Over the past 20 years Syracuse University has increasingly relied on non-tenure-line faculty,
such as Teaching Professors, Professors of Practice, Research Faculty and other Full Time
Non-Tenure Track Faculty (FTNTTF) to ensure delivery of the university’s education mission.
According to the latest Faculty Census conducted by the Syracuse University Senate, only
50.1% of faculty are tenured or on the tenure track. Erosion of tenure-line positions has
profound implications for academic freedom, faculty governance, faculty compensation and the
continuity and strength of the university’s academic programs and reputation. The Syracuse
University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) calls upon the
administration to establish and normalize a path to tenure for full-time Teaching Professors,
Professors of Practice, Research Professors and other FTNTTF.

As enumerated in the AAUP principles of 1940, tenure exists to support academic freedom in
teaching and scholarship. Teaching Professors, Professors of Practice, Research Professors
and other Full Time Faculty engage in all functions of the faculty role, including instruction,
service, and advising. As essential workers, they perform administrative tasks, advise students
and participate in faculty governance. As experts in the field, they enhance the reputation of the
University, contributing intellectually and artistically to public conversations on matters of social
policy, history, science, economics, and culture. Tenure is necessary to ensure that when Full
Time Faculty perform these duties they do so without fear of censure or penalty. Similarly, since
the introduction of the teaching professor career track, NTT teaching faculty have increasingly
served in critical leadership roles in the educational mission of our university, but they face
difficulties acting as leaders and directing policy without the protections and status of tenure.
The protections of tenure are particularly important for NTT faculty who also disproportionately
teach, advise and advocate for the most vulnerable students on campus.

In response to global trends, the AAUP advances position statements for both Teaching
Professors [1] and Professors of Practice [2]. It advocates that such faculty must be afforded a
path to tenure to maintain their crucial contributions to the life of the university and the public
interest it serves. The national office of the AAUP holds that “tenure would support a stable
faculty and an improved academic reputation [for the institution].” Tenure is also a path to
recruiting and retaining diverse faculty members, which Syracuse University has increasingly
prioritized. Moreover, a true commitment to inclusion for all full time faculty would be to offer
everyone the opportunity to obtain tenure and the rights of academic freedom it protects.
The Syracuse University Chapter of the AAUP recognizes two recent trends that amplify the
urgency of securing a path to tenure for Teaching Professors, Professors of Practice, Research
Professors and Other FTNTTF. First, University administrators have exponentially grown the
presence of online-degree programs and stated their intention to accelerate this trajectory in the
years to come. Online-degree programs are disproportionately taught by non-tenure-line faculty.
It is critical that growth of these programs does not dilute the proportion of tenured faculty at the
University. Second, public attacks on faculty who express views that some take to be
controversial have escalated in recent years. Because academic contributions to public debate
– including about University matters – cannot proceed without controversy, it is necessary to
offer all full-time faculty the protection of tenure so they may speak and teach freely without fear
of reprisal.

We enjoin University administrators to establish a path to tenure for Teaching Professors,
Professors of Practice, Research Professors, and other FTNTTF. This path should be led by
faculty and follow processes and procedures that currently exist for tenure-line professors.

[1] https://www.aaup.org/report/tenure-and-teaching-intensive-appointments
[2] https://www.aaup.org/report/professors-practice