Tenure Policies Prompt Lawsuit, Reviews

Although not prompted by the USF controversy, UNC officials also are looking at matters of tenure. A task force was formed last year to examine the University's tenure process and what it means to tenured professors.

The USF Board of Trustees is suing Sami Al-Arian, a tenured computer science professor, for disrupting the university environment by allegedly having terrorist ties.

The university, located in Tampa, Fla., put Al-Arian on paid leave after he appeared on Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The video captured Al-Arian shouting in Arabic what some officials believe to be anti-Israel sentiments.

USF also has accused Al-Arian of using university funds for terrorist activities.

The lawsuit, filed with the Florida 13th Judicial Court in Tampa, includes a letter terminating Al-Arian's employment. The lawsuit is aimed at determining whether firing Al-Arian is in violation of his First Amendment rights.

Ruth Flower, director of media relations for the American Association of University Professors, said USF is not following general procedure for removing a tenured professor. "The tenure requirements work just fine," Flower said. "But this time, it was the process that didn't work."

USF trustees asked USF President Judy Genshaft to sue Al-Arian, and she acted on their request without consulting other faculty members, Flower said, adding that a professor's colleagues typically judge if there are grounds for firing.

"We are trying to point out that this is exactly what tenure is supposed to be against," Flower said. "We were so surprised that a university would take a faculty member to court.

"(The situation) is a terrible thing for academic freedom. If any professor now says anything controversial, they'll know they can be sued for it. That's chilling."

Tenure is designed to promote freedom of teaching and research while guaranteeing economic security, she said.

Tenure at UNC is a guarantee of employment and protection from loss of position on the basis of academic freedom, said Executive Associate Provost Bernadette Gray-Little.

"Historically, the idea was to guarantee employment so a faculty member couldn't be fired for teaching something," she said. "The idea was to preserve the freedom and the diversity of professors and the university."

According to last year's records, there are 945 tenured professors at UNC, 406 tenured associate professors and three tenured assistant professors. The latter are a rarity at all universities.

Typically, a faculty member can opt for the tenure act after working at UNC for about 12 years, Gray-Little said.

A professor's request for tenure goes through three UNC committees, the third being the Chancellor's Advisory Committee, she said.

Gray-Little said that once a professor is tenured, it is permanent.

"Practically, it means a faculty member is guaranteed security of employment on the basis of good performance," she said. "That's why it's know as 'permanent tenure.' It's rare for a faculty member to lose tenure."

But they undergo a post-tenure review every five years, Gray-Little said.

UNC faculty members can lose tenure for gross misconduct, incompetence or neglect of duty and can be either discharged, suspended -- with or without pay -- or demoted.

The UNC Provost's Office formed a special task force last year to look into possibly revamping the tenure process. The Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Task Force, formed at the request of Faculty Council Chairwoman Sue Estroff, is expected to present a report to the Faculty Council and the provost as early as September.

Estroff said the firing of a tenured professor at UNC is not a common occurrence -- she knows of only one such case. She declined further comment on the issue.

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.