Politics Prof. James R. Sofka, who was dismissed from his post as director of the Echols Program last month, officially appealed his case to President John T. Casteen, III and Provost Gene Block Monday. In a letter sent Monday, Sofka said, he requested that he be afforded due process and a full investigation into the decision.
College Dean Edward L. Ayers officially informed Sofka of his decision to reassign him to full-time teaching in a Jan. 14, 2005 letter. The letter alleges that Sofka had "inappropriate behavior with female Echols scholars" and informs him as well that his contract will not be renewed when it expires in May 2007. The letter also references an earlier complaint that Ayers discussed with Sofka in April 2003.
Sofka has publicly denied any allegations against him and has repeatedly called for a formal investigation into the allegations, claiming he has not been provided with any concrete evidence against him. Ayers has previously stated that all proper procedures were carried out in the recent decision.
Contacted yesterday, Casteen deferred questions to Block, as the University president serves as a possible final authority on the appeal.
"These matters come to me at the end of the procedure rather than at the beginning," he said.
Block, contacted by e-mail yesterday, would not comment on the specifics of the case but did confirm that "any academic faculty member (tenure or non-tenure track) may file a grievance with the Faculty Senate Grievance Committee in accordance with the Faculty Senate's policy."
In a Jan. 26 letter addressed to Ayers, a copy of which was obtained by The Cavalier Daily, Sofka made a similar request to Ayers but said yesterday that he did not find the dean's response, dated Feb. 3, to be sufficient.
"The dean responded to me, but his letter did not break any new ground," Sofka said. "The dean has refused my request for an investigation."
Sofka said he is still hopeful that the situation can be resolved administratively.
"I would hope that the provost and president would give this matter full and fair consideration," he said. "I know both of them to be very reasonable men."
The General Faculty Council briefly discussed the matter at their regular meeting yesterday as well but decided not to issue any sort of statement.
Sofka also said he has been contacted by several higher education publications in addition to The Daily Progress and has been in contact with a representative from the American Association of University Professors, an independent organization that promotes academic freedom on campuses.
Although he was not familiar with the intricate details of this particular situation, Robert Kresier, a senior programs official with the AAUP, said yesterday that due process is typically afforded to faculty members in such cases.
"Such an action taken against a faculty member, which could be considered a severe sanction, normally has to be preceded by a hearing in which the burden of proof is on the administration," Kreiser said. "It would seem that the nature of the alleged offenses and the nature of the action being taken against Professor Sofka would warrant a hearing."
Although the AAUP has not officially decided to investigate the case at this time, the organization has investigated personnel decisions at the University in the past. Several years ago the AAUP became involved after the Feb. 8, 1999 dismissal of Physics Prof. James S. McCarthy, then the director of the University Institute of Nuclear and Particle Physics, according to the AAUP publication "Academe." Kreiser said the investigation eventually resulted in the University developing new grievance procedures.
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