ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND TENURE: NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS UNIVERSITY1

Academe, May/Jun 2006 by Nails, Debra, Baez, Benjamin, Hollinger, David A, Collins, Linda, Et al

While on the faculty at Highlands. Professor Turner served for two years as coordinator of the mathematics program and was appointed interim department chair for the 2004-05 academic year when the regular chair went on a temporary leave of absence. That year, he was a candidate for tenure. Three of Professor Turner's departmental colleagues (two of them "discipline peers") supported his tenure candidacy, as did his department chair. Interim Dean Rael did not concur with the department's positive judgment. In a memorandum dated December 7, 2004, addressed to Professor Turner, with copies to the interim provost and the president, the dean emphasized deficiencies that he noted in Professor Turner's performance, particularly in the area of research, and stated that he did not find "sufficient documentation to warrant [Professor Turner's] self-evaluation scores and [those] provided by [his] peers and chair." The dean concluded by stating, "As your portfolio stands currently. I cannot forward favorable support for recommending tenure to the provost."

Professor Turner took sharp issue with Dean Rael's assessment of his performance, especially the dean's challenges to the relative weightings of 40 percent for service and 10 percent for research that Professor Turner had requested. In a memorandum to the Faculty Affairs Committee (FAC) dated December 12, Professor Turner offered a rebuttal to each of the negative comments made by the dean. After reviewing Professor Turner's tenure dossier and his response to the dean's assessment, the committee judged that he met the criteria for tenure and forwarded a positive recommendation to Interim Provost Chavez on December 14. In an e-mail message dated January 18, 2005, the provost notified Professor Turner that she would be "forwarding a denial of tenure to the president at this time," but she did not state the reasons for her negative recommendation.

Professor Turner appealed the provost's recommendation to the FAC, which convened a hearing board in early February to hear Professor Turner and his witnesses as well as Provost Chavez and to "provide the provost an opportunity to reconsider her recommendation."6 Dean Rael did not attend the hearing or otherwise provide an explanation for his position on the matter. A statement from former Highlands provost Glen W. Davidson was entered in evidence, however, to explain special conditions that had been negotiated regarding expectations of Professor Turner. Dr. Davidson, Dean Tomas Salazar, and Chair Wayne Summers had sought Professor Turner's leadership in the mathematics initiative described above. "It was our unanimous agreement." wrote Dr. Davidson, that

following the protocols of The Faculty Handbook, time required for such leadership would place Dr. Turner at risk for tenure consideration if it were not granted up front that the initiatives would count as the major part of his research and service components. It would be expected that in lieu of published research, Dr. Turner would focus on additional grant applications, project reports, and syllabi for the new offerings. In lieu of service, he would be expected to develop networks with high school and community college teachers of math.