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Toronto Star
· collected 2026-09-29 · by Annie Ma And Konstantin Toropin The Associated Press
Pete Hegseth, Defense Secretary, signed a memo Tuesday halting the appointment of civilian faculty as tenured professors at U.S. military academies. The move aims to strengthen focus on warfighting; currently, about half of the 600 faculty members at the Naval Academy are civilians. Critics argue that ending tenure could undermine academic freedom and quality education in non-military subjects like humanities.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-29,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense, signed a memo on Tuesday directing military academies to stop granting tenure to civilian professors. This decision aims to refocus the academies on warfighting by reducing reliance on academic norms that prioritize research over teaching military skills. The move affects institutions like the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the U.S. Air Force Academy. Current tenured faculty members will retain their status under this directive. About 25% of the faculty at West Point are civilians, while the Naval Academy has roughly equal numbers of civilian and military instructors. The academies did not immediately comment on the change when contacted by reporters.
Written for “Military Academies Tenure Policy” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
The Defense Department will no longer appoint civilians as tenured college faculty at the United States’ military service academies, according to a memo signed Tuesday by Secretary Pete Hegseth.
uncertain
Department → appoint → Hegseth
The memo describes the decision to stop granting tenure to civilian faculty as part of an effort to refocus the military academies on warfighting.
asserted
memo → describe → warfighting
“To ensure our educational institutions remain firmly focused on this warfighting mission, we must address the structural mechanisms that have allowed civilian academic norms to dilute our focus on lethality,” the memo said.
asserted
memo → ensure → lethality
The tenure designation generally comes with a career-long academic appointment at a college.
asserted
designation → come → college
Advocates say the job security is a crucial component of academic freedom.
asserted
security → say → freedom
Hegseth’s directive apparently would not remove the designation from faculty members who are currently tenured.
asserted
who → remove → members
The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the U.S. Air Force Academy all did not immediately respond to questions, and officials at the Pentagon did not offer further details on the plan when reached for comment.
asserted
officials → respond → comment
The percentage of faculty who are civilians varies by military academy.
asserted
who → vary → academy
The academies hire civilian faculty to offer expertise in topics and disciplines that military officers don’t study as part of their careers, such as English and the humanities.
asserted
officers → hire → English
Hegseth’s decision follows broader conservative attacks on tenured faculty appointments in higher education.
asserted
decision → follow → education
Those efforts to rein in tenure are often presented as bids to rein in academics with liberal views.
asserted
efforts → rein → views
In Hegseth’s memo Tuesday, tenure was described as a factor that contributed to “academic stagnation, faculty complacency, and institutional inability to adapt to emerging needs.
asserted
that → describe → needs
Additionally, it contributes to curriculum that drifts from the mission of educating our warfighters to the research priorities of the tenured academics.”
asserted
that → contribute → academics
Traditionally, tenured professors can be terminated only under extreme circumstances, such as professional misconduct or a financial emergency.
asserted
professors → terminate → misconduct
Advocates say it’s especially important to maintain tenure as controversy grows over scholarly discussions about history, race, gender and sexuality.
asserted
controversy → say → history
The decision Tuesday is part of a broader push from Hegseth to remake the military’s education apparatus.
asserted
decision → remake → apparatus
Earlier this year, the Pentagon severed longstanding ties with prestigious universities that had been a pipeline for military leadership, forging new relationships with Christian schools and public universities.
asserted
that → sever → schools
The Pentagon has also attempted to reorient the K-12 schools it operates for military families.
asserted
it → attempt → families
It introduced a course centered on Western civilization and Christianity, part of an effort to redirect the education system toward patriotic values and classical learning.
asserted
It → introduce → values
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