Stashu Kybartas is a senior lecturer in the University’s Department of Screen Arts and Cultures. He usually teaches three classes a term and performs a number of other administrative duties. He teaches so much that he hasn’t had time to pursue his own creative work. Kybartas has been at the University for 11 years — but under current University policy, he’ll never be eligible for tenure.
Why is that?
In this issue you’ll read an article addressing this and other questions surrounding the complex and divisive issue of tenure at the University. It’s an article that operates on both a micro and macro level, pairing very personal stories with broad data about the spectrum of tenure attainment at the University.
While it may not provide definitive answers, the article will undoubtedly prompt some compelling questions.
With investigative journalism, you have to look at the big picture in order to understand the small one, and vice versa. An article just about numbers lacks a human element, while an article comprised only of people’s stories lacks a factual basis. Successful investigative journalism lies in the merging of these two factors and in the creation of something illuminating and accessible.
As its name suggests, The Statement is geared toward the kind of hard-hitting coverage that will get people thinking and talking. For us, this means coverage that’s backed up by evidence and interesting stories.
So at the same time you read Kybartas’s story, you’ll discover that half of the Screen Arts and Cultures Department’s faculty are lecturers like him, whereas only 16 percent for the entire College of Literature, Science and the Arts faculty is comprised of lecturers.
But we live in a digital age, and so for us, investigative journalism extends beyond reporting and number-crunching and into the vast and ever-expanding realm of social media.
Starting this semester we’re introducing The Tangent, a blog that will supplement our main stories with videos and behind-the-scenes peeks into how articles came to fruition. Additionally, we’re introducing polling on our stories, so that you can voice feedback to articles with the click of a button. We also have a Twitter, so that discussions that start here can continue online. It will all come full circle when we compile reader comments, poll feedback and tweets and publish them on these pages.
We’re looking to you to help us make a statement.