Scenario
Mountainside State University employed Dr. Amanda Ford beginning in 1996. She was hired as a tenured faculty member in the School of Education.
In 1997, the Vice Provost appointed Dr. Ford to the position of Special Assistant to the Provost at a salary of $85,000 a year. Upon her appointment, Dr. Ford was provided with a letter from the Provost indicating that she would serve as special assistant at the pleasure of the Provost, but that she would be able to return to the faculty role if she left the Special Assistant role.
On November 31, 2006, the Provost asked Ford to step down from her position as Special Assistant. Dr. Ford contacted the School of Education to return to her teaching duties, but was told that all the classes had been assigned for the remainder of the year. Ford then told the Dean of the School of Education, I am going to take some personal leave time due to stressand will return to teach in the fall. Ford went on leave from December of 2006 through August of 2007. She used a combination of vacation leave, sick leave, and leave in her Personnel Leave Account for that period.
While on leave, Dr. Ford continued to be compensated at the annual rate of pay she had received as Special Assistant ($85,000.00). In August of 2007, Ford returned to the School of Education, indicating that she was prepared to resume her faculty role. At that time, Ford was again told that there were no classes available for her to teach. She was further informed by the Dean that she was being terminated from her faculty position for cause because she had failed to return to the School before August.
In response, Dr. Ford threatened to file a complaint in Federal Court claiming that she had a right to immediate placement in her faculty role when she left her position in the Provosts office and that she had been prepared to resume her faculty duties at that time.
Instructions
Faculty at state institutions are afforded constitutional rights, as are other employees. This does not mean that colleges and universities are at the mercy of faculty behavior, or that faculty have completely free reign in their speech and actions. It also does not mean that institutions can treat faculty, or other employees, with arbitrary and capricious actions. There are contractual relationships between employees and institutions that help regulate responsibilities. Many of these contractual relationships have constitutional guarantees to protect the rights of individuals.
The scenario encompasses several issues of law, which can be illuminated further by applying concepts from the Kaplin and Lee text. Use Chapter 5 from the Kaplin and Lee text to address the issues and questions provided below.
The paper must follow the format provided below and use the topics as headings and subheadings in the paper:
Introduction
The introduction provides the context of the topic of the paper. Also, as with any good treatise, it relates the purpose of your paper. For example:
This paper demonstrates how constitutional issues relate to faculty employment at public institutions.
This section of the paper is 1 paragraph.
Termination Issues
Examine the above scenario. Based on information from the reading about property rights, liberty interests, due process, tenure, and cause for termination, address the following questions in this section of the paper:
Tenure Status: What role does Dr. Ford's tenure status have toward her rights according to the Tenure Contract?
Rights and Interests: What are Dr. Ford's property rights or liberty interests in her position on the faculty?
Due Process: How does due process apply to Dr. Ford's situation?
Reasonable Cause: Ford was terminated for "cause." What is the most reasonable cause for termination? Do you agree with this? Why?
Standing to Litigate: Does Dr. Ford have "standing to litigate" as described in the glossary of the Kaplin and Lee text? Why?
Conclusion
The conclusion summarizes the major points of the paper and reiterates its purpose. It ties everything together in a concise manner. The conclusion is 1 paragraph long.