From the Faculty Grievance Committee

"The Faculty Grievance committee met yesterday to consider the grievance that you filed. After reviewing the materials that you submitted, the committee agreed that this matter is outside  of our jurisdiction. This conclusion is based both on the charge to the Faculty Grievance Committee by the Faculty Senate, as well as recent investigations conducted by the committee.

The committee regrets the university’s decision not to reappointment the instructors in foreign languages, and we understand your frustration with the situation. I realize that our sympathy brings you very little comfort at this point and that you are likely disappointed with this outcome. We reviewed your materials carefully and we understand that you do not feel that the criteria were applied fairly.  If we had accepted your grievance and conducted an investigation, we would have interviewed people involved, compared wait lists, course enrollments, and any other evidence to the criteria you were given.  Even if we found that  the criteria were not fairly applied,  however, there is nothing that we as a committee could do to alter the outcome of this situation.  Based on grievances we have heard before, when the university gives a year’s notice of non-reappointment, they are acting within their legal rights, and they do not have to provide a rationale or a cause.

We do not believe that conducting an investigation into your grievance will be productive for you. We do not have any influence in decisions made concerning non-reappointment decisions for individuals who are not in tenure track positions. The decision not to investigate your grievance does not carry with it any evaluative implications.  By declining to consider your grievance, we are simply indicating that this not an issue that we can review."