Opinion ID: 4545719
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Tenure Policies and Guidelines

Text: As a tenure-track employee, Wigginton was required to complete a fiveyear probationary period before he would become eligible for a formal process of tenure review. During Wigginton’s time with the University, three separate tenure documents governed the terms of his employment. 1 The University’s policy, which applies to all schools within the University of Mississippi system, provides that tenure candidates will be evaluated on three different axes: “teaching, research and/or creative achievement, and service.” The policy defines “research and creative achievement” as scholarly work that “make[s] contributions to the expansion of knowledge and indicate[s] the professional vitality of the candidate.” It identifies several examples of achievement in this 1 According to the University’s “Tenure Policies and Procedures” document, the Provost or Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs bears the responsibility of ensuring “that each school’s or department’s standards are consistent with the University’s mission.” 2 Case: 19-60268 Document: 00515474748 Page: 3 Date Filed: 07/01/2020 No. 19-60268 area, including “articles in refereed or other scholarly professional journals.” 2 Textbooks are not included in the policy’s list of scholarly achievements; instead, the University policy explains that a professor’s contributions to textbooks are evaluated as an aspect of the professor’s teaching abilities. The School of Applied Sciences (“the School”) maintains its own tenure guidelines. Like the University policy, the School’s guidelines explain that “instructional textbooks” will be evaluated as an aspect of a professor’s teaching abilities—not his scholarly and research skills. The School’s guidelines emphasize the importance of research, warning that tenure will not be granted unless the professor establishes a “continuous record of scholarship in refereed, academic journals.” Finally, the Legal Studies Department (“the Department”) maintains its own “Guidelines for Tenure and Promotion.” In contrast with the above documents, the Department’s guidelines explain that a candidate’s publication of textbooks by a “recognized professional press” will be considered when evaluating the professor’s research and scholarship contributions. The Department guidelines do not require professors to publish articles in refereed journals in order to become eligible for tenure. All three documents contain language that highlights the subjective nature of the tenure review process. Though the University’s policy notes that “[t]here is an understanding that good faith is a requirement for all facets of th[e] policy,” it also explains that candidates who meet the specified criteria are not necessarily guaranteed a tenure award. The University’s policy explains that candidates may be denied tenure if they are not “fitted or needed to serve the present and future needs of the University’s programs.” Likewise, 2 A “refereed” journal is a journal that ensures rigorous review of scholarship by experts within a scholar’s field before articles are selected for publication. 3 Case: 19-60268 Document: 00515474748 Page: 4 Date Filed: 07/01/2020 No. 19-60268 both the School and Department guidelines explain that a candidate’s scholarship record is measured in terms of quantity and quality. The quality of a professor’s research contributions will be judged by objective and subjective measures, including by the opinions of peer scholars in the professor’s field, “ranking sources for journals, [and] citations and citation rates (when available).”