Is tenure a “gravy train”?

A Hawaii state senator recently called obtaining tenure at a university a “gravy train.” While that bill received little notice in Hawaii, the opposite is the case in much of the nation: at least eleven states, including seven since the beginning of 2025, have imposed new levels of or standards for review for tenured faculty, made it easier to fire them, or proposed banning tenure altogether. Almost all have Republican-controlled legislatures or have seen lawmakers question what is being taught on campuses.

This comes at the same time as the administration’s educational funding cuts and investigations into colleges and universities, thus adding triple stress for some faculty. The institution of tenure is about 110 years old and rooted in the freedom to express one’s opinions in general — but even more so for faculty who were, until recently, expected to entertain new lines of inquiry and theories for the improvement of society. Tenure was established in 1915, largely as a response to the firings of university and college faculty for teaching the theory of evolution.

This freedom is being stifled. A January 2025 survey conducted for the AAUP and the American Association of Colleges and Universities by the University of Chicago’s NORC found that no less than 45% of faculty members in the USA say they have refrained from expressing an opinion that they feared could attract negative attention.

While your rights may be threatened, you likely still have them. This depends on several factors such as your employment contract, state law, and constitutional law that still remains. Many “employment lawyers” claim they can provide representation in this area. However, your situation is not so much one of general employment law as one of particularized academic law.

Contact Myanna for more help in this area. She specializes in tenure and other professor-related law. She is a California-barred attorney providing representation nationwide. She was a tenured law professor herself and now helps other faculty prevail without having to file suit.