University of Michigan’s 2020 Bylaw 5.09 Rewrite Addressed Procedural and Substantive Issues Dr. Bradley Foerster Had Already Raised
In May 2020, the University of Michigan substantially revised Regents’ Bylaw 5.09, the University-wide procedure governing dismissal, demotion, and terminal appointment of tenured and tenure-track faculty. The University conducted Dr. Bradley Foerster’s 2018–2019 dismissal proceeding under the prior April 2011 version of Bylaw 5.09. During that proceeding, Dr. Foerster placed multiple procedural objections into the University record concerning the structure of the initial hearing, the substantive grounds for dismissal, the applicable standard of proof, advance access to evidence, potential bias, procedural timing, and academic-freedom protections . The comparison below examines the procedure governing the Foerster proceeding, the objections Dr. Foerster documented during that proceeding, and the procedure the University adopted in May 2020. 1. The 2020 Revision Replaced the Former School-Level/SACUA Initial-Hearing Split The April 2011 Bylaw c...