Efforts to modify or eliminate tenure protections for university professors are gaining traction in state legislatures, with proposed bills in Kentucky and Kansas aiming to redefine faculty employment standards.
In Kentucky, House Bill 424, sponsored by Republican Rep. James Tipton, would require public college and university professors to undergo performance and productivity reviews at least every four years. The bill, which passed a House committee along party lines, would allow institutions to dismiss faculty who fail to meet established performance standards.
“There are many protections that tenure offers professors, like freedom of speech, academic freedom. This in no way impacts that,” Tipton told Louisville Public Media (LPM).
However, opponents argue the bill could undermine tenure and make it harder for institutions to attract and retain faculty. Bernadette Barton, a sociology and gender studies professor at Morehead State University, noted that universities already conduct regular performance reviews.
“Tenured faculty, including myself, who have been at the university for 25 years, we undergo annual reviews every year already. We are already evaluated,” Barton told LPM.
Critics, including students like Savannah Dowell from the University of Louisville, warn that the bill could worsen faculty retention issues. “Faculty are already leaving our institutions under an increasingly hostile political environment, and further barriers to tenure would deter the highest quality faculty from seeking employment here in Kentucky,” she told LPM.
Meanwhile, Kansas legislators are considering a more drastic change. A new bill, introduced on behalf of Emporia State University’s legal counsel, would end tenure protections by eliminating the presumption of future employment. Supporters argue that tenure poses financial liabilities and that constitutional free speech protections are sufficient for academic freedom.
University leaders, faculty, and students have pushed back, warning of severe consequences for Kansas higher education. University of Kansas Chancellor Douglas Girod stated that weakening tenure would undermine faculty recruitment and have significant economic repercussions.
“If tenure was eliminated or significantly weakened, that would have a devastating impact on our institution’s ability to recruit and retain the best scholars in the country,” Girod told the Topeka-Capital Journal.
The bill has also sparked controversy over allegations that Republican leaders pressured universities to avoid opposing the measure. Gov. Laura Kelly’s chief of staff, Will Lawrence, claimed lawmakers threatened to cut university funding if officials testified against the bill, an accusation legislative leaders denied.
The Kansas bill would also directly impact an ongoing lawsuit against Emporia State University, which faces legal action from 11 dismissed tenured professors. The Kansas Board of Regents had authorized faculty dismissals under financial hardship policies, but Emporia State was the only institution to act on them.
These legislative efforts in Kentucky and Kansas reflect a broader trend of state-level initiatives challenging tenure protections. Florida, for instance, has implemented a post-tenure review system that resulted in faculty terminations, a model that some lawmakers in other states may seek to replicate.
As the debate over tenure continues, faculty, students, and policymakers remain divided over whether these measures promote accountability or threaten academic freedom and institutional stability.
