[lbo-talk] Prof. Larudee's rights violated during tenure process

[ken hanly]

  I wonder what if anything will happen as a result of
this Review Board decision? It is rather strange that
the Board maintains that although there was a
violation of her rights that there is no remedy. Is
she an accused terrorist or something? Perhaps
defending a critic of the Israel lobby must bear a
family resemblance to a terrorist.
  The Review Board itself seems to have screwed up
itself on several issues.

CHeers, Ken Hanly

0/31/2007                                             
                 **FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE** 
                                                      
                          
www.academicfreedomchicago.org
Media Contact: 
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               Tenure Process Violated DePaul
Professor's Rights, Review Board says


Professor Mehrene Larudee's rights were violated by
DePaul University during her tenure process, according
to a Review Board decision issued October 26.
Unanimously approved for tenure by her department, the
International Studies Program, as well as the College
of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LA&S), she was turned
down by the University Board on Promotion and Tenure
(UBPT) in May, and the president denied her tenure in
June. It is widely thought that she was denied for
supporting Prof. Norman Finkelstein during his
controversial tenure case last spring. 


According to the Faculty Handbook, Larudee should have
been notified promptly both of the fact that the UBPT
had voted against tenure for her and of the reasons
why. Had this rule been followed, she would have had a
chance to give the President reasons to reverse the
UBPT decision. The Review Board agreed that her rights
were violated, but offered no remedy, saying the
Handbook has no defined mechanism for a response to
the President. Larudee insists the Handbook does
define a right to respond. The Review Board also
rejected her separate claim that her academic freedom
was violated. 


The Review Board ignored evidence, too, that the UBPT
failed to use criteria prescribed in the Faculty
Handbook to evaluate her performance, as the lower
levels had. Many at DePaul wonder why the UBPT failed
to follow the written guidelines, and why the Review
Board made no response to Larudee's objections.
Possibly the Review Board decided this was beyond the
scope of their mandate. If so, says senior
International Studies student Evan Lorendo, "I
strongly disagree. It implies that many rules for
evaluating faculty for tenure in the Faculty Handbook
are unenforceable." Victor Lang, a senior Economics
student, says, "Larudee is an excellent instructor, a
good scholar and should be tenured. This is a loss for
the students of the International Studies Program." 


The Review Board of three, a dean and two faculty, of
whom one recently served as an administrator, excluded
faculty from the College of LA&S where Larudee and
about half of DePaul faculty teach.  Its decision
stands in stark contrast to a recent report by an ad
hoc Academic Freedom Task Force of faculty in the
College of LA&S. The report insisted that if a
candidate is endorsed for tenure at the department and
college levels—as Larudee was—then the UBPT may only
reverse that decision by uncovering procedural error
or bias at the lower levels. The UBPT decision against
Larudee's tenure cited no such procedural error or
bias. 


Larudee is exploring further action to challenge the
tenure denial. 


The denial of tenure to Larudee, and the fact that the
Review Board sustained that decision, has created a
state of uncertainty regarding the rights of faculty
at DePaul University. Junior faculty in particular are
feeling pressure to avoid any stance that may be
construed as controversial. 
                                                      
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