AAUP Censures Four Institutions for Academic, Tenure Violations - No. 118

Sep 28, 2026

AAUP censured four institutions for violating academic and tenure principles. Temple University, two colleges, and a medical school were condemned after a heated vote, bringing the total number of censured schools to 49. A separate set of institutions were removed after settlements, while Temple professors alleged they were denied a hearing. The administration cited “retrenchment” under a collective bargaining agreement but acknowledged the dismissals were not required by financial considerations and continued using other instructors.

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AAUP Censures Four Institutions for Academic, Tenure Violations

No Hearing Allowed

Retrenchment and Arbitration

Settlement Debated

Institutions Censured by the American Association of University Professors

Vo1.13,No.118 Tuesday,June 18,1985 # AAUP CENSURES FOUR INSTITUTIONS FOR ACADEMIC,TENURE VIOLATIONS The American Association of University Professors(AAUP)last week censured auniversity,two colleges and a medical school for violating the academic andtenure principles of the association. After heated debate,the AAUP Friday voted overwhelmingly to censure TempleUniversity,the Oklahoma College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery,Westminster College of Salt Lake City and Southwestern Adventist College inKeene,Texas,to bring the number of schools censured by AAUP to 49. Removed from the censure list were the University of Texas Health ScienceCenter in Houston,after it reached a monetary settlement with a dismissedprofessor,and Harris-Stowe State College in St.Louis,which has reinstated apreviously dismissed tenured professor. No Hearing AllowedTemple University Professor Mike Harris told the AAUPmeeting that"what is at issue is not what happened to four professors,butfour or five dozen.They were kicked out.They were not given a hearing,"Harris said."We have been bloodied by a bloody administration." "Censure by the parent AAUP union was a virtual certainty the day the inquirywas initiated almost a year ago,"Temple University President Peter J.Licourassaid yesterday."There is no evidence whatsoever that faculty and staff re-cruitment and retention at Temple has been affected.The latest action isregrettable,but it in no way will arrest our momentum." The university in an earlier statement said that the local AAUP chapter“seemsto be ideologically unable to grasp the notion that it might be eminentlyreasonable for a university to spend its limited money strengthening academicdepartments in which student enrollments are stable or raising rather thansubsidizing the salaries of faculty members who have no students to teach." Broppedent 29,700 from 36,00019821976.number of students enrolled at Temple The AAUP investigating committee found that the administration based its actionon a clause in a collective bargaining agreement with the Temple AAUP chapterpermitting the termination of services of a tenured faculty member on groundsof"retrenchment,"including financial exigency or the reduction or discontin-uation of a program or department. "Retrenchment is one of the most serious steps an institution of higher learn-ing takes,"and“attempts will be made to increase revenue by all feasiblemeans,"said Temple in 1982·The university said it would cut back in thefollowing order:part-time faculty,full-time faculty on term appointments and,finally,faculty members with tenure,the agreement said.(more) # AAUP CENSURES FOUR INSTITUTIONS FOR ACADEMIC,TENURE VIOLATIONS(Cont.) But the administration acknowledged that firing the four professors was notrequired by financial considerations and did not discontinue academic pro-grams.The administration also continued to employ part-time and nontenuredfaculty members to teach courses which,the administration acknowledged,thefour tenured professors were qualified to teach. The AAUP investigating committee also found that the dismissed faculty memberswere not given a hearing as authorized by AAUP governing rules. Grievances filed by the Temple AAUP chapter challenging the faculty termina-tions proceeded to arbitration under the collective bargaining agreement andwere decided in favor of the administration. Settlement DebatedDuring the arbitration hearing,Temple Universityprofessor and former Temple AAUP chapter president Leroy Dubeck had recommendedto the tenured professors that they accept severance pay.He said he did sobecause he was not optimistic about the outcome of the arbitration. Temple AAUP chapter president Phil Yannella said after the censure vote,"Thecore of the case was the abject behavior of our administration.It's just thetip of the iceberg.Temple's argument is they say they are a private corpora-tion,capable of making business decisions on a whim." "We will go bac

FAQs

Which institutions were censured by the AAUP for academic and tenure violations?

AAUP censured Temple University, the Oklahoma College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery, Westminster College of Salt Lake City, and Southwestern Adventist College in Keene, Texas.

Why did Temple University say it acted despite the censure?

Temple said the issue was regrettable but would not affect its momentum, and it referenced “retrenchment” under a collective bargaining agreement permitting termination of tenured services on specified grounds.

What dispute involved hearings for the dismissed professors?

Temple professors claimed they were not given a hearing as authorized by AAUP governing rules, and the AAUP investigating committee concluded the dismissed faculty were denied an appropriate hearing.

Sep 28, 2026

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