Transplanting tenure and the (re)construction of academic freedoms

In a radical change to modes of academic employment in Finland, a newly merged university is introducing a tenure track system based on examples from the United States. Analyzing texts produced by university strategists, on the one hand, and interviews with staff affected by the system, on the other, we explore how notions of academic freedom are (re)constructed when tenure is transplanted into a new context. Our exploratory study builds on Marginson's work, and seeks to understand, first, how tenure becomes a tool for realizing senior management strategic intent in universities and, second, how it affects academics' understandings of freedoms. It is argued that tenure and its effects need to be considered vis-à-vis the local context where it is adopted and adapted.