Professor appealing dismissal

After receiving a notice of termination, a professor has filed for an appeal, claiming the university has an unreasonable basis of his termination and has violated his academic freedom.

"I protested administrative policy and procedure violations and was persecuted as a result," said Stephen Germic, assistant professor of English.

The Faculty Appeals Committee granted Germic an appeal hearing for April 25. Five tenured members will hear Germic's appeal and make a recommendation to President Linwood Rose, who will make a final binding decision, according to III.M.2.c. of the faculty handbook.

Germic said that if the final result of the hearing were unsatisfactory, he would sue the university for defamation and violation of his contract and First Amendment rights.

Germic, who was a member of the Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies Steering Committee, which designs and implements IDLS major curriculum, said he received letters of termination citing his unsatisfactory performance in the IDLS department. The letters came from both David Jeffrey, chair of the department of English, and A.J. Morey, associate dean of the College of Arts & Letters.

Morey also referred to herself as Chair of the IDLS Steering Committee in a Sept. 17, 2002, memorandum to Jeffrey recommending Germic's termination. As of yesterday, she said she was supervisor of humanities and social sciences in IDLS. According to Germic, the faculty handbook does not give a person with either title the authority to initiate a termniation.

However, Germic said he is being terminated not because of his performance, but because he expressed concern about the integrity of IDLS and university policy. According to Germic, this is a violation of his academic freedom.

Germic also said the university has violated his First Amendment rights, placed a double standard on him compared to his colleagues and created false allegations against him.

Both Jeffrey and Morey refused to comment on the situation.

At two different points, Germic said he expressed opinions that ultimately led to his termination from the both the IDLS and the English departments.

The first, according to Germic, was during a March 28, 2002, meeting of the steering committee. Germic said he was responsible for selecting a literary text for the IDLS curriculum, but that Morey disapproved of his selection of poetry and brought her own recommended texts. "I suggested her attempts to take over my responsibilities were inappropriate," Germic said. "She responded with pronounced hostility and verbal remarks."

Germic said the second instance was Sept. 9, 2002, when Morey submitted revised specifications for IDLS faculty, which would give the "IDLS head" considerably more power in tenure determinations. The following day Germic submitted an e-mail to the IDLS Steering Committee requesting that it consider whether such a revision was allowed by the faculty handbook. The amended provision was removed from the IDLS specifications.

A week later, Germic received a letter of termination.

According to Germic, his performance evaluations were bogus and internally inconsistent.

An April 4 evaluation of Germic by Morey noted that she had "reservations about [Germic's] role and attitude" and described him as "combative." However, Morey also said in the evaluation that, "[Germic has] also been good about following through on time-limited tasks, and when something needs to be done, I know I can call on him to help out."

Germic said that this was the "only document containing any suggestion of the unsatisfactory nature of my service to JMU." He said he attempted to appeal the evaluation on the basis of its inaccuracy but was denied his right to appeal by Richard Whitman, dean of the College of Arts & Letters.

Whitman declined to comment on particular details of the situation.

Germic also said that his evaluations contained material inaccuracies. "My merit ratings on my faculty evaluation were incorrect and designed to give me the lowest possible score," Germic said, referring to the Sept. 18, 2002, Annual Merit Evaluation done by Jeffrey. Germic said that his ratings were weighed on scales outside of the allowable range, which is a violation of the English department's guidelines.

"There have been no arguments in any substance that prove my inadequate performance," Germic said. "They had to make up a case against me after the fact."

According to Germic, his termination was a collaboration between Morey and Jeffrey. He said Jeffrey fired him from the English department as a result of Morey's recommendation to remove him from IDLS.

"My title is assistant professor of English, not of IDLS," Germic said. "The administration is working hard to define my position at JMU as just part of the IDLS program. But my contract has nothing about that. I was hired for the English department, and if there were actual legitimate reasons for my termination it should have started there, not in IDLS."

The English department's Personal Advisory Committee reviewed Germic's termination. In a Nov. 6, 2002, letter to Whitman, the PAC unanimously recommended that his contract be renewed. The letter described Germic as "a collegial addition to the department, who has made his presence known through several important service contributions." The recommendations of the PAC are not binding on the administration. According to Germic, the findings were commended but ignored by the deans.

After learning that Germic was being terminated, one of his students, junior Liz Caffrey, created a petition for him to keep his job. According to Caffrey, "over 50 students from his classes last semester signed the petition."

Caffrey said Germic's class was the best she has taken at JMU, and he is her "favorite" professor. "I was completely shocked that he was being fired because he was well-organized and approachable, and he really allowed us to explore and discuss issues," she said.

Junior Kevin Edwards, a student of Germic's who signed the petition, said that it was ridiculous that Germic was being terminated because he spoke up about policy changes. "He has a great attitude about education, and I feel that is what matters, not politics," he said.

Germic said he has been deeply touched by the support he's received from his students and colleagues. "If it wasn't for them I would have crawled into a hole and died by now," he said.