UW-Madison faculty met Tuesday to continue development of a faculty/staff disciplinary process.
After previous debate, ""serious criminal misconduct"" was defined as ""being charged with, pleading guilty or no contest to, or being convicted of a felony in a state or federal court.""
The Committee Regarding Faculty/Academic Disciplinary Process met Tuesday afternoon at Van Hise Hall to discuss eliminating the phrase ""being charged with"" from the definition.
""The expressed concern is that allowing initiation of dismissal proceedings in the absence of a guilty or no contest plea or a conviction violates a faculty member's due process rights and is inconsistent with the presumption of innocence until proven guilty,"" said a memorandum sent to the committee.
""The essential issue is, what are the grounds for suspension without pay or dismissal in the face of specific felony charges,"" said Robert Mathieu, chair of the UW-Madison University Committee.
The meeting was adjourned without a decision, and the committee will reconvene on Monday, Oct 30.
Faculty have been debating the wording of the proposition since the three highly publicized cases of faculty criminal misbehavior last year.
