The case for tenure

Horn talks about the need for more tenure, not less, in Canadian university. Chances are that many of the critics are not completely sure what tenure is. But they do seem to be sure that they don't like it and want it replaced. The substitute most frequently mentioned is a system of renewable contracts of five to ten years in length, with safeguards for academic freedom. The idea that tenure was invented so that academic freedom might be secure seems almost an article of faith in the academy. Yet it is mistaken. Tenure does protect academic freedom, but that was not its primary role in much of Canadian university history. Known as a continuing appointment or appointment without term, tenure conferred a high degree of security on people who would, if dismissed, have found it difficult if not impossible to obtain comparable alternate employment.