An Indian man who says North Carolina State University denied his initial tenure application because of his race and his “non-traditional teaching methods” failed to assert plausible free speech and bias claims, a divided Fourth Circuit ruled Tuesday.
The three-judge panel’s split decision spotlights a debate over the role courts should play when it comes to reviewing tenure decisions at the university level.
Such review is limited because university officials are better positioned to assess professor performance than judges are and out of respect for academic freedom, the 2-1 US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit majority said. But ...