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              maroon LOYOLA UNIVERSITY. NEW ORLEANS i Vul L Nil 22 April 18 1974 1 Rank and tenure-is it just? VICKI SALLOUM Staff Reporter Some faculty members fear that the financial cmnch will make it difficult to attain promotions or tenure this year. They are relying heavily on a fair evaluation of their credentials, but some say this is precisely what they are not getting. According to Dr. William Odom, assistant professor of German, some good, young faculty members are "terrified" by the financial situation and are looking for other jobs. "Almost any non-tenured faculty member, if offered another job, would take it," he said. Dr. Richard E. Johnson, assistant professor of English, explained that the economic crunch has made the administration reluctant to make life-time financial commitments to many young people granting them tenure. Therefore, standards for promotion and tenure have become far more rigorous, he said. Some faculty members lash out at the evaluation system. One faculty member believes the administration has given the faculty little voice in judging their peers, while another contends that members of one college evaluation committee fail to uphold standards they evaluate in others. According to Dr. James E. Swearingen, chairman of the English Department, the College Rank and Tenure Committee (CRTC) is the single most important college committee for establishing future standards. Yet, he believes, members of the CRTC for the College of Arts and Sciences are not exemplary in meeting the standards they are asked to apply to others. "The A&S CRTC has 9 members, and 5 don't have their Ph.D.s. This is scandalous. They are supposed to uphold standards in research and teaching. Yet, they are not excellent teachers, many dont have a terminal degrees in their fields, and they are not a group noted for scholarship and publication," he complained. Although CRTC members are elected by the faculty, many faculty members are disillusioned with the election of the committee, Swearingen said. It would perhaps be better to have a nominating committee composed of people who are themselves exemplary, he believes. "When a faculty votes for a person on the A&S CRTC, few go out of their way to get someone with rigorous standards. People don't chose those who are better than they are. They make choices most comfortable to them. I'm absolutely confident that a mediocre faculty wants to ensure mediocre faculty. An institution tends to perpetuate itself at its own level. That's the reason I'm leaving," he exclaimed. Swearingen was ultimately recommended for tenure last semester, but he plans to teach at Marquette University in the falL In defending A&S CRTC members, Dr. Richard S. Wendt, Professor of Chemistry and Chairman of the College Rank and Tenure Committee for the College of A&S, said that the committee functions as a jury. In that respect, it is more important for a committee member to exercise mature judgement than to have a terminal degree or to be active in publication, he contends. "We are not trying to understand the nature of someone's research. We are trying to compare the criteria in the handbook with a man's credentials. You don't have to be a Nobel prize winner to do that... The important thing is to have wise, sincere people. In my observation, there is little correlation between a sense of justice and whether a man has a terminal degree and active research," he said. One faculty member points to inequities at another level of the evaluative process. According to Dr. Judith Cooper, assistant professor of French, the administration has shown no confidence in the faculty to make decisions based on professional qualifications. "A faculty cant act responsibly if it is not given a chance. The main difficulty with the process is that the administration will not accept the decisions of these committees. It has made a pretense of setting up a structure, but the whole system is tokenism. All the power resides in the administration - one or two men who are making all the decisions," she said. Between March 30, 1971 and April 10, 1973, the University Rank and Tenure Committee (URTC) rendered 13 decisions on promotion or tenure. Six were overturned by the administration, according to records obtained by the MAROON. Only one case, which involved early tenure, has since come before the URTC, according to Mr. Joseph H. Lawson, associate professor of Law and chairman of the URTC. It did not involve dissent, he said. Dr. Cooper explained that at the creation of the URTC, the University Senate formulated the following procedure which was approved by the Board of Directors: That the decisions of the University Rank and Tenure Committee shall be considered final, except in rare cases and for compelling reasons...' Dr. Cooper added, "The number of cases in which the administration has rejected the decisions of the URTC are Cooper on rank and tenure: "All die power resides in die administration." Photo by Kavln Hodges- Moonlighting prof  may be fired VICKI SALLOUM Staff Reporter A Loyola business professor charges by his dean with substantial misrepresentation of facts is in danger of being fired, despite his tenure contract. Dr. Donald L. Losman, Associate Professor of Economics, has been accused by Dr. Lowell C. Smith, Dean, College of Business Administration, of violating a requirement of the faculty handbook prohibiting faculty members from teaching at other universities without authorized permission. Smith said he did not grant Dr. Losman permission to teach six hours at Tulane University last semester or to teach 12 hours at Dillard University this year. "I have never granted Losman permission to teach anywhere," Dean Smith said. But Losman contends that Smith recommended him to teach at Tulane last semester, adding that a Tulane representative notified him then of Dean Smith's expressed approval. When contacted by the MAROON, ' Tom Hendricks, former Assistant Dean of 1 the Tulane Graduate School of Business f Administration, said Dean Smith highly recommended Dr. Losman for the e teaching assignment. 1 "During the summer, I called Dean f Smith and asked if he had anyone a available to teach a business course. He ' said he had a good man, well-respected as 1 a teacher, whom he'd be proud to have 1 teach at Tulane. He gave his approval for Dr. Losman to teach one course for 150 • first year students." 4 Losman taught the course in two 3 sections, for a total of six hours, s Hendricks explained. He can't recall if Smith knew Losman was to teach two n sections, but said, "I think he did." He n said he is positive Smith knew Losman was teaching at Tulane. h When asked if he had approved t Los man's Tulane teaching assignment, e (continued on page 3) I Dr. Donald L. Losman faces possible dismissal for handbook violatM*. I Photo by Kevin riodge»i y Sixth candidate chosen for university presidency Rev. Robert F. Weiss, S.J., President of St. Louis University High School, St. Louis, Mo., is the sixth candidate to be named for the University Presidency. "He is the last of the candidates unless a new name unexpectedly appears on the horizon," said Rev. Ernest Ferlita, S.J., Chairman of the Board of Directors. Fr. Weiss, 50, received his Ph.D. in Education from the University of Minnesota. Before assuming his present position, he was Assistant Dean, Dean, Member of the Board of Directors and Vice President, and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Faculty General Assembly of Rockhurst College. Candidates chosen previously are Rev. James C. Carter, Rev. Edward A. Doyle, Rev. Nicholas Felton, Rev. Donald J. Hayes, and Rev. John F. Keller. The top three candidates will be chosen in early May by the Advisory Search Committee. The Board Search Committee will rank these candidates in order of preference and the Board of Directors will elect the new University President on May 16. (continued on page 3)