Gendered bias in peer-review and other forms of assessments is a well-studied area. But how do researchers actually execute their positions of power in recruitment processes? In Sweden, recruitment for academic tenure and the reviewers' reports are public and thus open for scrutiny. This study uses both bibliographic coupling and close reading of…

This report offers analysis of the University of Tennessee's Diversity Action Plans. Every academic college and every Vice-Chancellor Unit on campus issued plans. True to Chancellor Donde Plowman's vision, these colleges and units propose extensive and ideologically-charged reforms. The National Association of Scholars finds in these plans nothing…

The population of the United States is getting older. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), older workers -- which the BLS defines as those who are 55 and older -- made up 22% of the U.S. workforce in 2016, nearly double the 12% recorded in 1995. This increase is largely "fueled by the aging baby-boom generation, a large…

Teachers in Japan earn tenure on their first day of employment--not after two years of experience based on evaluations of teaching performance or student test scores. This is almost too good to be true. If tenure is so easy to attain, how do the Japanese make sure their teachers, especially novice teachers hired with little teaching experience,…

The attempt to rapidly increase access to primary education in developing countries like India over the past decade has created a need to commensurately increase the number of teachers in the system. In order to meet the burgeoning demand for additional teachers amidst fiscal constraints, India has chosen to actively promote the hiring of contract…

This report presents selected findings from the Public School District Data File of the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). SASS is a nationally representative sample survey of public and private K-12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. School districts associated with public schools and library…

It is indisputable that teachers and principals have the greatest impact on student learning. Unfortunately, the education system has hired and tenured thousands of ineffective teachers and principals, particularly in high-poverty urban and rural schools. As a consequence, these schools have low levels of student learning. To remedy this problem,…

The American higher education system faces tremendous pressure to enhance access and graduation rates. In a period of increasing financial difficulties, how will our nation's higher education institutions achieve these goals and how will they recruit faculty and staff their classes in the future? The answers to these questions, which are the focus…

This paper examines the processes of tenure denial and appeal from the standpoint of the author, who has been the Grievance Chair at Carleton University since 2000. The focus is on the ways that the grievance process as textually mediated provides for regulation and control over the forms of interaction between appellants and senior…

This paper provides an analysis of the potential impact of changes in recruitment and hiring processes in Portuguese higher education institutions--under the New Public Management framework--on the representation of women in academia. Based on official data from the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, two major…

In spring 2011, public higher education is under attack as never before. Public institutions have been targeted for drastic cuts in the past, but now the attacks are aimed at the very core of the educational enterprise and at the basic rights of college faculty and staff. This, in turn, has the potential of placing at risk the practices and…

The claim that faculty conduct research is one of the main justifications for the modern university. Supposedly, academe carries out important, cutting-edge inquiries in which society has an interest. In fact, states this author, research at American universities is becoming narrow and artificial, out of touch with social realities, and of…

Faculty of color continue to face challenges with recruitment, retention, and mentoring in academe. This article addresses issues that faculty of color in academe often face. It explores recruitment efforts and barriers and addresses issues associated with retention and obstructions to promotion and tenure. The article culminates with an…

It is important for administrators, faculty, and policy makers to understand and consider how policies commonly associated with non-tenure-track faculty roles and working environments impact student learning. Many policies impede the ability of faculty to provide effective instruction that is aligned with departmental and institutional goals for…

Organizational rules explain organizational stability and change. Using national surveys and fieldwork, we examine changes in tenure and promotion rules at comprehensive colleges and universities from 1969 to 2002. We find that increased rule founding and change arise from the increasingly rationalized environment, such as the academic…