Why theological schools need tenure

Theological schools occupy a unique place within higher education. With relatively small enrollments and modest endowments, seminaries feel the cutting edge of change. Online learning, new degree programs, and nontraditional scheduling proliferate. And rumors abound that one school or another might shut down.

In the fall, Andover Newton announced a radical restructuring that involves selling the campus and downsizing faculty and staff; it may also entail a merger into (not with) Yale Divinity School. Pennsylvania’s two Lutheran seminaries, in Gettysburg and Philadelphia, announced a reboot last month: both schools will close in order to create a new, multi-campus institution. One news report placed tenured faculty at the center of the problem:

combining into one institution…could solve the thorny problem of what to do with tenured faculty, whose salaries and benefits weigh heavily on each school’s budget.