The UW-Madison Faculty Senate is asking the American Association of University Professors, a national organization representing academic freedom, to censure the UW System Board of Regents for the \questionable terms"" surrounding the 2001 dismissal of former UW-Superior journalism professor John Marder.
According to UW-Madison political science Professor Downs, when the Regents decided to fire Marder, a tenured professor, for alleged unprofessional conduct, they also created a new rule concerning standards for just cause for dismissal in tenure cases.
Downs said the new rule lowers the protection of tenure, particularly for controversial faculty who speak out. However, Downs said a larger issue is that the Regents may have violated state law.
Under state law, when new policies are created involving just cause for tenure dismissals, they need to be the joint product of the Regents and what is referred to as the ""several faculties,"" according to Downs.
""The Regents never consulted us,"" Downs said. ""They just [made the rule] unilaterally.""
Following the creation of the new policy, the faculty senate established a special committee, of which Downs was a part, to draft a letter airing the committee's grievances. The committee sent the letter to the Regents in December, but the Regents refused to meet, according to Downs.
