Wyoming Faculty Senate Rejects Professor of Practice Track

The University of Wyoming Faculty Senate voted down a controversial proposal for a new professor of practice faculty track last week, the Casper Star-Tribune reported. The measure failed 28 to 18. Donal O’Toole, professor of veterinary science, reportedly said the faculty opposed a new faculty rank based on professional experience rather than academic expertise over concerns that potential donor and industry influence posed too great a threat to academic freedom. Some worried that as public funding for the university continued to decline, the university would become overreliant on faculty lines linked to outside funding. Others who supported the measure said those concerns were unfounded, and that the university already employs instructors from industry as visiting professors.