A leading American faculty organization is formally investigating the mass termination of tenured and tenure-track professors on grounds of financial exigency made by the University of Texas System and its Medical Branch in Galveston in the wake of Hurricane Ike.

These layoffs "raise key issues of academic freedom, tenure, and due process," the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) wrote in a letter last month to UT chancellor Francisco Cigarroa and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) president David Callender, announcing the formation of a committee that will conduct a full inquiry into the dismissals.

"Without addressing our concerns and without any appropriate changes... it went to the point where the [AAUP] general secretary authorized the creation of an ad hoc committee to look into this matter more closely," Eric Combest, an AAUP associate secretary in the department on academic freedom, tenure, and governance, told The Scientist.

"We stand behind our processes," said Barry Burgdorf, vice chancellor and general counsel for the UT system. "We believe it was fair and equitable and done in a very transparent manner, and we're prepared to defend that."

Last November, UTMB gave the pink slip to more than 2,400 employees, including around 120 faculty members, 43 of whom were tenured, after declaring that the September storm that slammed into the island campus created a "financial exigency" that allowed administrators to cut budgets in any way necessary, including layoffs. Since then, many organizations have taken issue with the university's claims. The Texas Faculty Association, a state group that represents professors, sued the university in December, and dozens of fired faculty members have appealed their terminations.

The AAUP voiced its concerns about the financial exigency, the termination notices, and the appeals process in a series of three letters sent to Callender and Cigarroa between January and March and one letter to UTMB provost Garland Anderson in April. On April 21, Burgdorf and Kenneth Shine, the UT System's executive vice chancellor for health affairs, wrote an 8-page response to the AAUP's allegations. However, the organization "found that the main concerns that we'd raised in our letters were not really addressed sufficiently to quell our concerns," said Combest.

The AAUP is now recruiting a few independent investigators "who don't have a dog in the fight" and who will visit Austin and Galveston in the summer to meet with UT administrators and affected faculty members, said Combest. The committee will prepare a report in the "early fall," which may be published later in Academe: Bulletin of the AAUP. If the organization rules against UT, its officials could be placed on the AAUP's list of censured administrations. That list currently names 46 institutions across the country, including five New Orleans-based schools that axed professors following the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina. The censure list is "kind of a mark of shame in academic circles, and generally something that administrations don't like to see," said Combest.

Burgdorf said he expected the investigative action even before sending his written rebuttal to the AAUP's accusations in April. "What's happening here is that the AAUP doesn't want to ever see a professor terminated, so they're looking for any way they can to prevent that from ever happening," he said, noting that UT officials have not replied formally to the AAUP's May 12 letter announcing the move. "They really didn't invite a response," he said. "At this point we're really just waiting for them to" launch their investigation.


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