New threats to tenure and faculty speech in Mississippi

Image:  In near secrecy last month, Mississippi’s Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning changed how faculty members get and maintain tenure. Instead of the board having final say on tenure candidates at all eight public universities in Mississippi, as has long been the case, campus presidents will now make those decisions. The board will review only appeals to tenure decisions. That shift alone isn’t concerning to most faculty members. But the board at its...