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Art Institute Faculty Win Tenure
By Gwendolyn Bradley
Faculty and administrators at the San Francisco Art Institute agreed in July on a collective-bargaining contract that creates a system of tenure at the institution. Previously, faculty served on renewable three-year contracts. Two main factors made the change possible, according to AAUP associate secretary Marcus Harvey, who provided advice and assistance to both parties throughout the negotiations. First, the institute’s new president, Chris Bratton, who is himself a practicing artist and a former faculty member, urged the institution’s board to consider a faculty tenure system and participated directly in the negotiation process through the summer. Second, a provision in the previous contract had set the stage for improvements by incorporating long-time adjunct faculty into the bargaining unit.
The new contract also ensures faculty participation in all hiring, review, and promotion committees. It includes provisions for stopping the tenure clock for candidates with “substantial responsibility” for children or other immediate family members, and it moves the institute in the direction of giving full-time employment to all faculty who want it.
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