Term ending 5/99:
Nathan Buras, Chairman, Hydrology and Water Resources
Li-Zhi Fang, Physics
Shitala Mishra, Special Education, Rehabilitation and School Psychology
Hamid Saadatmanesh, Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics

Term ending 5/00:
Albrecht Classen, German Studies
Jeffrey Haskell, Music
Juan Heinrich, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Allan Matthias, Vice Chairman, Soil, Water and Environmental Science

Term ending 5/01:
Victoria Mills, Library
Marek Rychlik, Mathematics
Edward Williams, Political Science
Amy Williamsen, Spanish and Portuguese

Term ending 5/02:
Adela de la Torre, Mexican American Studies and Research Center
Elizabeth Glisky, Psychology
John Maré, Veterinary Science and Microbiology
Joseph (Jay) Stauss, American Indian Studies Program

Ad Hoc:
Richard Cortner, Political Science
Alice Paul, Teaching and Teacher Education
Alfred Quiroz, Art

Charge:

The Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure shall have jurisdiction to make inquiry and to conduct hearings in two general areas, namely: in regard to those matters contained in the Conditions of Service dealing with the contractual employment relationship between the General Faculty member and the University/Board of Regents; and in regard to any internal matters relating to grievances against or by any member of the General Faculty. The Committee shall consider the protection of academic freedom and tenure as a principal obligation. (Constitution of the General Faculty of The University of Arizona, Article V, Section 9b).

Case Requiring Panel:

A case of denied tenure was initiated before May 1, 1998, and continued during the 1998-99 academic year. The case was brought by a faculty member in the College of Humanities. As soon as the complaint was submitted to CAFT and the panel was appointed, the Head of the relevant Department and the Dean of the College were contacted in order to start gathering the information necessary for the case. The Head of the Department and the Dean refused to establish any contact with CAFT and to transfer to the panel any documents.

Instead of the relevant documents, the chairman of the panel received a memorandum from the Office of University Attorneys stating that they are studying the jurisdiction of the panel in this case. In addition, the memorandum stated that the University Attorneys’ Office will recommend to the panel a private legal office to assist them. The response of the panel chairman was that the panel will fulfill its task according to the letter and to the spirit of the policy as formulated by ABOR and appearing in the UHAP.

The material regarding this case existed in a voluminous confidential file in the Provost’ Office. This file was studied in all its details and a number of incongruities were discovered. For example, a few days after the College P&T Committee voted unanimously to deny the complaining faculty member promotion and tenure, the Head of the Department signed an excellent overall performance evaluation.

Since the CAFT panel had only one-sided information (provided by the complainant) and given the incongruities appearing in the Provost’s file, the panel could not reach a routine recommendation. Instead, it recommended to the President of the University a non-conformist solution to this case: one more opportunity should be given to the complainant so that the faculty member could do unhampered scholarly work. The results of this effort will then be evaluated and a final recommendation be made by the evaluating committee. This recommendation, which was formulated with the concurrence of a senior member of the University Attorneys’ Office, was accepted by the President. The complainant was offered an additional year and the faculty member accepted.

Other Items:

1. Grievance Procedures:

The Faculty Grievance Procedures are currently under review by the Committee of Eleven. A number of principles were drafted. The proposed new procedure will be submitted to the Faculty for review and comments.

2. A CAFT Website:

A website for CAFT was prepared and it is posted at http://w3fp.arizona.edu/caft

Final Comment:

CAFT could not have worked without the close support and cooperation of the Faculty Center. Special thanks are given to Pamela S. Bridgmon, who not only took accurate notes and prepared minutes of our meetings, but also pointed out some of the pitfalls so that we could avoid them.

April 1999

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