Board of regents members of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System have decided the negatives of eliminating tenure outweigh the positives. Thus, the KCTCS board Friday voted unanimously to rescind a decision made in the spring to eliminate tenure for faculty hired on or after July 1.
Friday’s vote came five days after Kentucky Attorney General Assembly Jack Conway issued an advisory opinion that found the KCTCS board of regents did not have the authority to refuse tenure for faculty hired after June 30. Conway said state law mandates that new faculty in the system must have some path toward tenure.
Conway’s opinion was just that — an opinion that did not carry the force of law. However, its issuance virtually guaranteed a prolonged court battle over tenure, and that possibility is apparently what prompted the KCTCS board to have a change of heart.
“Although we disagree with the attorney general’s opinion and believe it is the board’s right to set policies and procedures related to personnel, we believe it is time to move forward with the agenda of KCTCS to transform the lives of our students and the commonwealth,” said board chairman Thomas Zawacki, following the vote. “It is time to heal and work together for the common good of our students.”
Translation: While the board believes it has the right to end tenure, it does not think the advantages of ending tenure are so great that it is worth fighting in court for. The turmoil a long court battle over tenure would cause on the campuses of the 16 community and technical colleges are not worth the advantages that may be gained from eliminating tenure.
At the time of the board’s decision to end tenure for new faculty we could see how no tenure could give the college more flexibility in eliminating positions and programs that no longer are needed, and we supported the decision.
However, we also agree that the amazing growth of the community and technical college system is the great success story in higher education in Kentucky as more people than ever are getting their first taste of college life or learning critical job skills at the community and technical colleges.
That’s what Zawacki was talking about when he said it was time for the board to put the tenure decision behind it and “move forward” with the college’s primary task of providing quality instruction to students to help assure their success in life.
By restoring tenure, the board has ended the debate on a highly controversial issue. As Zawacki said, “It is time to heal and work together.”
