The University Faculty Senate has found a good reason to stop the clock -- the tenure clock, that is.

For those faculty members on tenure track -- a responsibility that includes publishing a certain amount of material in a structured period -- time had always marched on through serious illness, child care or pregnancy.

Last week senators approved "stopping out for tenure," buying a year's worth of time for those with pressing family-life needs. Qualified University instructors will no longer be victims of circumstance.

The new guidelines allow for tenure-track professors with special circumstances, and the executive vice president and provost's approval, to take one academic year out from the period they will be reviewed by the tenure review board. The year out is not intended to give professors extra time to increase productivity.

A 12-month extension period makes the demands of tenure fairer. Criteria for receiving tenure include teaching ability and effectiveness; research and creative accomplishment; scholarly performance and mastery of subject matter; and service to the University, public and the profession.

As the new option considers the human factor, those professors with exceptional circumstances can now address extenuating personal needs without worrying about falling short in their careers.

The University's Strategic Study Group on the Status of Women initially suggested "stopping out for tenure" to benefit women of child-bearing ages here. Similar measures already have been implemented at the University of North Carolina, the University of California's system, the University of Miami and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Penn State President Bryce Jordan is expected to sign the progressive legislation as soon as it reaches his desk this month. Only three months notice would be required to apply for the year reprieve. On the average, two or three women and no men ask for a tenure-track extension each year.

While rigid guidelines still lay in place for professors to attain highly attractive tenured positions, the "stopping out" legislation prevents those with compassionate needs from having to beat the clock.