On Tenure and Service Academies

Our Culture War continues…

MAGA’s culture war targeting universities, tenure, science, etc. continues. One of my best professors at the US Air Force Academy in 1991-92 (my senior year) was a civilian. Tenure is an essential part of our University and College system in the United States, and we have the best universities in the world. It’s unfortunate we now have many elected and appointed leaders that do not want to support these institutions, traditions, or values.

Pentagon weighs eliminating civilian tenure at military academies and reviewing all curriculum, draft memo says (CBS News, 31 July 2026)

This quotation from the memo discussed in the above article is patently false:

"Tenure is a construct designed to protect academic freedom within universities. In practice, it more often leads to stagnation, complacency, and inflexibility," the memorandum states. "It contributes to curriculum that drifts from the mission of educating our warfighters to the research priorities of the tenured academics."

What memorandums / executive orders / policies like these do to faculty at military academies is encourage them to leave and discourage them from coming in the first place. Academic freedom is vital, and while the educational culture at our military academies is certainly unique in many respects, the freedom to explore topics and speak on issues deemed relevant to the professionals hired as instructors and professors is essential.

I look forward to the day when our ongoing “culture war” can end. I will continue to both articulate a vision for and work toward an aspirational future in which we can each choose “to be culture healers, not culture warriors.”