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47-517: Silvio Anthony Bedini (January 17, 1917 – November 14, 2007) was an American historian, specialising in early scientific instruments. He was Historian Emeritus of the Smithsonian Institution , where he served on the professional staff for twenty-five years, retiring in 1987. Bedini was born in Ridgefield, Connecticut , in 1917. In 1958 he accepted an invitation to write a brochure about

94-399: A class on medieval Islam, nor can an art historian run an organic chemistry lab. Moreover, there is no way that the employing institution can provide the kind of retraining that would facilitate such a transformation... even the largest and most well-endowed institution lacks the resources to reevaluate and replace its medieval Islamicists and algebraic topologists every year. Tenure thus lets

141-426: A pay increase may be required to compensate faculty members for the lost job security. Some U.S. states have considered legislation to remove tenure at public universities. A further criticism of tenure is that it rewards complacency. Once professors are awarded tenure, they may begin putting reduced effort into their job, knowing that their removal is difficult or expensive to the institution. Another criticism

188-459: A person has relinquished all the duties of their former position, and they may continue to exercise some of them. In descriptions of deceased professors emeriti listed at U.S. universities, the title emeritus is replaced by an indication of the years of their appointments, except in obituaries , where it may be used to indicate their status at the time of death. Emeritus (past participle of Latin emerere , meaning 'complete one's service')

235-412: A problem but fail to see how abolishing tenure would help. As things stand, some heterodox scholars do get hired and tenured.. If only the heterodox need formal protection, and we have a problem with growing orthodoxy, then eliminating the formal protection will exacerbate the problem." Skoble argues categorically and plainly against critics that say "tenure protects incompetent professors": "My argument

282-446: A relatively late age, as on average one becomes an Academic Assistant at the age of 42. In 2002 the "Juniorprofessur" position (comparable to an assistant professor in the US, but not always endowed with a tenure track) was introduced as an alternative to "Habilitation". However, the degree of formal equivalence between a "Habilitation" and a successfully completed "Juniorprofessur" varies across

329-510: A senator of the minority party who has previously served as president pro tempore of the United States Senate . It is also used in business and nonprofit organizations to denote perpetual status of the founder of an organization or individuals who made significant contributions to the institution. Phil Knight , for example, is the co-founder of Nike , and after decades of being the CEO , he

376-516: A series of attendant rights and benefits, yet this status is subject to discussion. In the W pay scale the professorial pay is related to performance rather than merely to age, as it was in C. Under the tenure systems adopted by many universities and colleges in the United States and Canada, some faculty positions have tenure and some do not. Typical systems (such as the widely adopted "1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure" of

423-497: Is a compound of the Latin prefix e- (variant of ex- ) meaning 'out of, from' and merere (source of 'merit') meaning 'to serve, earn'. The word is attested since the early 17th century with the meaning 'having served out one's time, having done sufficient service'. The Latin feminine equivalent, emerita ( / ɪ ˈ m ɛr ɪ t ə / ), is also sometimes used, although in English

470-445: Is essential in teaching and research in this regard. In the United States, tenure rights for teachers serving in (K-12) public schools also have been in existence for more than a hundred years. Defenders of tenure, like Ellen Schrecker and Aeon J. Skoble, generally acknowledge flaws in how tenure approvals are currently run and problems in how tenured professors might use their time, security, and power; however, as Skoble puts it,

517-571: Is now the emeritus of the company. Following her decision to retire from Democratic leadership, the House Steering and Policy Committee voted to grant Nancy Pelosi the title of Speaker Emerita in recognition of her service as Speaker of the House , while newly elected Speaker Mike Johnson referred to his ousted predecessor Kevin McCarthy as Speaker Emeritus . Cabinet of Singapore also adopted

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564-400: Is that it may cause the institution to tolerate incompetent professors if they are tenured. Gilbert Lycan, a history professor at Stetson University , writing in respect of a fellow professor he deemed unacceptable, stated that "the dean ... would not tolerate ineffective teaching by a non-tenured teacher who was making no effort to improve," thereby tacitly admitting, or at least leaving open

611-468: Is that the more I am persuaded that there is groupthink orthodoxy afoot, the more I want assurances that I would not get fired if I write an essay on free trade or the Second Amendment or a book on anarchism. I take it the counterargument is that the more entrenched the orthodoxy becomes, the less likely a heterodox scholar will be tenured, or even hired, in the first place... I can see that this poses

658-519: Is that when this happens, it is a malfunction of the system, not an intrinsic feature of its proper use. The way it is supposed to work is that incompetent professors do not get tenure in the first place. The rebuttal is 'but they do, therefore tenure is a bad idea.' But that is like arguing that because you ran a red light and caused a train wreck, driving is a bad idea." Some have argued that modern tenure systems diminish academic freedom, forcing those seeking tenured positions to profess conformance to

705-528: The American Association of University Professors ) allow only a limited period to establish a record of published research, ability to attract grant funding, academic visibility , teaching excellence, and administrative or community service. They limit the number of years that any employee can remain employed as a non-tenured instructor or professor, compelling the institution to grant tenure to or terminate an individual, with significant advance notice, at

752-482: The "downsides are either not as bad as claimed, or [are] costs outweighed by the benefits"—and he points out that the very debate about tenure in which he is engaging is made possible by the academic freedom which tenure makes possible. "Tenure remains scholars' best defense of free inquiry and heterodoxy," writes Skoble, "especially in these times of heightened polarization and internet outrage. Let us focus on fixing it, not scrapping it." Supporters of tenure argue that

799-433: The "social justice" element of Schrecker's defense makes it seem like present-day assurances of academic freedom create a politically left echo chamber in academic departments, Skoble observes that tenure thus becomes all the more necessary to preserve a diversity of ideas: "There is an orthodoxy in the academy, a well-documented leftward slant in political affiliation. To Bruce, this is an argument against tenure, but my point

846-511: The 1970s and 1980s and are often no longer refilled after a retirement. In order to attain the position of professor, in some fields, an academic must usually complete a " Habilitation " (a kind of broader second PhD thesis; the very highest degree available within the university, entitling the holder to be a "full professor"), after which they are eligible for tenureship. This means that, compared to other countries, academics in Germany obtain tenure at

893-561: The AAUP and the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), the 1940 Statement is endorsed by over 250 scholarly and higher education organizations and is widely adopted into faculty handbooks and collective bargaining agreements at institutions of higher education throughout the United States. This statement holds that, "The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition" and stresses that academic freedom

940-520: The DC Association of Land Surveyors, which extended to him an Honorary Membership in December 2003. Bedini was completing his twenty-third book. Emeritus Emeritus ( / ə ˈ m ɛr ɪ t ə s / ; female version: emerita ) is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using

987-906: The Smithsonian. For his research and publications in 1962 Bedini received the Abbott Payson Award of the Society for the History of Technology , and in 1997 in Darmstadt , Germany he was awarded the Paul-Bunge-Preis at the General Assembly of the German Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry "for the book of foremost quality on the history of scientific instruments." In 2000, in Munich , Germany he

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1034-700: The Third Reich. Adolf Hitler called universal education "the most corroding and disintegrating poison". He appointed Education Minister Bernard Rust , to ensure Nazi racial theories were integrated in university curriculums. This caused a purge of 1500 professors, and by 1939, nearly half of all faculty posts were occupied by Nazis. In the late 1940s, the University of Illinois at Urbana fired several prominent economists for teaching Keynesian economics . Danish universities in advertisements for faculty positions usually state that professor positions are tenured. However,

1081-408: The academic community avoid excessive turnover while still ensuring the quality of the institution's faculty. It is structured around two assessments – one at hiring, the other some six years later – that are far more rigorous than those elsewhere in society and give the institution enough confidence in the ability of the successful candidates to retain them on a permanent basis." Tenure also locks in

1128-427: The different states ( Bundesländer ), and the informal recognition of having served as a "Juniorprofessur" as a replacement for the "Habilitation" in the appointment procedures for professorships varies greatly between disciplines. Due to a university system that guarantees universities relative academic freedom, the position of professor in Germany is relatively strong and independent. As civil servants, professors have

1175-824: The dismissal had not followed the collective agreements and Thybo received an economic compensation. Thybo had insisted that he should be reinstated in his previous position, but this was not supported by the court and the university did not rehire him. The original form of academic tenure was removed in the United Kingdom in 1988 through the Education Reform Act . In its place, there is the distinction between permanent and temporary contracts for academics. A permanent lecturer in UK universities usually holds an open-ended position that covers teaching, research and administrative responsibilities. Academics are divided into two classes: On

1222-638: The early 1900s in part to prevent the arbitrary dismissal of faculty members who expressed unpopular views. One notable instance was the case of the resignation of Brown University president Elisha Andrews , who advocated silver coinage to reduce the impact on Americans and farmers who owed larger and larger loans due to deflation . The board of Brown University, many of whom were creditors and landowners (positions that benefited from deflation), told Andrews to cease his public advocacy. The Dean of Yale Law School , Francis Wayland , argued that Andrew's free expression threatened donations to Brown, and that money

1269-448: The end of a specified time period. Some institutions require promotion to associate professor as a condition of tenure. A university may also offer research positions or professional track and clinical track academic positions which are said to be "non-tenure track". Positions with titles such as instructor, lecturer, adjunct professor, research professor etc. do not carry the possibility of tenure, have higher teaching loads (other than maybe

1316-682: The highest professional standards while also trying to contribute in some way to the cause of freedom and social justice, I am viewed as a controversial figure in some circles. I would be seriously hampered in my work, however, if I was constantly worrying about losing my job because of something I wrote or said... Tenure is also the mechanism through which institutions create a protected space within which college and university teachers can exercise their craft without worrying that an unpopular or unorthodox undertaking might put their careers at risk. More concretely, it creates an economically secure cohort of senior faculty members who can (and sometimes do) defend

1363-629: The history of his hometown for its 250th anniversary, a project that just three months later resulted in a 411-page book titled Ridgefield in Review . In 1961 he accepted the offer of a position in Washington, D.C. , as curator in the Department of Mechanical and Civil Engineering at the Smithsonian Institution in the new Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History ), which

1410-618: The interpretation of tenure at Danish universities has been a matter of controversy. Denmark adopted a more hierarchical management approach for universities in the early 2000s. This new system was introduced by parliament on proposal by the Minister of Science, Technology and Development, Helge Sander , based on his vision that Danish universities in the future should compete about funding in order to increase their attention to marketing and industry. The controversial understanding of tenure in Denmark

1457-445: The kinds of financial remuneration that similarly educated individuals in other fields expect." Furthermore, Schrecker continues, because research positions require extreme specialization, they must consolidate the frequency and intensity of performance evaluations across a given career, and they cannot have the same flexibility or turnover rates as other jobs, making the tenure process a practical necessity: "A mathematician cannot teach

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1504-413: The level of mediocrity as those awarding the tenured professorships. For example, according to physicist Lee Smolin , "...it is practically career suicide for a young theoretical physicist not to join the field of string theory ." Economist Steven Levitt , who recommends the elimination of tenure (for economics professors) in order to incentivize higher performance among professors, also points out that

1551-622: The non-pecuniary aspects of academic compensation, lowering the required salary. Above all, however, tenure is essential because it protects academic freedom: not only in cases in which a scholar's politics may run counter to those of their department, institution, or funding bodies, but also and most often in cases when a scholar's work innovates in ways that challenge received wisdom in the field. As much as Ellen Schrecker identifies its flaws, she asserts tenure's crucial role in preserving academic freedom: And yet, despite its whittling away by such unfortunate decisions as Urofsky, Garcetti, and Hong,

1598-707: The one hand, professors (W2/W3&C3/C4 positions in the new and old systems of pay grades) are employed as state civil servants and hold tenure as highly safeguarded lifetime employment; On the other hand, there is a much larger group of "junior staff" on fixed-term contracts, research grants, fellowships and part-time jobs. In 2010, 9% of academic staff were professors, 66% were "junior staff" (including doctoral candidates on contracts), and 25% were other academic staff in secondary employment. Permanent research, teaching and management positions below professorship as an "Akademischer Rat" (a civil service position salaried like high school teachers) have become relatively rare compared to

1645-448: The previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some cases, the term is conferred automatically upon all persons who retire at a given rank, but in others, it remains a mark of distinguished service awarded selectively on retirement. It is also used when a person of distinction in a profession retires or hands over the position, enabling their former rank to be retained in their title. The term emeritus does not necessarily signify that

1692-726: The quality of American education as well as the ability of their colleagues to teach, do research, and speak out as citizens without fear of institutional reprisals. Such, at least, is the idealized version of the relationship between tenure and academic freedom. In elementary and secondary schools, tenure also protects teachers from being fired for personal, political, or other non-work related reasons: tenure prohibits school districts from firing experienced teachers to hire less experienced, less expensive teachers as well as protects teachers from being fired for teaching unpopular, controversial, or otherwise challenged curricula such as evolutionary biology, theology, and controversial literature. If

1739-483: The research positions), have less influence within the institution, lower compensation with few or no benefits (see adjunct professor ), and little protection of academic freedom . In response to Nazi manipulations of university faculty in Germany, the modern conception of tenure in US higher education originated with the American Association of University Professors ' (AAUP) 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure. Jointly formulated and endorsed by

1786-432: The security granted by tenure is necessary to recruit talented individuals into university professorships, because in many fields private industry jobs pay significantly more; as Schrecker puts it, providing professors "the kind of job security that most other workers can only dream of" counterbalances universities' inability to compete with the private sector: "Universities, after all, are not corporations and cannot provide

1833-420: The status of emeritus is occasionally granted to senior officials upon retirement. In Judaism , emeritus is often a title granted to long-serving rabbis of synagogues or other Jewish institutions. In some cases, the title is also granted to chazzans . Rabbi Emeritus or Cantor Emeritus is largely an honorific title. Since 2001, the honorary title of president pro tempore emeritus has been given to

1880-489: The title (e.g., "professor emeritus" or "emeritus professor"). When a diocesan bishop or auxiliary bishop retires, the word emeritus is added to their former title, i.e., "Archbishop Emeritus of ...". The term "Bishop Emeritus" of a particular see can apply to several people, if the first lives long enough. The title was applied to the Bishop of Rome, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI , on his retirement. In Community of Christ ,

1927-429: The traditional form of academic freedom still exists, misunderstood and imperiled as it may be. It exists by virtue of two practices that protect the job security and institutional authority of college and university teachers: tenure and faculty governance. It exists as well because of the procedural guarantees that surround those practices... My own experiences prove tenure's value. As a historian who wants to conform to

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1974-405: The use of emeritus and so far it has been conferred to Senior Minister of Singapore Goh Chok Tong in 2011, when he and then- Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew both stepped down from the upcoming cabinet as part of the party's renewal process. Goh retired from politics in 2020 , though his title as an emeritus was kept intact. Tenured Tenure was introduced into American universities in

2021-552: The word emeritus is often unmarked for gender. A tenured full professor who retires from an educational institution in good standing may be given the title " professor emeritus ". The title " professor emerita " is sometimes used for women. In most systems and institutions, the rank is bestowed on all professors who have retired in good standing, while at others, it needs a special act or vote. Professors emeriti may, depending on local circumstances, retain office space or other privileges. The adjective may be placed before or after

2068-924: Was awarded the Leonardo da Vinci Medal , "the highest recognition from the Society of the History of Technology." His memberships include the American Philosophical Society , the American Antiquarian Society , the Society of American Historians , the Washington Academy of Sciences , the Scientific Instrument Society (London), the Astrolabe Society (Paris), the Surveyors Historical Society, and most recently,

2115-449: Was demonstrated by University of Copenhagen in 2016, when the university fired the internationally renowned professor, Hans Thybo , due to what they regarded as unacceptable and untenable behavior (putting pressure on postdoc in regards of an employment survey and using private emails for work related matters despite repeated warnings about it). The handling of the firing was criticized by other researchers. A later court decision ruled that

2162-444: Was the life blood of universities. In 1897 Andrews was forced to offer his resignation, but there was a backlash by faculty and students who advocated that he should be protected under the principles of free speech. The board reversed its decision and refused Andrews' resignation. A year later, Andrews resigned anyway. Before Nazism , Germany had been a leader in academic tenure, but free speech and tenure were severely curtailed under

2209-720: Was under construction. By 1965, Bedini became Assistant Director of the Museum of History and Technology, and in 1972 was appointed Deputy Director of the National Museum of History and Technology. Following his tenure as Deputy Director, he served as Keeper of Rare Books at the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology, a branch of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries , from 1978 until his retirement in 1987. Afterwards, Bedini served as Historian Emeritus at

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