This means faculty can be, should be, and are fired for incompetence or failure to fulfill their professional responsibilities, such as teaching. The reward of tenure does not come easily. I received tenure only after a rigorous review of my performance over a six-year probationary period. Our faculty must demonstrate not only a distinguished record of teaching, research, and service, but also the promise of continued performance at that high level. Tenure is not an end in itself, but a way to guarantee the academic freedom to inquire and to teach without fear of retaliation.
Tenure is important because to teach and research well means making people think.
If we are not stimulating, we are not doing our job well. This often means challenging popular assumptions and commercial interests. Tenure has provided a shield against vested interests angered by such challenges to accepted authority, whether in the sciences, humanities, or elsewhere. This institutionalization of free thought has elevated the American university into a strong and dynamic engine that has educated millions of students, created new knowledge, and laid the foundation for some of the finest achievements of Western civilization. Due process is not a scheme to ensure the continued employment of lawyers.