THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2006
NEWS 5A
ADMINISTRATION
Former professor sues University
"We Stand Behind Our Work, and WE CARE!"
Physics professor claims tenure was denied based on his political viewpoints
BY DANNY LUPPINO
The University of Kansas is preparing to go to court against a former physics professor who said he was denied tenure because of his political views.
Jeffrey Olafsen, a self-declared Republican who now teaches
KU administrators argued that the suit was
at Baylor University, was denied tenure in March 2005 after being reviewed by the physics department, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and, eventually, the University. He filed a lawsuit against the University earlier this year.
suit was filed within 30 days of the "final action" and would not be dismissed.
"We're going to ask him to reconsider," said Lynn Bretz, director of university communications.
not filed before the statute of limitations expired and should have been dismissed.
Bretz said a professor could only be denied tenure if that professor was found to be inadequate in
Jeffrey Olafsen, a self-declared Republican who now teaches at Baylor University, was denied tenure in March 2005 after being reviewed by the physics department, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and, eventually, the University. He filed a lawsuit against the University earlier this year.
In July, Judge Jack Murphy denied the University's request, saying the
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"We believe he was denied tenure on appropriate grounds," Bretz said. She said the fact that the review made it through three levels of faculty-ensured fairness.
terms of teaching, research or service. She said this was the case with Olafsen's review and the University committed no wrongdoing.
Oleisen, however, cited several administrative errors during the review process. He said he believed his review was influenced by the political leanings of other department members, including department chairman Stephen Sanders. Olafsen said Sanders had made disparaging remarks about Republicans during a meeting between the two professors.
When reached, Sanders, through his secretary, declined to comment on the matter, referring all questions to the University general counsel.
"The remarks not only call into question his objectivity, or lack thereof," Olafsen said, "but also create a context where the department's 20-some-odd errors are less likely the result of incompetency and more likely the willful disregard of the rules to achieve a certain objective."
Olafsen said he didn't expect to benefit much from the suit, but he said he wanted it to help those seeking tenure in the future.
Kansan staff writer Danny Luppino can be contacted at dluppino@ kansan.com.
- Edited by Aly Barland
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