“The COVID-19 Extension Needs to Be Unpacked”: Tenure-Seeking BIPOC Faculty Perspectives at Research-Intensive Institutions

Beginning in March 2020, higher education institutions transitioned to virtual learning as the government implemented shutdowns and restrictions to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Simultaneously, many institutions of higher education offered COVID-19 tenure clock extensions. Guided by an intersectional-barriers-to-tenure framework, the authors analyzed 35 BIPOC faculty responses at US research-intensive institutions about whether they used a COVID-19 tenure clock extension and their perspectives of them. We identified three salient themes: (1) BIPOC faculty decisions to take an extension were influenced by perceptions of being tenure eligible and receipt of institutional affirmation for their performance; (2) a one-year extension is helpful and stressful; and (3) a one-year tenure extension is inadequate and a potentially punitive solution. Several BIPOC academics questioned the value of extensions. Therefore, the authors suggest ways that institutional leaders can enact critical procedural justice to be F.A.I.R in tenure reviews: (1) Focus on equitable policies and implementation; (2) Affirm BIPOC faculty dignity and professional realities; (3) Invite critically conscious BIPOC faculty to conversations about P&T processes and implementation; and (4) Rely on intersectional evidence about BIPOC faculty experiences.