Browsing: tenure

Lyon is a Baylor alumnus and has been part of the faculty at Baylor since 1975, starting out as a professor of sociology up until 1998 when he became dean of the Graduate School and has been in that position since. When he retires at the end of this academic year, he will have completed 50 years at Baylor. During his tenure as dean, he has witnessed the transformation and contributed to the growth of the graduate school.

Currently, the highest degree earned by 942 full-time faculty members is a doctoral degree. 166 faculty members have a master’s as their highest degree and just one possesses a bachelor’s as their highest degree.

Tenure is given as a reward to faculty that have proven excellence and loyalty to Baylor. As a policy, that’s fine, but is it currently set up to incentivize professors to stay on the cutting edge of current trends, technology, practical theories and innovation? Perhaps it’s time to reevaluate the policy and add additional reviews, incentives and requirements for all tenured faculty in order to retain their tenure status.