Allysia Finley wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal titled Rebellion in the Faculty Lounge.
« Linfield University in bucolic McMinnville, Ore., resembles other small private colleges across the country struggling with financial pressures. »
« The new president, Miles K. Davis, wanted to shift Linfield University’s focus to meet student demand… “The academic world has become increasingly disconnected from the applied world,” says Mr. Davis, the university’s first black president, in a Zoom interview. »
« He’s expanded his college’s nursing and business programs and eliminated more than a dozen tenured faculty positions in liberal-arts disciplines… The average annual salary of a recent graduate of Linfield’s nursing program is $83,349, vs. $20,140 for a Linfield psychology degree, according to the U.S. Education Department’s College Scorecard. »
« Some liberal-arts programs had more faculty than students. So he did something unthinkable in academia: lay off tenured professors. “We looked at the 1940 AAUP document about tenure,” he says, referring to the American Association of University Professors, an organization of faculty and professional staff. “It’s meant to pursue academic freedom, not to guarantee employment for life.” … He adds that tenure under AAUP guidelines “protects academic freedom,” not defamation, and “does not arbitrate how we handle employment.” »
« When he arrived in Oregon, Linfield’s enrollment had been shrinking for six straight years… Linfield’s enrollment has grown 40% since he took the helm. »
Articles of Interest 