Fixed-term jobs cut for tenure spots

Eight fixed-term faculty members in University Studies will lose their jobs because of the addition of 25 new tenure-line faculty positions the administration plans to incorporate into departments around Portland State over the next three years.

The new positions are being created in order to connect University Studies with other departments, which has been difficult in the past because of how many fixed-term faculty historically teach in University Studies, according to Sukhwant Jhaj, director of University Studies. The 25 new tenure-line faculty members will be housed in different departments on campus, but will also teach classes in University Studies.

Fixed-term faculty are hired on a term-by-term basis. The university plans to end some fixed-term lines, or not rehire those faculty members. University administrators say that budget constraints prevent them from paying for the new tenure-line faculty as well as the fixed-term faculty.

Of the 25 positions being created, eight faculty members who currently teach in University Studies will be given tenure, while the remaining will be hired from outside PSU, said Shawn Smallman, vice provost for instruction and dean of undergraduate studies.

“It’s an issue of fairness,” Smallman said about filling some of the positions with current faculty. “We have people who have devoted years to creating this program. But obviously, if we’re creating tenure lines, the number of fixed-term decrease.”

Jhaj, who created the proposal for the new positions, said people who teach as fixed-term faculty within University Studies often change every few years, making the department unstable. More tenure-track positions will mean that more professors will stay in the department longer, he said.

“It is very important that this department becomes permanent and connected,” Jhaj said. “If this program is to be permanent, it has to be with tenure lines.”

The connection comes with creating shared lines of tenure, Jhaj said. For example, an English professor would have a tenure line with the English department, but would also be responsible for teaching in University Studies courses.

Smallman said there were certain criteria that were measured when selecting the fixed-term faculty who will not be rehired, such as department seniority, faculty qualifications and which departments were receiving new positions.

Through departmental search committees, each respective department has been responsible for choosing which fixed-term faculty members made the leap to tenure track. A national search committee will be used to find the out-of-house hires.

Nine departments from across campus, ranging from International Studies to Physics, have been selected to receive new tenure track positions, Jhaj said. Of the nine new positions to be filled in the first year, three will be filled by existing fixed-term faculty, he said.

Because of the limited number of positions filled in-house, Smallman said, some talented faculty will have to be passed over.

“This is what’s hard,” Smallman said, “because you have outstanding teachers who are very strong who will not be moving into these positions.”

Victoria Pohl, a fixed-term assistant professor in University Studies, is one of the professors who will not be rehired. She was informed last Friday, when Smallman sat down to talk with the eight fixed-term faculty.

“My personal take is a little bit of confusion, and a certain amount of heartbreak,” Pohl said. “I don’t want to leave PSU, for any reason–I’ve been teaching here as an adjunct since ’86.”

Although she said she wants to see the University Studies department prosper, Pohl said it is too soon after the shock of being fired to really know what to think about the situation.

“The tenure lines, in my view, are fantastic,” she said. “What a great gift to the university.”

But Pohl said she is still struggling with her personal feelings.