Camfield criticizes secrecy of tenure process

Sitting casually in his cluttered office in Bennett Hall, Gregg Camfield divulged his philosophy on what constitutes excellent teaching. "I think that there are three things that make an excellent teacher," said the popular English professor. "A good teacher usually respects their students, challenges them and rewards them." He added that respecting one's students "usually shows that the commonplace belief that scholarship and teaching are at odds isn't true or at least shouldn't be true." It is easy to see that Camfield takes his students very seriously. However, this alone did not guarantee him a permanent position at the University. Last month, Camfield was denied tenure by the School of Arts and Sciences Personnel Committee-- a decision which shocked many members of the University community. He said the problem with the tenure system is that it discourages risk taking. "If you are going to do intellectual work of great value you have to be willing to offend," he said. Camfield's own research has been unusual and controversial. His published book Sentimental Twain: Samuel Clemens in the Maze of Moral Philosophy provides a "revision of the usual understanding about what Twain's work does." And his soon-to-be-published work Humor in a Heartless Haven: Comedies of Domesticity in Nineteenth-Century American Literature addresses the question of what humor is in a revolutionary study that may possibly prove wrong current conceptions of comedy. "And I think that is one of the things that should be expected of a professor at a research university like this-- to open new ground," he said. Camfield also faulted the secrecy surrounding the tenure process, saying that it prevents students from being able to determine whether their input is seriously considered. He said he really values the ideas and opinions of his students. "As far as I'm concerned, my students are as important as anybody I have read," he said. "What my students have to say can change my mind as readily as something I will read in a scholarly contemporary work. "For all I know there's an Albert Einstein or a Gertrude Stein or some other extraordinary person sitting in one of my classes," he added. And while he personally tries to create a form of "creative tension" to challenge his students, he added that there is no set formula to excellent teaching. He attributes his success with students to his undergraduate and graduate experiences, at Brown University and the University of California at Berkeley respectively. "Why am I particularly good? I guess one of the reasons, quite frankly is that I have had some excellent teachers as well," he said. "And I am always aspiring to be as good as they were." Camfield spent the last six years at the University because it is nationally recognized as being one of the best in the country. "I consulted with my advisors when I was on the job market and they all told me that Penn was an extraordinary place," he said, adding that he was also attracted by the University's reputation for treating its assistant professors well. "I found that this is a reputation that may no longer be true," he said. "That is to say that tenure at Penn has become almost as difficult as places like Harvard or Yale or Princeton -- places to which I didn't apply when I was finishing up graduate school because I wanted to sink my root quickly in a place that I felt would appreciate me. "I didn't want to be in a system where I had to prove that I was worthy of it, but instead a place where people would assume that I was worthy and allow me to flourish," he added. "I think in that respect I've been a bit disappointed." There has been a tremendous amount of student protest in reaction to Camfield's denial of tenure, ranging from a petition to a massive letter-writing campaign. Camfield said he has been delighted with the response. "I'm moved really beyond what I could possibly express," he said. "The student support for me endorses what I have been trying to do. It makes me feel that I have made a tremendous difference and there's no way I can express this gratitude." He added that he hopes that students use their concern for his case to address the system and get it changed. And Camfield said that overall, his experiences at the University have been positive. "The only aspect of my Penn experience that has been negative is the tenure process," he said. "I have found my time here to be wonderful. I have been supported in so many ways by so many people." Camfield said he is not sure where he will go after his time at the University runs out next spring. "The job market is extremely tight," he said. "I will probably be required to go where I can." But Camfield added, "I will be looking for a place that has a more open tenure process."

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