II-1.00(D)

UMB Procedure for the Faculty Board of Review in Faculty Termination Case

Faculty   |   Approved September 1, 1990

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Responsible VP/AVP

Roger Ward, EdD, JD, MSL, MPA

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Applies to Faculty

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Revision History

Approved by the President, September 1990

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Policy Statement

I. PURPOSE OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A FACULTY BOARD OF REVIEW

Under a policy adopted by the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland on April 5, 1989, the President of UMB may terminate the appointment of a tenured or tenure track faculty appointee for moral turpitude, professional or scholarly misconduct, incompetency, or willful neglect of duty. The faculty member shall be given the opportunity to request a hearing by a faculty board of review, an impartial hearing officer or, with the President's consent, the President, prior to termination. This Procedure is adopted by the UMB Faculty Senate for use when a faculty member requests a hearing by a faculty board of review.

II. CONSTITUTION OF THE FACULTY BOARD OF REVIEW

A. The UMB President will promptly advise the UMB Faculty Senate of any timely requests from a faculty member for review of charges by a Faculty Board of Review. A Faculty Board of Review shall be selected by the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate. The Faculty Board of Review shall be named by the Committee within 10 working days after the President of the Faculty Senate receives notice of a request for a Faculty Board of Review. The hearing scheduled pursuant to this request shall be held no sooner than thirty (30) days after the UMB President received the faculty member's request for a hearing.

B. Members of the Faculty Board of Review shall all be tenured faculty who are not appointed in the same school as the faculty member against whom the President has made charges of cause for termination. No member of the Faculty Board of Review shall have participated in any way in the formulation of the UMB President's recommendation for termination, or have had direct involvement in the matters specified in the charges brought by the UMB President.

C. The Faculty Board of Review shall consist of five regular members and two alternate members. The alternate members shall sit with the Faculty Board of Review as fully participating but nonvoting members.

D. The Faculty Board of Review will elect its own chairperson ("the Chairperson").

E. UMB (through the Attorney General's Office, in accordance with State Law) shall provide the Faculty Board of Review with legal counsel who has had no other connection with the termination proceedings.

III. PROCEDURES TO BE FOLLOWED BY THE FACULTY BOARD OF REVIEW

A. The hearing shall be closed unless the faculty member requesting the Faculty Board of Review requests an open hearing.

B. The date and time of the hearing shall be set by mutual agreement of the faculty member and the Faculty Board of Review. The hearing shall be scheduled to begin no sooner than 14 days and no later than 30 days after the Faculty Senate receives notice of a request for a Faculty Board of Review.

C. The faculty member requesting the hearing and the UMB President or an UMB academic officer designated by the President will be the parties presenting evidence at the hearing. Both parties may be represented by legal counsel at the hearing. Legal counsel to the Faculty Board of Review also may be present.

D. At the first session of the hearing, the Faculty Board of Review shall elect a Chairperson by majority vote of all members, including both regular and alternate members. Either of the parties may challenge a faculty member's participation on the Faculty Board of Review as a regular or alternate member on grounds of partiality or conflict of interest. The challenge may be accompanied by supporting evidence. The Chairperson will read the challenge and ask whether the challenged member chooses to exclude himself or herself. An affirmative answer will be accepted. In the event of a negative answer, all regular and alternate members of the Faculty Board of Review (excluding the challenged member) will consider evidence offered in support of the challenge and statements by the challenged member and by the party bringing the challenge. The Faculty Board of Review will then vote on the challenge and the challenged member shall be excluded if at least three members so vote.

E. A regular member excluded by choice or vote shall be replaced by an alternate member chosen by the Chairperson. When necessary, additional alternate or regular members shall be appointed by the Chairperson to maintain a total number of five regular members and two alternate members when hearings commence.

F. At least five days prior to the hearing, each party must provide the other (a) a list of all witnesses the party may call and a brief summary of each witness's expected testimony; and (b) copies of all documents the party may introduce into evidence at the hearing. Testimony and documents not identified before the hearing in this manner may be introduced as evidence at the hearing only if the Faculty Board of Review determines that the witnesses and documents were not reasonably identifiable before the hearing.

G. Only evidence offered and made part of the record in the case shall be considered by the Faculty Board of Review in the determination of the case. Documentary evidence may be received in the form of originals, copies or excerpts.

H. Transcribed depositions may be received in evidence if both parties have been given opportunity to appear and cross-examine the person being deposed.

I. The Faculty Board of Review can set reasonable time limits for presentation of testimony.

J. The Faculty Board of Review cannot compel the presence of witnesses requested by either party. However, the Faculty Board of Review will aid either party in requesting that witnesses appear. Additionally, the Faculty Board of Review may select witnesses of its own.

K. Upon the request of either party, all persons to be called as witnesses will be excluded from the hearing until called to testify.

L. In case of serious delays caused by nonappearance of witnesses or unavailability of evidence, the Faculty Board of Review will rule on whether to continue without delayed evidence. Continuances will be granted by the Faculty Board of Review only in extraordinary circumstances.

M. All oral evidence shall be tape-recorded. A copy of the tape and all written evidence shall be kept on file by the UMB Provost for at least five years and made available to both parties upon request. If the hearing is closed, all records of the hearing will be confidential and available only to the parties, their representatives, UMB academic officers involved in the matter, the Faculty Board of Review, the legal counsel of any of them and, in the event of an appeal, the Board of Regents and their legal counsel. The tapes of the record will not be transcribed for the parties by the Faculty Board of Review or at its expense.

IV. DELIBERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE FACULTY BOARD OF REVIEW

A. After all evidence has been presented, the alternate members will be excused and the regular members of the Faculty Board of Review will meet in closed session in order to prepare a report to the UMB President stating findings on the charges and the recommendations of the Faculty Board of Review regarding termination on the basis of charges found to be true.

B. A majority vote will be determinative.

C. The Faculty Board of Review will write a report that will be dated and that will include (a) a list of the charges and specification of the allegations supporting the charges; (b) a summary of the evidence presented; (c) a summary of the arguments of the parties; (d) the specific findings of the Faculty Board of Review with respect to the allegations; (e) the action by the UMB President which the Faculty Board of Review recommends with respect to each charge; and (f) the number of members voting for or against each recommended action. The report shall be signed by all participating members. Dissenting opinions, if any, shall be attached and shall be signed by all dissenting members.

D. The report, including recommendations, shall be submitted to the UMB President no later than 60 calendar days from the Faculty Senate's receipt of the request for formation of a Faculty Board of Review, unless an extension has been granted by the UMB President.

E. Copies of the report and recommendations shall be sent to both parties. The President may provide copies of the report and recommendations to other academic officers of UMB.

F. The Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate will be notified by the Chairperson that the work of the Faculty Board of Review has been completed and that the Board is disbanded.

V. ADMINISTRATION

The time limits for action by faculty members seeking consideration by a Faculty Board of Review may not be extended. The Faculty Board of Review shall make good faith efforts to act within time limits specified in this procedure. However, failure to observe the time limits in spite of good faith effort shall not result in abandonment of the termination case by the University or obtaining of special rights by the faculty member who has requested a hearing.

VI. UNIVERSITY POLICY

This Procedure is adopted to implement policy of the University System of Maryland established by its Board of Regents. In the event that there is any conflict between this Procedure and current or future University policy, the University policy will take precedence over any conflicting provisions in this procedure.