The Faculty Senate approved a proposal last week granting due process to faculty members brought up on administrative charges.
"We were trying to put in place a set of procedures that protect the rights of faculty members," Faculty Senate Chairman-Elect Michael J. Smith said.
The proposal provided that before a faculty member is suspended or dismissed from the University, he has the right to read a written statement of the charges against him. He also can appeal to a peer advisory board to consult with the provost on the case, Smith said.
Faculty Senate members said they were pleased, for the most part, to have an established policy regarding "for cause" suspension and termination of tenured faculty, he said.
"For cause" suspensions and terminations range in reasons from professional incompetence to unethical conduct to falsification of credentials.
Rarely are faculty members brought up on such charges, said Business Administration Prof. James G. Clawson, who was part of the subcommittee that drafted the policy.
Though there was some question as to the language of the drafted policy and how quickly it should be adopted, "the Senate decided to approve it in principle," Clawson added.
The proposal will need to return to its ad hoc committee for language revisions before receiving full Senate approval.
A previous attempt to pass a similar proposal had failed in the Senate, Smith said.
"This time, we decided to get it right," he added.
The Senate was made aware of the need for such a policy following the 1998 dismissal of a faculty member. The case showed the University policy to be out of step with the policies of the American Association of University Professors.
The AAUP is a national organization dedicated to promoting cooperation and advancing the causes of university professors.
Most universities, especially those reviewed by the AAUP, recommend peer review before dismissing faculty, Clawson said.
Passage of the proposal was a credit to the University and its mission, he said.
It is only fitting that the faculty at Mr. Jefferson's University should receive due process, he added.
"He co-authored and played an active part in identifying the principles of a democratic process," Clawson said.
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