The idea was to give them more time before coming up for tenure. They would have to ask to be placed on the tenure track, or their department head could decide when that should happen. Critics of the proposal say it would weaken tenure and make it difficult for them to recruit people in the basic sciences. Other medical schools have opted for more-modest changes, such as requiring tenured faculty members to undergo performance reviews. Not everyone in the department has warmed to the idea, he added.
Some faculty believe they are above review.
The department has not fired any faculty member because of a negative review, Mr. Eisenberg said. A third faculty member whose salary was cut after consistently poor reviews is fighting the action, he said. The need for a reward system that would be more effective in motivating faculty members was a common concern at the meeting. But we should worry about our reward systems, because they create fixed behaviors. Throughout the meeting, some of the few voices of dissent came from the American Association of University Professors.