In 1999 Iowa State University’s faculty senate approved a post-tenure review policy that required each tenured professor to be reviewed at least every seven years, but without a method of enforceable consequences the policy was mostly symbolic—a compromise between the board of regents’ call for greater accountability and the faculty agreeing to a policy with the fewest consequences possible. A budget crisis and the board of regents’ subsequent demand for a stronger policy prompted a reexamination of the issue. The result: a formative, peer-led, post-tenure review process that holds faculty accountable for their performance.
Expertise, Credentials, and the Value of the University
It seems we can’t trust our own credentials or those that we provide to our students. Or perhaps it would be better to say that we have so much confidence
Constance C. Relihan
May 18, 2026
