In individual tenure cases, the board is best off asserting in advance its right to decide about intervening and having review procedures in place. The need for experts and legal counsel is explored, and some rules for deciding on intervention are suggested. (LBH)

In time of retrenchment, must the promising, recently tenured instructor be terminated in favor of the veteran sluggard? A procedure based on the principle of "relatively less merit" is described, and rebuttal by Jordan E. Kurland of the AAUP is provided. (Author/LBH)

In 1969 Hampshire College in Massachusetts explore the "contract for service," by which faculty appointments are made for three-to-seven-year terms. Experience to date has shown low turnover, with fewer opportunities but better retention for young faculty. The relationship of the contract system to academic freedom is not yet tested.…

Public sector board members and administrators legally prepared and willing to follow through when a dismissal of a tenured faculty member is warranted can perform a valuable service by helping to raise the quality of public higher education. (MLW)

Questions and answers address: defining financial exigency, how tenure affects termination, selecting faculty for severance, faculty's due process rights, tenured faculty challenges to termination, the institution's responsibility, and the governing board's responsibility in policy formation and implementation. (MSE)

Adequate cause for dismissal is defined and analyzed. Whether for immoral conduct, insubordination, or incompetency, an institution must be mindful of the countervailing protection of academic freedom. Dismissal must be firmly grounded upon demonstrable acts or omissions and assume reasonable procedures, incorporating peer review. Some court cases…