Introduction

David helfand has been a faculty member at columbia university for forty one years, chair of the astronomy department for nearly half that time. He's got over 200 scientific publications and written a popular book entitled a survival guide to the misinformation age. Helfand: tenure does more deny academic freedom to those who don't have it, than it does to protect the academic freedom of those who do. It's just becoming a small elite that's divorced from the purpose of universities that gets tenure.