BEN COHEN, Special to the Denisonian—
Dr. Karen Powell Sears, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Sociology and a member of the Denison faculty since 2013, has received an outpouring of support from students, faculty and alumni on social media and in conversations on campus following the denial of her application for tenure.
This has led to the creation of a petition on change.org which at the time of writing has received more than 800 signatures.
As a domain often grounded in narratives surrounding education, societal progress and the public good, American academia is expected by many to promote fairness and equality inside and beyond campus gates.
This expectation has come under examination at Denison following the denial of tenure for Dr. Sears, with students and faculty holding conversations about the values central to Denison as an institution.
The Black Student Union held an informational town hall on Friday, January 28 to discuss the current situation and outline in detail the tenure process, necessary qualifications, and those responsible for tenure decisions.
Students, faculty, and alumni shared stories about their experiences with Dr. Sears, as well as their thoughts on how to move forward.
Dr. Toni King, a Black, female tenured professor, faced similar circumstances when transferring from SUNY Binghamton, a highly reputed university in New York, to Denison in 1997.
Since receiving tenure, she has remained at Denison, serving as Director for the Center for Black Studies.
In a comment made over Zoom at the meeting, Dr. King expressed her views on Dr. Sears’ application for reconsideration and urged students to see Dr. Sears’ case as a catalyst for social awareness at Denison, asking students to “keep a critical eye on the systems that evaluate us.”
After being denied tenure in the fall semester of 2021, Dr. Sears has since filed for a reconsideration of the decision and key deliberation took place the weekend of January 28.
According to Denison’s faculty handbook, the appeal for reconsideration of denial of tenure must be grounded in one of three bases: non-discrimination, academic freedom, and inadequate consideration.
At present, it is not public knowledge which of the three constitutes the basis for Dr. Sears’ application for reconsideration due to confidentiality guidelines in place.
Taylor Trimble wrote a recent opinion piece for The Denisonian concerning the appointment decision for Dr. Sears.
The piece reflects the view held by many: Dr. Sears’ circumstances reflect a vaster and deeper problem Denison must address. Trimble highlighted another potentially related symptom: Denison’s low retention rate for students of color. Trimble offered a call to action for the Denison study body, urging them to take interest in this issue and others like it.
“[Denison] is four percent black. If four percent of 100 percent trying to drive it—you can’t do it by yourself,” she said.
Inequities in academic hiring, promotions, and personnel decisions are widespread.
Data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that only 2.8 percent of tenured faculty in United States Universities are Black women.
This holds true at Denison, as few Black female professors make up the tenured faculty.
Tenure aside, Trimble noted how few Black professors teach at Denison (less than 6% of the total faculty according to the 2018-2019 factbook, last updated in January of 2020).
Denison’s tenure process is nuanced and thoroughly defined, with many standards and guidelines in place.
Despite that, there are no public quantifications for some standards described. Emphases on teaching, service, and scholarship are cited as criteria which leaves room for interpretation as to exactly what standard a qualified candidate ought to meet.
Advocates for granting Dr. Sears tenure cite her consistent scholarship and dedication to individual relationships with students. Nevertheless, because of the opacity of the process, little evidence is available to suggest a particular deficit within Dr. Sears tenure application.