> Skip to content
FEATURED:
  • Student Success Resource Center
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
ADVERTISEMENT
News
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Show more sharing options
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Copy Link URLCopied!
  • Print

Texas A&M Will Allow Consideration of Faculty Members’ Patents in Tenure Process

By  Sara Lipka
May 30, 2006

The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents voted unanimously on Friday to consider faculty members’ patents and the commercialization of their research in deciding whether to grant them tenure.

“We are taking a leadership position in modernizing the tenure process to bring it in line with some new realities,” Robert D. McTeer, chancellor of the university system, said in a written statement. As state support of higher education continues to decline, he said, universities must rely more on partnerships with businesses.

We’re sorry. Something went wrong.

We are unable to fully display the content of this page.

The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network. Please make sure your computer, VPN, or network allows javascript and allows content to be delivered from c950.chronicle.com and chronicle.blueconic.net.

Once javascript and access to those URLs are allowed, please refresh this page. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, or subscribe.

If you continue to experience issues, contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com

The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents voted unanimously on Friday to consider faculty members’ patents and the commercialization of their research in deciding whether to grant them tenure.

“We are taking a leadership position in modernizing the tenure process to bring it in line with some new realities,” Robert D. McTeer, chancellor of the university system, said in a written statement. As state support of higher education continues to decline, he said, universities must rely more on partnerships with businesses.

Mr. McTeer, an economist and a former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, recommended the tenure reform to the Board of Regents to give professors “credit” for their commercial ventures. Patents, for example, should be recognized as part of faculty scholarship, he said.

“It doesn’t require that you commercialize research,” he told reporters on Friday. “It just permits that you can count this in the tenure process. ... It will help some people and hurt nobody.” Some professors, he said, will no longer wait until they have received tenure to pursue patents.

Under the new tenure policy, “patents and the commercialization of research, where applicable,” will join five other criteria previously considered in the review process: teaching effectiveness; scholarly or artistic endeavor; professional growth; public and university service; and quality of patient care, where applicable. The Texas A&M University system includes nine universities and one health-care center.

ADVERTISEMENT

The move “reflects the furthering of commercialization of higher education,” Roger W. Bowen, general secretary of the American Association of University Professors, wrote in an e-mail message to The Chronicle on Monday. “As far as I know, this is the first time such action has been taken,” he said.

Professors may worry that under the new policy, research and teaching will take a back seat to lucrative commercial agreements. “Some administrators may look at the bottom line as a critical concern over teaching and research,” Anita Levy, an associate secretary of the AAUP, told the Houston Chronicle.

The tenure reform represents another step in Texas A&M’s pursuit of more partnerships with industry. Last December the Board of Regents approved the Texas A&M University System Office of Technology Commercialization and created the new position of vice chancellor for technology commercialization.

Texas A&M officials were not available for comment on Monday.

ADVERTISEMENT

Background articles from The Chronicle:

  • Universities Collected Near-Record Revenues From Commercial Activity in 2004, Study Finds (11/18/2005)
  • To Market, to Market (1/14/2005)
  • Colleges Seek a Record Number of Patents (12/3/2004)
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Sara Lipka
Sara Lipka works to develop editorial products in different formats that connect deeply with our audience. Follow her on Twitter @chronsara, or email her at sara.lipka@chronicle.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
    Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
  • The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
    The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
    Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
    Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2023 The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin