Academic freedom and tenure: Charleston Southern University (South Carolina)

Academe, Jan/Feb 2001

Introduction

This report is concerned with the action taken by the administration of Charleston Southern University (CSU) to dismiss Professor Robert Rhodes Crout for cause in the middle of his eleventh year on the faculty. It will also concern itself with the nonreappointment of Professor David Aiken after six years of faculty service.

Charleston Southern University, founded in 1964 as the Baptist College at Charleston, began offering classes in fall 1965. The college changed its name to the current one in November 1990. Located sixteen miles north of Charleston, CSU describes itself as "an independent comprehensive university affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention." According to CSU's statement of purpose, "The University was founded upon the principle that students should have an opportunity for a quality education under the guidance of Christian faculty." The university defines its mission as "promoting academic excellence in a Christian environment." The institution's twentyfive-member board of trustees is elected by the South Carolina Baptist Convention.

Accredited since 1970 by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, CSU awards the associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees. The university enrolls some 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students, who are served by a full-time teaching faculty of eighty-seven. Ten others (administrators, librarians, ROTC personnel) also have faculty status. As will be discussed below, the institution effectively lacks a system of faculty tenure.

Dr. Jairy C. Hunter, Jr., became the second president of Charleston Southern University in 1984. Throughout President Hunter's sixteen years in office, Dr. A. Kennerley Bonnette has served as the university's chief academic officer. Dr. Harriette Magee, who retired in December 1999, served for ten years as CSU's first dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

II. The Case of Professor Robert R. Crout

Dr. Robert Crout received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Georgia in 1977. Between 1978 and 1987, he held a series of research and editorial positions at Cornell University, Princeton University, and the University of Virginia. During the 1987-88 academic year, he served as an adjunct lecturer in history at the University of South Carolina, Aiken. The following year, he was a visiting assistant professor of history at Oregon State University. He was appointed to the faculty of Charleston Southern University as assistant professor of history in fall 1989. In 1993 he was promoted to the rank of associate professor. He served at CSU until his dismissal in fall 1999.

During his more than ten years of service at CSU, Professor Crout received largely favorable assessments of his academic performance and of his service contributions to the institution. In 1997 he applied for promotion to the rank of full professor and had the enthusiastic endorsement of his department chair, Professor David Rison, and the unanimous support of the faculty members on the Promotion and Tenure Committee. (The promotion process at Charleston Southern does not provide for faculty review at the departmental level.) Professor Rison described his colleague as an accomplished scholar, an "innovative and creative teacher," "very well respected by his peers," who "excels in service to his church and to his community." Among the letters written on behalf of Professor Crout's candidacy was one from the dean of students praising him for being a "student advocate and faithful supporter of student activities on and off the CSU campus," and a "model professor committed to CSU's mission and student development."

Despite this strong support for his promotion, Professor Crout was notified by letter of April 7, 1997, from Provost Bonnette that his application had been turned down. The only opposition on the faculty Promotion and Tenure Committee had come from Dean Magee, who recommended against his candidacy-a recommendation that was sustained by the provost and the president. On April 10 Professor Crout sought a review of the decision by the Faculty Grievance Committee, alleging that the dean had committed various procedural irregularities in the handling of his application and had given inadequate consideration to his qualifications.

Shortly after submitting his grievance, Professor Crout, at the suggestion of President Hunter, met with the dean and the provost to discuss their reasons for opposing his candidacy and to "draw up a prescription for [future] promotion." Following that meeting, Provost Bonnette, by letter of May 9, provided Professor Crout with a written statement of those reasons. According to the provost, the dean had given Professor Crout a 7 (out of 10) in the "teaching" category because she was disturbed by some students' comments related to your sarcasm, condescending attitude, and remarks that made them feel stupid. She felt that was unworthy of someone aspiring to the highest rank among college faculty. She also pointed out that these types of comments had also been made in previous years and that she had discussed this with you in earlier conversations.