The tenure debate: how US faculty change their research practices post-tenure

Zheng, Xiang; Ni, Chaoqun

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/122844 Copy

Description

Title

The tenure debate: how US faculty change their research practices post-tenure

Author(s)

• Zheng, Xiang
• Ni, Chaoqun

Issue Date

2024-03-20

Keyword(s)

• Tenure Track
• Research Evaluation
• Higher Education
• Bibliometrics

Abstract

Tenure is the bedrock upon which modern U.S. higher education is built. Granting tenure is a milestone in professors' careers, manifesting that one's academic contributions have undergone the most rigorous evaluations. Tenure also provides job security to professors, bestows them with vast academic freedom, and safeguards them from political retaliation. Some evidence showed reduced productivity for tenured professors and called for mandatory post-tenure evaluations, but few examined their research performance regarding aspects such as impact and novelty. Based on a dataset of 32,314 professors and over 1 million publications, we investigated how tenure-track professors' research practices shift after tenure. We found that although tenured professors’ productivity and publication impact tended to decrease over the years, their publications’ novelty appeared to increase, and they are increasingly more likely to explore new research interests. These findings offer valuable insights to make informed decisions regarding tenure policies and enrich public understanding of the tenure system's value and relevance.

Publisher

iSchools

Series/Report Name or Number

iConference 2024 Proceedings

Type of Resource

Other

Language

eng

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/122844

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2024 is held by Xiang Zheng and Chaoqun Ni. Copyright permissions, when appropriate, must be obtained directly from the authors.

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