Published: March 4, 2010

In the complex institutional structure of the American university, there is no relationship of greater importance than the one between professor and student. At Fordham, there are many professors who will guide us, acting as our advisers and mentors, helping us grow from timid freshmen to savvy seniors. When we graduate, these professors will take pride in the Fordham alumni they helped produce. They are the ones that are rigorous, but fair, as Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, said in Nadine Deninno’s article, “The Most Coveted Title: Becoming Tenured,” on page 1.

Then there are the professors who consistently arrive late to class and show little interest in the students sitting in front of them. These professors read straight from the textbook, assign meaningless work and make themselves unavailable for help outside of class.

Because Fordham, like nearly all universities, operates a tenure system as described in Deninno’s article, some professors are offered lifelong teaching appointments in their respective departments. Offering tenure to a professor will affect future students and help shape the quality of a Fordham education for years to come. The tenure process should be made participatory so current Fordham students can ensure that a greater number of professors from the former category become permanent faculty members.

Leonard Nissim, mathematics assistant professor at FCLC, acknowledges in Deninno’s article that collegiality among faculty is non-quantitative consideration in the tenure process. Shouldn’t, then, esteem among students factor into the faculty decision as well? It is the students who are most affected by a professor’s intangible qualities like dedication, approachability and energy – traits that do not appear on a CV.

Admittedly, students don’t always treat the end-of-the-semester instructor evaluations seriously. We are given a bubble sheet in every class and told to objectively rank our professors – from first year adjuncts to associate department chairs – on the same scale. We should be made aware when our input will actually influence faculty promotions so we can treat such evaluations with the seriousness they deserve.

The entire tenure process should be made more transparent, for that matter. Candidates for tenure, and their qualifications, should be made public, and while we respect the need for privacy in some portions of the tenure process, there should be at least one open hearing during which students can voice their opinion of the candidates. To deny students this opportunity is a tacit accusation that we could not and should not bear such a responsibility.

If Fordham’s tenure policy aims to promote professors who have contributed great service to the university, a faculty member’s respect among students should be given greater weight. There could no greater sign of a professor’s service to the Fordham mission than a student body stepping forward to offer their support. We deserve the opportunity to do so.