Teaching Comes First at IC

The primary criterion for tenure, according to the Ithaca College faculty handbook, is teaching excellence. "The primary responsibility of faculty at the College is teaching," it says, which may seem obvious, but this emphasis is one of the qualities that distinguish a teaching institution like Ithaca from large, research-oriented universities. Good teaching, however — like beauty — is to a large degree in the eye of the beholder. The handbook nevertheless attempts to specify:

An excellent teacher demonstrates . . . command of the subject, an analytical approach to the material, recognition and contrast of variant interpretations of the data where appropriate, consideration of current work in the field, and ability to show the relationship between the particular subject and other areas of knowledge.

The second requirement for tenure is scholarship and professional activity, which the handbook defines a bit more loosely as "manifested in many ways — for example, by research, paper presentations, publications, editorships, creative performances and exhibits, and continued study in the discipline."

The third major criterion is service to the department, the College, or the profession. Examples of such service include being available for interviews with students, prospective students, and parents; participation in department and school meetings and College functions; serving on department, school, or College committees; and involvement in professional organizations or relevant community agencies.

All this is a tall order, especially with a teaching load of four courses per semester, which is the standard at Ithaca College.