such as architecture, a
master’s degree or work experience could
qualify an individual for a professorship.
At this point, it is important to
determine the difference between an
appointment, and tenure. An
appointment, according to Dr. Hildreth is
a contract between an individual and an
institution, for a certain span of time,
generally one to four years. ‘During the
contract time you have full rights of
tenure,’ said Dr. Hildreth. Tenure, on the
other hand, implies a permenance of
positional rights.
‘It is at the rank of assistant
professorship that an appointment is first
granted,’ siad Dr. Hildreth. ‘The term is
for a period of four years. Before the end
of the third year a faculty member must
be informed if he or she will receive a
reappointment without tenure, a
promotion with or without tenure, or
non-reappointment.’ (Dr. Hildreth
stressed that non-rea] ] pomt,emt was not
like being fired, and can be administered
to tenured faculty, without ‘burden of
proof, at the end of a contract period. In
short, non-reappointment is analagous to
not having a co .ract renewed.) ‘If the
assistant professor is given an extended
appointment without tenure, it is for a
period of three years. At the end of the
sixth year (since the moment of original
hiring) the professor will be informed if
he will receive a non-reappointment or a
reappointment with tenure. Essentially,
this means that we cannot keep a person
at the position of assistant professor
beyond seven years without tenure being
granted.’
The grant of tenure, in the University
of North Carolina system, can only be
confered by the University Board of
Governors. Dr. Hildreth explained that
despite the fact that a tenure grant had
been awarded by the state-wide Board of
Governors, no carry-rrver honor existed in
other state- supported institutions. ‘The
tenure would only apply to UNCC. If the
professor moves to any other university,
state or out-of-state, the process of
acquiring tenure begins again,’ said Dr.
Hildreth.
‘Let us assume,’ siad Dr. Hildreth,
‘that during the period of appointment a
person receives a promotion from
assistant to associate professorship. This
promotion could be with or without
tenure granted. Assuming the promotion
is without (enure, before the end of the
sixth year (counted as the combination of
the assistant and associateships) the
person would again be notified if they
coidd expect to receive a
non-reappointment, or appointment with
tenure, and at this stage to be appointed
(Continued page nineteen)
'^Movement Education^ takes place of PE’ major
By Becky Mooneyhan
For several years many students
r ve wondered why there is not a
program for Physical Education majors at
JNCC. Dr. Murphy, head of the P.E.
department, there were two reasons why
JNCC does not offer a P.E. major for
nterested students.
The first and foremost reason is that
)f choice. Dr. Murphy stated that the
JNCC Physical Education department
‘chooses not to have a P.E. major
Decause it is such a large undertaking.” A
^.E. major would involve support from
he university in classroom facilities,
jquipment, library materials and
specialized faculty in such areas as
Dhysical education history, physical
ducation philosophy, exercise
ahysiology and elementary and
secondary education. Since the university
Aforks on such a limited budget, it would
ilmost be impossible to finance such a
program without some form of federal
lid.
The second reason is that the North
!arolina Board of Governors will not
permit multiple duplication of majors. At
the present time there are 12 or 13
universities in North Carolina which offer
P.E. degrees. N.C. State, UNC-A and
UNCC are among the state universities
which do not offer P.E. degrees.
In lieu of the absence of a P.E.
degree, the university P.E. department is
trying to meet the demands for a P.E.
major by offering a concentration in
Movement Education. Even though
Movement Education does not offer a
degree, it thrives on the idea that a
person can learn to be more efficient in
universal movements. For example, one
can learn to strike a tennis ball from a set
position, but unless he is able to rnake
the correct and appropriate movements,
he will miss the ball.
Some people seem to be born natural
athletes and seem to adapt to certain
cues. By making an individual more
aware of his bodily' functions, the
program is hoping to improve the
individual’s movements and skills.
Not only has the P.E. Department
been concerned with a concentration of
Movement Education but also are giving
some consideration to a concentration in
coaching, due to student demand. When
asked why students want a P.E. degree,
they often reply that they want to coach
in schools or neighborhood athletic
clubs. It’s possible that if the students
demonstrate genuine desire in a coaching
program, the P.E. department may make
preparations in that direction.
By offering such concentrations as
Movement Education and Coaching, (he
university will have to cut the number of
skills courses to free existing faculty.
Because of the expense of paying faculty
with doctorate degrees or assistant
professorships, and the lack of P.E.
graduate students, the university must
(Continued on page fifteen)
A look at long-range planning
By Becky Mooneyhan
During the past week, the Carolina
Journal has been investigating several
problems faced by the faculty, staff and
students. We have found that the
administration is aware of many of our
problems and are taking steps to solve
them.
After talking with several high
administrators, we decided to run a series
of articles to inform the student body of
the long range projects faced by the
university. Students are virtually
uninformed on what will be happening to
their university in the years to come. We
hope to provide an overview of what may
happen through this series.
We would like to thank all members
of the administration who helped us with
this series. Without their support in
supplying vital information, it could
never have been written.
In May 1974, Caudill, Rowlett, and
Scott, as architectural planning firm out
of Houston, Texas, came out with an
extensive long range study on the
University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
This plan allowed the freedom that was
needed by the university for its growth
and encouragement of learning and
expression of new ideas. Due to the
unpredictable growth of the university,
the CRS study didn’t attempt to make
any predictions, but did make
recommendations for the university at a
particular time. The CRS study
reinforced the following concepts:
The beautiful UNCC campus site
which land develpment will be restricted
to the least sensitive areas as determined
by the flood plain, 15% slopes,
vegetation, ecology and winter winds, in
order to utilize the space in an efficient
way. The plan should reate an urban scale
of living in a university environment.
A pedestrain street system should be
established within the academic core to
create an ease of movement, and
sufficient lighting.
Valued spaces such as the Rock, Belk
Tower area and the lawn greens are to be
preserved.
People places are provided to provide
the students a place for social and
academic interrelationships.
Visitor and public traffic is separated
(Continued page eight^n)
Republican gubernatorial
candidate David Flaherty will be on
campus this Wednesday, September
22 in room 107 of the Cone
University Center Extension.
Everyone is invited to attend.