Let's get rid of tenure...

I love reading Victor Davis Hanson. I wish more Canadian newspapers would carry his op-ed pieces. Here some excerpts on his article on tenure at Universities.

Tenure in our universities is simply unlike any other institution in American society. Take the case of Ward Churchill at the University of Colorado. Because of his inflammatory slander of the Sept. 11, 2001, victims, the public turned its attention to his status. We discovered that he did not have a PhD, created a Native-American identity and allegedly appropriated the intellectual property of others--but was promoted to a tenured full professorship, protected by a lifetime contract.

No equivalent for chief executive officers or for dishwashers exists. Politicians, lawyers and others who take unpopular stands also lack guaranteed jobs. Doctors do not enjoy them. They can lose their posts, despite 30 years of reputable work, because of a single missed diagnosis.