To address an ongoing faculty controversy, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston is considering adding a new layer to its tenure-renewal process, but it also plans to keep its current system of renewing faculty appointments every seven years, a senior institution official said.
The controversy ignited two years ago when two professors did not have their appointments renewed for another seven years, even though they had received unanimous endorsements from MD Anderson's faculty promotion and tenure committee. The reasons remain under dispute, but angry faculty said it epitomized the institution's lack of shared governance. A report issued April 8 by the American Association of University Professors supports their claim. Faculty leaders argued that the real issue was that the committee's recommendations were ignored, illustrating how little professors share in the institution's governance.
Dan Fontaine, MD Anderson's executive chief of staff, said the controversy may be overblown. He noted that MD Anderson President Dr. Ronald DePinho has agreed with about 97% of the faculty advisory committee's unanimous recommendations. The previous administration had a 99% tenure renewal rate for unanimous recommendations.
Fontaine said the university still plans to consult with previous faculty committee chairs, as well as the University of Texas System's executive vice chancellor for health affairs before issuing a ruling that goes against a unanimous faculty recommendation. The new process will be reviewed after three years.
However, MD Anderson is not likely to change its seven-year faculty appointment system.
