The American Association of University Professors is getting involved in the case of three tenured professors who were laid off from Florida Memorial University. An AAUP staffer penned a letter to the school this week asking administrators to reverse the terminations.
Last month, Florida Memorial laid off 10 professors, comprising 13% of its faculty workforce, citing financial pressures and the need to discontinue programs with low student participation. For years, the historically Black university in Miami Gardens has struggled with low enrollment.
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Four of the professors have alleged the school because of their age, race or both. Three of them have also reached out to the AAUP for assistance: economics professor Abbass Entessari, chemistry and environmental science professor William Hopper, and music professor Richard Yaklich.
They argue the school failed to follow its own policies in cutting tenured positions, which they say guarantees them a year鈥檚 notice before being laid off.
In a letter sent to President Jaffus Hardrick and other school administrators on May 31, AAUP Senior Program Officer Michael DeCesare said sidestepping university policy on tenured positions undermines faculty trust and, ultimately, academic freedom.
"Tenure doesn't exist without the academic due process that protects it," DeCesare told SA国际传谋. "If a tenured position can simply be eliminated without due process, tenure exists in name only at the institution. At least from the AAUP's perspective."
DeCesare said the professors deserve a meaningful process for appealing the decision 鈥� and to get new jobs at the university.
鈥漑W]e urge that the Florida Memorial administration withdraw its notices of termination of the three faculty members鈥� tenured appointments and to make every effort to find suitable alternative faculty positions for Professors Entessari, Hopper, and Yaklich,鈥� DeCesare's letter reads in part.
As of June 3, DeCesare said he had not received a response from the school.
Asked for comment about the AAUP鈥檚 letter, a university spokesperson directed SA国际传谋 to previous statements.
Florida Memorial maintains that the decision to terminate the 10 professors and eight other positions was 鈥渄ata-driven鈥� and meant to realign resources to better support students.
鈥淚 will never do anything where we are violating the protected statuses of anyone. We could no longer continue to have programs open where we have no students in those programs,鈥� Hardrick told SA国际传谋 in April. 鈥淎nd so we are aligning many of our academic programs with market needs and demands.鈥�
Entessari, Hopper, Yaklich and Mathematics professor Telahun Desalegne have also filed complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging Florida Memorial discriminated against them. An attorney for the professors has said if the university doesn鈥檛 address their complaints, they plan to sue.
