TENURE DENIAL PROMPTS `PUBLISH OR PERISH' CLAIM

An associate professor at Southeast Missouri State University who has been denied tenure says he was the victim of the institution's "publish or perish" philosophy.

Despite being hailed as a good classroom teacher by students and faculty colleagues, Richard Hansen was denied tenure this spring on the grounds that he had not done enough research and scholarly activity since being hired six years ago.

On March 30, the Board of Regents denied Hansen tenure on the recommendation of the university administration. As a result, the economics teacher will be given a terminal contract for the 1993-94 academic year. At the conclusion of that year, his employment with the university will end.

Ironically, he was denied tenure only days after being notified that he had been nominated by a campus fraternity for the Professor of the Year Award.

Southeast's administrators declined to comment on the situation, arguing that it's an internal personnel matter.

But Hansen said the message from the university administration is clear. "They are certainly saying that research is more important than teaching."

Hansen and some of his colleagues in the economics department believe that the university places too much emphasis on faculty members doing research and getting it published in scholarly journals.

Under the university policy, faculty members are considered for tenure after a six-year probationary period.

Once granted tenure, faculty members are virtually assured of continued employment unless there's a clear case of neglect of duty, incompetence or moral turpitude.

Under Southeast's policy, Hanssen said, tenure is based on teaching, university service such as serving on committees and fulfilling departmental duties and professional growth.

The last area involves research and publication of that research, as well as such things as attendance and presentations at professional meetings.

In his years at Southeast, Hansen has authored only one research paper that has been published in a scholarly journal.

But he said professional growth involves more than having published research. He said he should have been given credit for textbook and journal manuscript reviews that he has done.

"I think it is arguable that I have done enough professional growth to warrant being granted tenure," he said.

Terry Sutton and Wayne Ewbank, tenured professors in the economics department who favored granting Hansen tenure, believe the university places too much emphasis on scholarly research.

"They tend to reward research and publishing relatively more than excellence in teaching," said Sutton.

He maintained that university administrators have placed an increased emphasis on research and publication dating back to 1980.

Ewbank said Hansen is one of the university's "better teachers." He said university administrators pay "lip service" to teaching as the school's top priority, but then turn around and deny tenure to a good teacher.

Ewbank said it's important for faculty members to keep up with the latest literature in their fields, but insisted that Southeast places too much emphasis on scholarly endeavors as opposed to classroom teaching.

Hansen, who has a doctorate in economics, believes that good teaching should be the primary focus at Southeast.

"At the undergraduate level, students don't benefit from faculty research," he said.

"Ninety percent of the research in economics is worthless. It is a game we play," said Hansen.

"Eighty or 90 percent of the research that is published doesn't appreciably push back the frontiers of knowledge. It does not better the world."

Hansen said it boils down to a numbers game in which faculty members are rewarded for how many research papers they get published. "If nothing else, it is easier to measure than quality," he observed.

Sutton, who was elected as the new chairman of the university's Faculty Senate last week, echoed that view. "I think the reason why research has been so preferred by administrators is that you can count the number of papers a professor has published.

"Much of what is published in this department is garbage," he added.

For example, a research paper on tourism in an African country would have "little relevance to Southeast Missouri," said Sutton. "The administrators don't care what the paper is about. All they care about is that it is there.

"It is a real bad situation," said Sutton. "All across the country, professors are trying to get published so they can protect their own jobs."

Sutton, who has taught at Southeast for 21 years, received tenure in the late 1970s. But at that time, faculty members were not required to have published research in order to be granted tenure.

At the time he received tenure, he had not authored any published research. "I got it without trying," said Sutton.

He maintained that the push for research and publishing of such work is partly due to the university's effort to have nationally accredited academic programs.

The emphasis being placed on research and publication is a concern to many faculty members at Southeast, and Hansen's situation is not an isolated case, Sutton said.

The new chairman expects the Faculty Senate to address the tenure issue in the coming school year.

Although he's only been at Southeast since 1987, Hansen has nearly 20 years of teaching experience at several Midwestern universities.

He recognizes that the emphasis on scholarly activity in granting tenure is not limited to Southeast.

Washington University in St. Louis recently denied tenure to a professor who had earned outstanding teaching awards from students and colleagues. In 1991, Rolling Stone magazine picked him as one of the nation's top 10 professors. The professor was denied tenure on the grounds of inadequate scholarly research.

Still, Hansen maintains there is a renewed national emphasis on classroom teaching. "I think SEMO is way behind the times. The trend is back toward teaching," he said.

Sheila Caskey, the university's interim provost, declined last week to comment on the issue, but in February she told The Capaha Arrow, Southeast's campus newspaper, that "the university wants the best faculty for students."

Hansen contends the best faculty for students are those that are the best teachers.

Art Wallhausen, assistant to the president at Southeast, also refused to comment about Hansen's situation. But he said, "There are always those who want to make an issue when they are denied tenure."

Wallhausen said, "It's generally accepted in academe that there is a correlation of some sort between one's scholarship, however you define that learning new things in your field and teaching effectiveness."

Hansen said he wants to continue to teach. "I love teaching. I can't imagine doing anything else."