By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | Georgia Gwinnett College’s 10th anniversary celebration last weekend was something of an extended “Wow,” as one person after another ticked off the tremendous accomplishments that the college has brought to Gwinnett.
There are many reasons for the spectacular growth of the college. But there was one idea unsaid from the speakers to the 318 persons who were feted with a good meal while listening to the college’s accomplishments.
One word never came up. That word is “tenure,” or as Georgia Gwinnett has done it, the lack of tenure.
On most college campuses across the nation, tenure is the goal of its professors, as they seek to provide themselves with security and protection in their educational careers. Those with tenure enjoy the agreement that they cannot be fired from their job for about any reason. It gives these professors academic freedom while seeking to create an atmosphere of stability.
These professors have earned tenure through solid teaching, refereed scholarship, research and through extensive university service. They no longer face uncertainties in a continually changing world where management often is fluid in an academic atmosphere.
Yet tenure also can result in job security for poor teachers. It can lead not to vibrancy, but laziness, as the inept can be protected by tenure. It also makes removing those tenured professors difficult, and can discourage untenured faculty.
GGC President Stas Preczewski, left, cues several students to express the college’s gratitude to an audience of more than 300 community, business and governmental leaders at the college’s recent Founder’s Celebration reception and dinner, held on campus in the Student Center. The event featured remarks by several individuals who reflected on the Gwinnett community’s efforts to establish the college, as well as GGC’s success and importance to Gwinnett, Georgia and beyond.
So when Dan Kaufman took the reins to start a new four-year college 10 years ago, the academic world was floored when it was announced that the college would not tenure its faculty. While some predicted possible failure from the academic world, what happened instead was an outpouring of professors seeking the few positions opened. Sometimes there would be 100 or more applications for one job.
By not offering tenure, the professors could concentrate on being excellent teachers, disposed to work closely with students, while not having to conduct research to get promoted. No longer would they have to concentrate on other matters. They were being hired to be superior teachers. Those applying relished the idea.
Those professors hired accepted this new venture in college teaching. They recognized that being close to students would be important, and understood the GGC mandate that they provide to every student the professor’s email and cell phone. This way the student and teacher can remain in contact at any time, day or night.
Such closeness works. Talk to GGC professors and they will tell you that they get 20-40 or more messages by text, phone and emails many days.
There’s more: Students attending many universities are often taught, especially in beginning core classes, by other than full-time professors. Research assistants, working under full professors, often are the main instructors. Not so at GGC: the faculty mostly have terminal degrees in their field, and are expected to do the teaching themselves. This is a major attraction for many of those enrolling at Georgia Gwinnett.
All in all, the overall experience that incoming GGC students find enhances the academic atmosphere. Students welcome this closeness to the professors, and work hard to live up to a high standard.
Many reasons abound for Georgia Gwinnett’s ten years of growth in students and growth in academic quality. Having non-tenured faculty is one of the keys to Georgia Gwinnett College’s success.
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