Hunter
04/09/21
The State Board of Regents annual Tenure Report shows a drop in tenure-track and non-tenure track faculty members at the University of Iowa, Iowa State and the University of Northern Iowa for this academic year compared to the year before.
The Daily Iowan reports that Regents Chief Academic Officer Rachel Boon saw a parallel between the decline in faculty with the decline in enrollment. They had previously reported that the regent universities have seen a four-year decline in enrollment and cited a dwindling pool of college-age students and significant drops in international students.
The report specifically cites the drop in international student enrollment, as well as an overall lower freshman population.
At the U of I, there were 105 fewer faculty members compared to the year before, with tenured faculty declining by 18.
In this year’s state legislative session, a bill was advanced out of a House education subcommittee that would have phased out tenure at the regent universities. Regents Chief Government Relations Officer Keith Saunders told the Senate subcommittee that the tenure bill would be one of the most harmful pieces of legislation affecting the universities. It ended up expiring last week.
The DI reports that the regents recommended the approval of 237 tenure and general promotions for the current academic year at Wednesday’s meeting.