Here is a review of two new books on higher education. I don't much care whether the tenure system is retained. Whatever happens won't affect me, since tenure was part of my bargain with my university. Had there not been the prospect of tenure, I would have practiced law for a living—at a much higher salary—instead of earning a doctoral degree. If tenure is abolished, it will have to be prospectively, so that people are not denied of the benefits of their bargains.
I can almost assure you of one thing, however: Smart people will not go into college teaching if there is no job security in it. Why would they? They can earn much more money in commerce or the professions. Academia competes with commerce and the professions by paying professors in security rather than money. Take away the security and either (1) you pay a lot more for professors (to lure them from commerce and the professions) or (2) you get lower-quality professors (because the smart ones go into commerce and the professions).
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 