On May 7, St. Olaf’s faculty upheld strong support with a vote of 187-7 to replace the “Six-Year Rule” that currently allows non-tenured faculty to only be hired for up to six years with multi-year contracts. This vote follows the March 26 straw poll for the revision.

This change comes at a time where St. Olaf academic departments are facing a chronic hiring issue at the College. Departments across various disciplines have found it difficult for their non-tenured faculty members to renew their contracts with the College, leaving them to fill the gaps left behind. According to Non-Tenure Track Task Force Head Marc David, two to three professors are let go annually by the College. 

“It has been a year’s long conversation on campus, involving a myriad of stakeholders, interested parties, individuals, feedback from a variety of sources, [and] community members,” Faculty Governance Committee (FGC) Chair Paul Jackson said. 

The amended language in the FGC now states that faculty members may be offered multi-year contracts after six years of full-time, non-tenure track appointment. The renewable multi-year contracts would remove the hard limit on a faculty member hired for up to six years, modifying Section 4.III.E.6 of the faculty manual.

“I just want to say that [we] have an overwhelming support based on the straw poll we took,” Associate Professor of History Averill Earls said. “To eliminate the six-year rule, this is an imperfect solution, but I think it moves certainly towards more accreditable and just treatment and labor practices of this College — which is in dire need.”

With the faculty body approval, the proposal goes to the Board of Regents’ next meeting set for October 2026.

“We are thrilled to move this forward to create [an] opportunity space,” Jackson said.

If the amendment passes through the Board of Regents meeting, the revised passage will be placed in the faculty manual Fall 2027.