I finished reading this thought provoking Bloomberg-BusinessWeek article: Google’s Boss and a Princeton Professor Agree: College Is a Dinosaur.
Eric Schmidt (Google Executive Chairman & Former CEO) and Ann Marie Slaughter (CEO of New America Foundation, a former State Department Official, and former tenured Princeton Professor) contend the Internet's reach means top university teaching talent no longer has to be formally dependent / tethered to one particular academic institution.
Why? The Internet's global reach and connectivity enable top teaching talent to be freelancers / free agents for any global institution (academic or corporate).
Is this a Tipping Point for the Relevance or Status of University Tenure?
If top teaching talent can "connect" with any institution (and that can be corporate as well as academic), why would a talented university professor worry about earning tenure?
The Internet provides a talented professor:
- "Virtual Tenure"
- Access to a Global Portfolio of Students (academic and/or corporate)
- Career Security Versus Job Security
- The Freedom From Being Beholden to One Organization (academic or corporate)
- Higher Earning Potential in an Open, Global Market
Does Publish or Perish Still Apply to the Best University Talent?
As long as corporate and/or institutions value the work of the talented professor (and he/she stays relevant in his/her field of expertise), why tether himself/herself to one institution?
More importantly, why would a talented university professor even concern himself/herself with achieving the "associated prestige" university-tenured status confers?
How important is the "associated prestige" of university-tenured status in an Internet Age?
Your Turn: What do you think of the relevance of university tenure status in digital economy? If you are a professor at an institution on the tenure track, does tenure status still hold the same value? Let me know in the comments.
Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist. He writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy for organizations and individuals in his marketing strategy blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.