UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank said the university’s new tenure policy approved by the UW System Board of Regents Friday is “workable” and should reassure faculty, according to a post on her online blog.
The regents voted unanimously to pass the policy, which includes protections surrounding eligibility for severance pay and hearings for faculty members recommended for layoff.
Additionally, Blank said some of the provisions allow faculty to “play a strong role” in any decision concerning program closures or financial emergencies.
A need for the policy’s creation arose systemwide when Gov. Scott Walker removed tenure protections from legislation last July. According to the blog post, UW-Madison’s Faculty Senate approved a policy specific to the university in November, the amended version of which was approved by the regents.
Blank said although there was controversy surrounding the policy’s use of “less robust language” around finding alternatives for faculty if their program closes, all steps will be taken to retain UW-Madison’s tenured faculty.
“As long as this University is a top-ranked institution we will behave like other top-ranked universities,” Blank said in the post. “That means we don’t layoff tenured faculty. Period.”
The newly approved policy is consistent with the university’s peer institutions, Blank said, and she urged readers to look to the tenure policies from the University of North Carolina or the University of Michigan to make comparisons.
“After a difficult nine months of debate, I hope everyone will give this new policy a chance,” Blank said in the post. “Let’s move on to the many other challenges and opportunities in front of us.”
