On Tuesday, May 12, 2015, the University Senate approved the following resolution in support of tenure at UW-Eau Claire. The resolution was brought to the University Senate after it was approved unanimously by UFAS-UWEC members at their Spring General Membership Meeting. Thanks to all academic staff and faculty who voted for the resolution, and a special thanks to those who worked so hard to make it happen.
Whereas the historic and continuing purpose of tenure is to enable, and ensure academic freedom,
whereas our UW-Eau Claire mission statement commits us, all of us, to strive to engage with intellectual courage, and academic freedom is necessary for us,
whereas our UW System mission statement commits us, all of us, to the pursuit of truth, and academic freedom is necessary for us to be able to do so,
whereas tenure provides a positive incentive for faculty to commit themselves, long-term, to work for the greater good of their institution, community, state, profession, fields of intellectual inquiry, and society at large,
whereas tenure provides a positive incentive for faculty to assume greater responsibilities in areas of institutional, professional, and community service, and to pursue innovative directions without readily guaranteed or immediately practically visible results in teaching and scholarship,
whereas tenured faculty of UW-Eau Claire have continued, overwhelmingly, to exemplify excellence in their profession, in spite of compensation consistently below the national average, and in spite of budget cuts that have otherwise significantly complicated their efforts,
and whereas academic institutions without effective tenure protection will become much less attractive to faculty, thereby making those institutions uncompetitive in attracting and retaining the faculty necessary to accomplish the institution's mission of education,
be it resolved that the UW-Eau Claire University Senate affirms the continued importance, and the necessary preservation, of tenure, and that termination of an appointment with continuous tenure, or of a probationary or special appointment before the end of the specified term, may be effected by the institution only for reasons of just cause and financial emergency.