GOOD NEWS! On January 18, 2000, the LSU Faculty Senate successfully revised, amended, and approved for recommendation to Vice-Chancellor & Provost Dan Fogel and Chancellor Mark Emmert a policy statement on "Dismissal for Cause of Tenured Faculty".  This policy had been in development for over two years and now is closely aligned with the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure as promulgated by the American Association of University Professors and endorsed by over 170 Associations of Universities and Academic diciplines.  This statement reinforces the protections provided to faculty members of the majority of institutions of higher learning in the United States.  Although not an exact duplicate of the Recommended Institutional Guidelines provided in the AAUP Handbook on Policy Documents & Reports, the approved procedure contains the major protections needed for the maintenance of ACADEMIC FREEDOM in teaching and research.  All-in-all, Faculty Senate resolution SR-00-02 should be a good document and provide the needed safeguards.
 Several features are especially noteworthy in the approved version.  First, the hearing committee is composed entirely of faculty without administrators.  Also, the hearing committee will appoint its own chair (earlier versions had administrators on the committee and the Chancellor could name the Chair).  The hearing committee (5 to 7) will be selected from two lists of eight faculty members nominated from the Faculty Senate and from the membership of the AAUP.  A second change is the level of proof being changed from "a preponderance of evidence" (i.e. 51%) to the requirement of "clear and convincing evidence" (ca. 75%) with the burden of proof residing with the University.  A careful reading will reveal the degree of attention given by FS President Cherry, Professor Jim Garand, and the entire Faculty Senate to each procedural stage in this very serious process.
 Full credit must be extended to the entire Faculty Senate for unananimous approval of FS Resolution SR-00-06 "Policy Statement on Tenure" with slight modification after it was proposed by Senator Delzell.  This statement sets forth the basic benefits of tenure for academic faculty, the institutions of higher education, and the public.  This statement can be a cornerstone for the elevation of faculty standards at LSU to the benefit of all in Louisiana.

BAD NEWS!    Political influence may have promoted the development and distribution of PM-35:  Review of Faculty Ranks (on back) as its origin is unknown,  The development of PM-35 occurred before 10/20/97, the time of review by Dr. Braymer in the LSU Systems office, and preceded Dr. Jenkins' appointment in 1999, as LSU System President.  He signed the document on November 22, 1999.  Copies of PM-35 were distributed at the January 18, 2000, Faculty Senate meeting and it was quickly recognized that Post-Tenure Review was the intent of PM-35.  Now, the policy and mechanisms are in place for university administrators to make an evaluation (The On-going Academic Review - OAR) of a faculty member that must be addressed by remedial counseling and review, The result will be "If this review, after a three-year period of positive guidance, is negative the Chancellor will institute proceedings for removal for cause including proper due process".  Acknowledging that Department Heads and Deans are appointed by the Chancellor, one can then realize that one year of an unsatisfactory evaluation (valid or not) will initiate the remediation process.  At the time of this essay, we can be very thankful that a properly protective Dismissal Policy has been approved by the LSU Faculty Senate and that the LSU Faculty Senate has approved a strong statement in support of Tenure.  However, total faculty attention must monitor the progression of the OAR development for implementation of PM-35.

    Respectfully submitted,
    Dr. Ron Snider,
    President, LSU Chapter of AAUP

Please join the AAUP today.
Call Ron Snider for assistance at 6-3233.
or at >rsnider@mail.vetmed.lsu.edu<
or AAUP Secretary John Drilling at 8-8277  or >drilling@rouge.phys.lsu.edu<

Jan. 31, 2000