Discusses three issues arising from the termination of tenured faculty on account of financial exigency: definition of exigency, how persons to be terminated are identified, and what their contractual and due process rights are. Makes suggestions for revising and clarifying tenure contracts in light of recent court cases. (JT)

Recent cases in which the courts have either ordered reinstatement of dismissed tenured faculty or refrained from doing so are surveyed, and the themes that generally distinguish one decision from the other are examined. (MSE)

Increased litigation in areas of indirect discrimination in higher education is expected. Indirect discrimination may manifest itself in an institution's failure to promote or grant tenure, its transfer of personnel, changes in the nature of assignments, harassment of faculty members, or other actions that ultimately cause the employee to resign.…

Court decisions regarding appointment, renewal, and termination of nontenured faculty members are reviewed with the conclusion that if further incursion of the courts into the internal affairs of universities is to be avoided both faculty and administrators should reexamine and change policies and procedures to comply with current court decisions.…

An Idaho court case in which a tenured faculty member with seniority was dismissed for financial exigency became two trials, one concerning the university's burden of proof for financial exigency and the other concerning deprivation of the faculty member's due process. The decisions are examined. (MSE)

The McLendon decision compelled the state legislature to provide unprecedented procedural protection to untenured faculty in dismissal processes. The institutions can take precautionary measures in hiring faculty, but it is questionable whether many faculty will risk litigation in any case. (MSE)

Discussion of academic freedom and college teacher dismissal first examines the expectations that institutions should have of faculty, traces the history of academic freedom in America, and looks at conditions that might constitute adequate cause for teacher dismissal. Examples are drawn from court litigation. Catalysts in the institutional…

A New York City bar association's Special Committee on Education and the Law report outlines sound law and practice in the major issues in tenure: fair procedures in reappointment, tenure decisions, and tenure termination; claims of unlawful discrimination, confidentiality claims in tenure decisions; and the scope of judicial intervention. (MSE)

A summary of case law, primarily in the college and university setting, under the various theories of liability currently being used to challenge the traditional doctrine of employment-at-will, looks at recent court decisions in wrongful discharge actions and the contract and tort theories evolving from them. (MSE)

The power of the university to breach faculty contracts in order to meet its temporary cash-flow problems and the rights of faculty when this breach occurs are discussed. To avoid litigation, a university must have established internal guidelines which can be incorporated into an employment contract. (MLW)

In conjunction with court decisions on financial exigency, the Yeshiva decision has an ironic consequence: tenured faculty can be managers for the purpose of exclusion from protection by the National Labor Relations Act, but at the same time have no managerial role in determining staff reduction in financial exigency cases. (MSE)

In the context of recent Supreme Court litigation (Jeffries versus Harleston) concerning academic freedom at City College of New York, the nature and parameters of academic freedom are examined, and harms to an institution that might justify legal action against a professor are discussed. It is concluded that the professor's dismissal was neither…

It is essential that any institutional reorganization plan be based on a solid educational foundation developed in advance so that policy issues guiding program and faculty elimination selection can withstand legal challenge. Reduction methodologies must be decided from a policy rather than legal or emotional perspective. A planning structure is…

A review of litigation decided in 1987 relating to higher education institutions, faculty and staff, and students reflects the most important developments during the year and illustrates the dynamism and ferment on campuses. (Author/MSE)