A Conservative Defense of Tenure

By Peter Augustine Lawler. A standard feature of conservative and libertarian attacks on higher education is a polemic against tenure. My own view is that tenure is a fundamentally conservative institution—one that deserves to be defended. Although tenure is not in immediate danger at some of our best colleges, it’s naïve to believe that it has much of a future. Its disappearance is part of our current movement from defined benefits to defined contributions. Risk is being transferred from the employer to the employee. Employer and employee loyalty, in turn, are withering away. Fewer and fewer people can expect to have a career at a single institution, whether Apple or Stanford. More employees are becoming independent contractors, selling their skills for a price to whoever needs them at the moment. More...