What happened to Utah lawmakers’ ‘strong appetite’ to weaken tenure for university professors?

There has been “a strong appetite” among conservative Utah lawmakers to significantly weaken tenure protections for public university professors.

But it appears that’s been fed — at least for now, the state’s commissioner over higher education said this week.

“They feel comfortable with where we are,” said Commissioner Geoff Landward during a meeting of University of Utah faculty on Monday. “The conversation has died down.”

While other parts of higher education are at risk — including its budget and programs — he believes tenure is no longer on the table for this upcoming legislative session.

The focus on tenure came up this year, Landward said, as 12 other red states looked at either eliminating tenure entirely or limiting the job security and academic freedoms for long-serving professors, according to a count from Inside Higher Ed.

Talking about what happened behind the scenes here, the commissioner said he and presidents from universities and colleges across the state spoke extensively to lawmakers, who he says had tenure perceptions that were not always accurate. “That has worked against higher education,” he said.

Those perceptions included that the state’s colleges have become too progressive — with the Utah House speaker voicing frustration at U. faculty, in particular, for defending pro-Palestine campus protests in April.

Instead of banning tenure benefits, though, Landward said what came out of the discussions was HB438. That was passed into law and requires public schools by the end of this year to create formal processes for approving tenure and regularly reviewing faculty members who have it.

The measure’s sponsor, Rep. Karen Peterson, R-Clinton, told The Salt Lake Tribune this week that she had concerns about the productivity of professors after they receive tenure — including how much research they do, how many papers they publish and whether they continue to teach courses.

Post-tenure reviews existed at some of the eight public colleges and universities in the state, but not all. Her bill required a uniform process.

The bill also included some provisions that have raised concerns, including when tenured faculty can be let go. Before, state law only allowed that if a university was in financial default or if there was cause for termination, such as misconduct.

Now, that can also occur if a program or department is discontinued or significantly changed. But faculty members with tenure must be paid a severance.

Peterson said that is bolder language. And it comes as Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz has pushed for programs to be cut that don’t have high graduation rates or don’t lead students to high-paying careers. Faculty, though, can also be shifted around instead of let go.

It’s unclear if Schultz would like to see further changes to tenure, along with his proposals for program “realignment.” Requests for comment to the offices of Schultz and Senate President Stuart Adams were not returned.

For her part, Peterson isn’t currently looking at further legislation, aligning with Landward’s hopes that it won’t be on the chopping block this year.

Peterson said she would like to see how HB438 works first and whether concerns continue.

“We really don’t know yet. It’s kind of a wait and see,” she said.

Christian Gardner, the chair of the University of Utah’s board of trustees, said he feels the new measure makes the processes and checks around tenure “more efficient.” There’s now a formal system for reviewing tenured faculty and ensuring there isn’t misconduct.

“Hopefully, we’re good on that one,” he also told U. faculty.

Landward said he supports tenure because it protects freedom of speech for academics, allowing faculty to do research and teach without fear of being shut down for their viewpoints — applying equally to conservative and liberal professors.

“We need to continue to protect anything we have that protects our freedom of speech and academic freedom,” he said. “I think it’s working the way it should work.”

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