A committee is one assistant professor’s last shot at a tenure position — and his job at Ohio University.
Timothy McKeny, assistant professor of teacher education, made his final appeal for tenure to the Promotion and Tenure Hearing Committee on Thursday to receive tenure and extend his contract, which expired Aug. 31.
OU President Roderick McDavis will ultimately decide whether to award him tenure after reviewing the committee’s summary.
The committee has 15 days to submit its letter to McDavis, who then has 30 days to decide, according to the OU Faculty Handbook.
McDavis declined to comment before a decision has been made.
After a probationary period, which began in 2006, McKeny was first recommended for tenure by the department of teacher education, which urged him to continue the tenure process, he said in his defense statement.
McKeny made $58,000 before his contract expired.
He was first denied tenure by Renée Middleton, dean of the Patton College of Education, because he failed to complete a sufficient number of publications before the end of his probationary meeting.
“It did not seem to me that effort was really put forward until 2011-12, and if that kind of effort had been applied in 2007 — upon which it was first stated for the need — we would not be here today,” Middleton said during the hearing.
McKeny appealed to Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit, who reviewed the proceedings of his case and decided his tenure denial had adequately considered the evidence and had not violated due process nor academic freedom, said Howard Dewald, associate provost for faculty and academic planning.
McKeny then appealed to Faculty Senate’s Promotion and Tenure Standing Committee, which decided a hearing was necessary to reconsider whether the case had proceeded with inadequate consideration of evidence, violation of due process or violation of academic freedom, said Elizabeth Sayrs, Faculty Senate chair.
McKeny argued Middleton inadequately considered evidence, which led to several violations in due process, and the written policy between the departmental reviews of tenure candidates and the dean encourages a disconnect that leads to appeals.
“There should be more transparency, clarity and consistency in terms of how faculty are assessed and evaluated in terms of these very, very important decisions,” McKeny said.
Faculty Senate’s Promotion and Tenure Standing Committee sees an average of one tenure appeal a year.
Bill Reader, associate professor of journalism, successfully appealed to a hearing committee for tenure in 2010, and agreed it should involve impartial decision-makers and clear instructions for tenure candidates.
“A tenure denial can seriously harm, if not destroy, a professor’s career,” Reader said. “(We) have to make sure that any who abuse that process are held accountable for their misconduct.”
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