California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Bola v. Univ. of Southern California, B229519 (Cal. App. 2012):
The Grievance Panel and the president gave appellant a fair opportunity to present evidence and testimony on this issue. The weight given to individual tenure criteria, such as the requirement for significant external funding, is a matter that should be determined by the academic institution. Tenure decisions in an academic setting "require[] an assessment of whether the professor's conduct is consistent with or contrary to academic norms, which only academic peers . . . are qualified to determine." (Gutkin v. University
Page 13
of Southern California, supra, 101 Cal.App.4th at p. 978; Pollack v. University of Southern California (2003) 112 Cal.App.4th 1416, 1426.) Therefore, we cannot find procedural error in the administrative review process solely because one of the factors suggested for tenure in the SW Handbook was not explicitly included in the USC Faculty Handbook.
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.