Termination of a Tenured Position

A position held by a tenured Faculty member may be terminated under conditions of financial exigency or as the result of a fundamental change in the curriculum. In the case of financial exigency, no position may be terminated until the President of the College has officially recommended and the Board of Trustees has agreed that such a state exists. In the case of fundamental curricular change, the Dean of the College must establish that the best interests of the College would be served by such a change.

1. Financial Exigency

   Financial exigency is a severe financial condition that threatens the viability of the College. A determination shall be made that the usable unrestricted assets of the College will be exhausted in a determinate period of time unless remedial measures are taken.

   Some of the circumstances that would contribute to a financial emergency are (1) a pattern of declining enrollment, (2) poor fund-raising results, (3) serious investment reverses, or (4) significant annual deficits without offsetting increases in liquid assets. Financial exigency is not necessarily a condition of imminent bankruptcy or collapse, but a set of conditions under which some action is necessary to preserve existing resources in order to avoid future collapse.

   The first step in the determination of financial exigency is a judgment by the President of the College that such a condition exists. The President shall make a public statement of intent to declare an emergency and shall present the evidence upon which the judgment is based, along with supporting documentation, to a select committee of five members elected from the Faculty and five senior administrators appointed by the President. One of the administrators shall be the Dean of the College, who shall serve as chair of the committee. Within thirty days, the President's judgment and the committee's response to it, whether in agreement or not, shall be presented to the Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees for its review, evaluation, and recommendation to the Board, which shall have final authority to determine whether or not a state of financial exigency exists.

   If the Board of Trustees determines that a state of financial exigency exists, the select committee shall then develop an institution-wide plan for responding to the financial emergency. As part of this plan, the committee shall consider to what extent it will be necessary to reduce teaching staff and what principles shall be followed if reductions are deemed necessary. The committee's recommendations shall be presented to the President, who shall then develop a specific plan that, after review by the committee, shall be presented to the Board for final action. Any significant disagreements between the President and members of the committee shall be reported to the Board.

   When a position held by a tenured Faculty member is terminated through this process, the following provisions shall apply:

   1. any position held by a tenured Faculty member and vacated through financial exigency shall not be filled for a period of at least three years;
   2. a tenured Faculty member losing a position shall be entitled to a full year's notice, to full compensation for one calendar year from the date of notification, or to partial compensation in the event another position at the College is found at a lower salary.
   3. a tenured Faculty member shall be given full consideration for other vacant positions at the College;
   4. the College shall provide a tenured Faculty member reasonable assistance in finding another position outside the College, and;
   5. if the same position is re-established within a five year period, the College shall make every reasonable effort to contact the tenured Faculty member who lost the position and offer him or her reinstatement.

      During the period of financial exigency, the President shall report to the College community at the time of the meeting of the Board of Trustees. When the President determines that the exigency no longer exists, he or she shall recommend to the Board that it declare the end of the period of financial exigency. The Board shall have final authority for such action. The select committee shall remain in existence until the end of the period of financial exigency.

2. Fundamental Curricular Change

   Under certain conditions, such as changing educational priorities or financial pressures short of exigency, it may be necessary to terminate a position held by a tenured Faculty member because a fundamental change in the curriculum will eliminate the courses that the Faculty member is employed to teach. To effect a fundamental change in the curriculum that may result in the termination of the appointment of a tenured Faculty member, the following steps shall be required. The Dean of the College shall submit a report to the President of the College stating the reasons why she or he believes that a certain set of academic courses should be considered for elimination.

   The Dean's report shall evaluate the academic strength of the courses in question and their relevance to the overall College curriculum. This report, with the President's approval, shall be presented to the Faculty Committee on Curriculum and Academic Standards, which shall review it and seek additional information from the members of the program in question. The Committee's recommendation, together with the Dean's report, shall be presented to the President, who shall review it and submit it, the Dean’s report and his or her recommendation to the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees. The Academic Affairs Committee shall conduct its own review of the relevant actors and shall make a recommendation to the Board for final action.

   The same provisions for notice of termination, re-employment, and employment assistance shall apply for a tenured Faculty member whose position is terminated as a result of a fundamental curricular change as for one terminated as a result of financial exigency (Termination of a Tenured Position).