Webinar

Yes We Can: Approaches to Post-Tenure Faculty Review

March 16, 2023 | 12:00 pm 1:30 pm EDT

About this Event

The vast majority of tenured faculty members offer vital contributions throughout their careers to advance the teaching and research missions of their colleges and universities.  However, addressing the performance and conduct issues posed by a small number of tenured faculty in a shared governance framework often requires a large-scale coordinated effort on the part of counsel, provosts, department chairs, and a cadre of other institutional leaders.  The result is usually limited success in minimizing the legal and reputational risks posed by an underperforming or misbehaving faculty member – or worse— messy and public complaints, litigation, and internal cultural strife. 

Join us for a 90-minute webinar in which two expert NACUA member attorneys will discuss post-tenure faculty review, including: 

  •  Legal developments over time that have impacted the institution of tenure that have both contributed to the challenge of problematic tenured faculty members and recently provided an opportunity to address this issue;
  • Costs and benefits of instituting a post-tenure review policy or system that balances risk mitigation, due process, and respect for academic freedom;
  • Practical considerations such as building internal stakeholder support;
  • And employment legal implications including conducting defensible reviews, unionized faculty, and more. 

Who Should Attend? 

This webinar will be of particular interest to counsel who advise on faculty matters, academic affairs, employment law, and institutional policy development and management, as well as institutional colleagues in the Offices of the Provost, Faculty Affairs, and Academic Affairs.

Speakers

Elizabeth Bullock

Senior Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs and General Counsel

University of Denver

Elizabeth Bullock is Senior Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs and General Counsel at the University of Denver. In this role, she serves as the University’s chief legal officer and leads the Office of General Counsel and its team of attorneys. She provides strategic legal guidance, consultation and support to the chancellor, trustees, and senior administrators, on topics including employment law, faculty and student affairs, institutional policies, Title IX, institutional governance, nonprofit laws, and other laws and regulations. 

Elizabeth previously served as general counsel at the University of Tulsa and associate attorney at Harvard University. She has also practiced as associate attorney at the Jenner & Block LLP in Washington, D.C. and served as a law clerk for the Honorable Stephanie K. Seymour of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Elizabeth received her J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame. 

Alexandra Mitropoulos

Senior Counsel

Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP

Alexandra A. Mitropoulos (“Allie”) is Senior Counsel at Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP. She advises and represents colleges, universities and other nonprofits on policy, compliance, and risk management issues. In addition to her role at the firm, Allie is also Deputy General Counsel at Berklee College of Music. 

Allie has significant experience conducting investigations for employers, secondary, and post-secondary schools on a wide range of issues, including sexual violence and harassment, retaliation, and discrimination on the basis of gender, race, and disability. 

In addition, Allie has particular experience in the areas of campus safety and security, Title IX, the Clery Act, state, federal and international data privacy regulations, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), student affairs, faculty misconduct, and complex contracts. She defends colleges and universities in an array of litigation matters in both state and federal court. In addition, Allie provides advice on policies and procedures, and conducts training. 

Allie’s practice also includes advising businesses and nonprofits on a variety of employment matters affecting not only their day-to-day operations but also their long-term business objectives.  Allie works on a wide range of cases and issues, including pay equity, privacy laws, anti-discrimination statutes, contracts, and employment policies and practices. 

Program Schedule

TimeSession Topic
12:00 P.M. ETWelcome & Introduction
How Did We Get Here and Where are We Now?
Implementing a Post-Tenure Review Process
Questions & Answers 
We  Have  a Process – Now What?
Questions and Answers 
1:30 P.M. ETConclusion

Webinar Recording

Members who purchase the Live Webinar will receive access to the Post-Event Recording in the Online Learning Center at no additional charge. Non-members will not have post-event access to the recording or the materials and should plan to download materials during the live webinar.