East Texas Baptist U. Violated Professor's Rights, AAUP Finds

By ROBIN WILSON

The American Association of University Professors has found that East Texas Baptist University violated the academic freedom of a longtime professor last year by firing her after deciding she was too outspoken and too willing "to challenge those in authority."

Two AAUP representatives visited the campus in November to look into allegations that the university had violated the professor's rights by firing her without a hearing.

East Texas Baptist dismissed Jane B. Knight, an assistant professor of business, in February 2002, telling her that "she was no longer a fit for the university," according to a report the AAUP published in the current issue of " Academe," its magazine. Ms. Knight, 61, had worked at the university for 18 years on a series of short-term contracts. East Texas Baptist does not grant tenure.

In a letter to Ms. Knight in August of 2001, Richard H. LeTourneau, a former dean of the university's business school, wrote that the professor's "personality," including her "sarcasm" and "mood swings," were causing problems.

He wrote: "God has placed you, Jane, in a hierarchy of authority in the institution ... and it is only as you learn to accept the judgment of those in that chain of authority that you can continue to be effective in your work."

Mr. LeTourneau warned Ms. Knight that there was "little hope" of her remaining at the university "if you challenge [the letter] or any of the matters I am trying to say in it." Six months later, officials dismissed Ms. Knight. In an interview, the former professor said university officials "didn't like me because I spoke up" about what she thought were problems in the business school. She added: "None of my ability was ever questioned."

The AAUP report describes the letter from Mr. LeTourneau as "intimidation that inhibited the appropriate exercise of academic freedom." It also concludes that the "notice of termination" Ms. Knight received, which gave her five months' notice, "was severely inadequate," and that the university should have offered her a hearing before dismissing her.

In a letter responding to the AAUP's allegations, J. Paul Sorrels, the university's vice president for academic affairs, noted that East Texas Baptist had not adopted AAUP standards regarding academic freedom or tenure. He said the university had therefore decided not to participate in the "unproductive exercise of measuring the university's actions against a set of standards to which the university does not ascribe."

The report will be considered at the AAUP's annual meeting in June, when members will vote on whether to censure the university, delay judgment, or set the case aside. The decision may be affected by a pending settlement between the university and Ms. Knight. She filed a complaint with the Texas Human Rights Commission, charging that the university had discriminated against her based on her age and gender. Although the former professor said she could not talk about the terms of the university's settlement offer, she said she is planning to accept it.