Ralph D. Mawdsley

Collegiality as a Factor in Tenure Decisions

The successful governance of the academic business of the university depends on cooperation. While disagreements play a vital role in any decision-making process, university faculty and administrators may seek to use the tenure process to deny tenure to nontenured faculty whose contributions have been divisive and disruptive. To date, no court has found that the use of collegiality in making tenure decisions is inappropriate. However, judicial conflicts arise as to whether collegiality has been invoked in a manner that is discriminatory or violative of free speech. Because collegiality is concerned with conduct rather than such academic matters as publication records or numbers of courses taught, it is likely to be a suspect factor to faculty members who have been denied tenure.

The Principal and Religious Activity.

Religious activity in public schools has become a major issue in the 1990s as result of the Equal Access Act and Lambs Chapel, but neither has eliminated the Establishment Clause as a viable concern for public school officials. Despite indications that student religious expression is protected to the same extent as other forms of free speech, legitimate concerns still exist re garding public school endorsement of religion.

Legal Issues Relating to Higher Education Personnel Handbooks

Courts have frequently interpreted a university’s personnel handbook as a contract that can be violated if the university fails to abide by its terms. Such lawsuits may occur when a university threatens to take adverse action against an employee and often arise in three kinds of circumstances—when situations develop that are not addressed in the handbook, when the university fails to follow handbook procedures for handling a particular personnel matter, or when written expectations for employees are poorly drafted or are subject to differing interpretations. When drafting or reviewing a personnel handbook, university administrators should makes sure the handbook conforms to legal and constitutional requirements. In addition, the handbook should make clear what parts—if any—constitute a contract between the university and the employee and the means whereby the handbook can be amended. In addition, university officials should make sure that the university does not engage in practices that are at variance with the handbook language.

Religious Educational Institutions: Limitations and Liabilities under ADEA and Title VII.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and Title VII were enacted to further a national public policy prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of specified protected categories. Title VII, however, has several exemptions permitting religious organizations to discriminate on the basis of religion. ADEA has no such exemptions. Superimposed over both statutes are the free-exercise and establishment clauses protecting the right of religious educational institutions to practice their religious beliefs. The extent to which religious schools and colleges should be restrained in the practice of their religion, where such practice concerns alleged discrimination, involves a careful consideration of the nature of the institutions, the nature of the employee, and the interaction of constitutional interpretation and public policy.

Minorities in Nonpublic Schools: A Call for Action

Nonpublic schools exist for many reasons, says this writer. These include the pursuit of religious, cultural, and vocational goals. They also may include discriminatory goals, which, he cautions, must be corrected.