Faculty Rights What Is Tenure?

Faculty Rights

What is tenure?

Tenured faculty members "are typically protected from termination without reasonable cause from their faculty positions" (189). When it comes to the legal situation of universities, faculty members must be sure that they understand the terms of their tenure. Faculty members have argued removal, claiming tenure, only to be denied by the courts. In fact, "courts may be hesitant to infer that a tenure system exists," unless that system is specified in some sort of contract, handbook, or written communication (186). While courts have accepted the fact that oral contracts are binding in the case of faculty rights, they have not always upheld the fact that such oral contracts imply tenure. In fact, the Supreme Court found that the faculty contracts' and handbooks were superior to the fact that the "university president had said, during an accreditation team visit by the American Bar Association, that the law school faculty members were tenured" (187). Further, Tenured faculty members receive tenure in their academic teaching position, but not in their administrative roles unless this is stated in some sort of a contractual document (189). Although regulations are different for public and private institutions, both must look to contracts and other documents in order to make decisions about their tenure.

2. When may financial exigencies be applied in the removal of faculty?

Because of the academic environment of the university, faculty members have certain rights that other employees do not have (185-18). The terms of faculty members' employment and the terms of termination can be found by scouring the employee's contract. Further, federal labor regulation laws do affect universities and their faculty members. Federal law "contains no special provisions (or exceptions) for college faculty" regarding collective bargaining, while state law may contain special procedures. The issue of whether faulty members are considered supervisors or employees has been hotly debated, and several answers have been supposed. In most institutions, at least certain faculty members can engage in collective bargaining in order to meet financial needs. Thus, faculty members can be removed from their positions due to financial reasons when their contracts stipulate, but they can also engage in collective bargaining in order to win financial support.

3. Equal Pay / comparable worth

Like any other institution, the university must insure that its employees are being treated equally. That is universities should have a zero tolerance policy for discrimination. This being said, "Discrimination claims are particularly complex to prove and for colleges to defend against because of the subjective nature of employment decisions in academe" (202). Because peer recommendations and other regulations play into promotion, it is difficult to assess when a faculty member is being treated unequally. This does happen, though, as the case of Fisher V. Vassar College demonstrates. Although the court later reversed its decision, it ruled that the University had engaged in discrimination, violating the Equal Pay Act, when Fisher was denied tenure because of her absence from academia to raise her children. The court originally found that Fisher had a comparable worth to her make colleagues. In fact, she actually published more than they did (204-205).

4. Termination of Tenured Faculty For Cause

The American Association of University Professors has recommended that universities extend adopt regulations for dismissing tenured faculty for "adequate cause," but leave the specifics up to the university (215). Tenured university professors can be relieved of their duty for cause if they fail to maintain their "fitness" as "teachers and researchers" (215-216). One example of how this policy can be interpreted for individual universities is a university that required a tenured professor two have a review of unsatisfactory performance for two consecutive years before being terminated for cause, in addition to "clear and convincing evidence" of this status. Misconduct, neglect, and dishonesty are other conditions that would require the dismissal of a tenured faculty member for cause (216). Courts reviewing these cases must be sure that the for-cause dismissal is warranted, abides by written documents, and is not an attempt to remove free speech or academic freedom.

5. Part Time Faculty

By hiring part-time faculty, universities save money, as these employees are not awarded benefits and are generally paid less than full-time professors. The hiring of Part-Time faculty brings about many issues for a university, such as how part-time faculty members are distinguished from full-time faculty and what rights, such as tenure, benefits, severance, and collective bargaining, they are granted (192). In order to avoid legal issues regarding the different types of faculty, it is recommended that "administrators…understand the differences in legal statuses of part-time and full-time faculty members at their institutions" (193).