By ED KEMP @ HATTIESBURG AMERICAN

Is academic tenure under attack? A number of university professors across Mississippi believe so.

The state College Board gave initial approval in December to policy changes that would reduce how much warning time is required to fire tenured and tenure-track professors for financial reasons.

There’s even in a bill in the Legislature that would eliminate tenure entirely.

The recent developments have some professors on edge.

A group called the Mississippi State Consortium for the Improvement of Education, which represents faculty, students and staff statewide, recently condemned the board’s actions as “a threat to both academic freedom and shared governance.”

“Tenure is at the core of our profession,” said University of Southern Mississippi professor Mark Klinedinst, a member of the group. “We have to do everything to protect it.”

Higher Education Commissioner Hank Bounds believes the changes are necessary in light of the economy. About 1,000 university employees will be cut statewide if the College Board’s budget projections for the next three years hold true.