A revised policy will make it harder for Indiana University administrators to punish faculty without input from their peers.
The Board of Trustees unanimously confirmed University Faculty Council changes to the academic appointee conduct policy at its meeting in late July.
Administrators used the old version of the policy last December to suspend political science professor Abdulkader Sinno from teaching for a year.
A faculty board of review argued that, by doing so, the vice provost for faculty and academic affairs Carrie Docherty violated campus policy.
They argued that Bloomington policy required a faculty committee to hear his case.
The revisions make clear that campus policies will apply whenever severe sanctions are possible. It also clarifies what counts as a severe sanction. The new definition includes anything that significantly infringes on a professor’s ability to teach.
