WIKIMEDIA, K.A.ZENZLawmakers in Missouri and Iowa introduced bills last week (January 11) that would end tenure in public universities within their respective states, Inside Higher Ed reported. The legislation in Missouri, introduced by Representative Rick Brattin (R-Harrisonville), would end tenure for all new hires as of 2018; the Iowa bill, introduced by Senator Brad Zaun (R-Urbandale), would retroactively take tenure away, including from current professors.

Experts, recalling Wisconsin’s successful 2015 bid to end tenure at all state universities, worry that the attack on tenure may be part of a national trend against higher education and academia. “These are serious attempts to undermine universities and the role of universities in society,” Hans-Joerg Tiede of the American Association of University Professors told Inside Higher Ed. “If they’re not directly coordinated, there’s a strong current going through all of them.”

The attack on tenure in...