Tenure-Related Letter and Access to it?

[mcj1218]

To make a long story short, I made a request for a one-year extension on my final tenure decision at a state university. This was due to a combination of disability and unforeseen circumstances relating to my family. I was told by my department chair that she would support my request. I was then sent an email by the college dean denying my request based on a letter of nonsupport from the department head (the chair). I asked for specifics regarding the reasons for the denial and was given very little information. I have repeatedly asked for a copy of the letter of nonsupport, which has been ignored.

Basically, I would like to know if I have a legal right to this letter. Does anyone have any experience with something like this?
Thanks for any feedback.

[Morden]

I'm sorry to hear this is happening to you. Do you have a faculty union or faculty handbook that lays out the process? Do you have anything in writing from the Department Chair?

[mcj1218]

Thank you Morden,

No, my chair told me she would support my request for an extension in person. I had been discussing my issues over the past couple of years and I was considering the extension request, but she brought it up before I did. I have known her for a while and trusted her, so I thought she would honor her word. That was my mistake. The fact that I can't get access to the official letter of nonsupport she wrote to the dean makes me wonder if a letter was actually written. I can't even get the administration (from Chair to "School"' head to Dean to Provost) to explicitly address whether or not I should have access to it.

There is no stipulation in the faculty handbook that I can find dealing with access to this information.

[Ruralguy]

I know this is going to sound snarky, but there  is a group of professionals that are trained to answer legal questions. Yeah, I know, they cost money and many don't know much about faculty labor issues. But you can get referrals.

[apostrophe]

This is not a good situation, and I'm sorry. You need to take action.

If you don't have a union or a trusted mentor/senior colleague (always the first places to go for help), you might reply to the dean's email and CC your chair asking them to outline the appeal process and restating that the request was disability-related. It could be a simple mistake--a missed deadline, disorganization, whatever--and not malice, so be brief, polite, and careful and try to give everyone who should have been involved a chance to see that you are serious before you really escalate.

If they don't take you up on the kind offer to rethink their bad decision, I vote with Ruralguy to contact a lawyer.

[mcj1218]

No union. For a variety of reasons, I don't have good mentor options. There is nothing regarding an appeals process for an extension request from what I can find.

I think we are beyond any mistakes or oversights. I have made multiple inquiries to the powers-that-be. Taking the correct steps toward contesting everything has been difficult as my disabilities and extenuating circumstances directly impact this sort of thing.

It looks like I will have to find an attorney.

[apostrophe]

No union. For a variety of reasons, I don't have good mentor options. There is nothing regarding an appeals process for an extension request from what I can find.

I think we are beyond any mistakes or oversights. I have made multiple inquiries to the powers-that-be. Taking the correct steps toward contesting everything has been difficult as my disabilities and extenuating circumstances directly impact this sort of thing.

It looks like I will have to find an attorney.

Yikes, sorry. Are you sure you chair AND dean are aware that you have made inquiries to both parties? If so, I agree that it's time to escalate.

[Hegemony]

It is bizarre that your chair would tell you that she supported your extension, and then turn around and lobby against it. If I understand you correctly, she even suggested the possibility before you brought it up?  What does she say now?  Can you say, in a calm tone of genuine curiosity, "I was surprised to hear from the dean that my request for an extension was denied, and that the dean says that it was denied because you [chair] were not in support. Can I ask what your concerns are about the extension?  Did I misunderstand that you supported my request?"  Because it seems to me that it's not important to see the letter so much as it's important to find out what the objections are. I would guess that — if indeed it's true that the chair did not support you, which is not certain — that although your reasons might have been valid, the powers that be did not find them strong enough. But it could also be that your chair wrote a neutral or brief letter which the dean is taking to be "Not enthusiastic enough support," and the problem really lies with the dean, who sounds like the ultimate arbiter here.  Can you make your case directly to the dean?  Again, calmly and objectively, not with protests about "unfairness" and "secrecy," which, warranted or unwarranted, will tend to get the dean's back up.

[polly_mer]

But it could also be that your chair wrote a neutral or brief letter which the dean is taking to be "Not enthusiastic enough support," and the problem really lies with the dean, who sounds like the ultimate arbiter here.  Can you make your case directly to the dean?  Again, calmly and objectively, not with protests about "unfairness" and "secrecy," which, warranted or unwarranted, will tend to get the dean's back up.

I've certainly seen this happen in which someone thought they wrote a supportive letter that simply failed on communication with the necessary audiences.

[mcj1218]

No union. For a variety of reasons, I don't have good mentor options. There is nothing regarding an appeals process for an extension request from what I can find.

I think we are beyond any mistakes or oversights. I have made multiple inquiries to the powers-that-be. Taking the correct steps toward contesting everything has been difficult as my disabilities and extenuating circumstances directly impact this sort of thing.

It looks like I will have to find an attorney.

Yikes, sorry. Are you sure you chair AND dean are aware that you have made inquiries to both parties? If so, I agree that it's time to escalate.

Yes. The chair, the dean, and the the person in-between (Director of the "school"). All were copied on correspondence and there was just enough acknowledgement and response to my inquires to be sure of their awareness.

[mcj1218]

It is bizarre that your chair would tell you that she supported your extension, and then turn around and lobby against it. If I understand you correctly, she even suggested the possibility before you brought it up?  What does she say now?  Can you say, in a calm tone of genuine curiosity, "I was surprised to hear from the dean that my request for an extension was denied, and that the dean says that it was denied because you [chair] were not in support. Can I ask what your concerns are about the extension?  Did I misunderstand that you supported my request?"  Because it seems to me that it's not important to see the letter so much as it's important to find out what the objections are. I would guess that — if indeed it's true that the chair did not support you, which is not certain — that although your reasons might have been valid, the powers that be did not find them strong enough. But it could also be that your chair wrote a neutral or brief letter which the dean is taking to be "Not enthusiastic enough support," and the problem really lies with the dean, who sounds like the ultimate arbiter here.  Can you make your case directly to the dean?  Again, calmly and objectively, not with protests about "unfairness" and "secrecy," which, warranted or unwarranted, will tend to get the dean's back up.

Because I was told by my chair (who happened to a friendly acquaintance before starting here and have several mutual friends now) that she would support my application and saw no other information to indicate the request would be denied, I was very much caught off-guard when the email came from the dean. The dean claimed that his decision was based on a "letter of nonsupport" from the DH. I was very confused and in my response questioning the denial, I asked for more details (including the name of the author). I thought perhaps the director of the school may have written the letter and the dean incorrectly stated it was the DH. This was never answered. For quite a while, I acted as if the chair was not responsible for the letter. The chair answers to the school director, who stated he would play no role in the extension decision (there was meeting with the chair, director, dean, and myself about a month before the rejection). I am now under the impression that the director played the primary role in the rejection. I met with my chair to discuss the rejection and other additional issues pertaining to my disabilities and she behaved as if the rejection decision was out of her hands (This was while still assuming she did not write any kind of nonsupport statement). I don't have much specific information about any of this and very little documentation (nothing beyond email text), I am in the dark. I know a number of my repeated requests for some basic information have gone unanswered.

I was given vague information on reasons for the denial, but they were never brought up as issues by the chair or anyone else, and they had nothing to do with the substance of my reasons for the request. I don't know what my legal standing is regarding the merits of my case versus the justification for the denial. The lack of transparency, refusal to give some basic answers to straightforward questions, and fact that I was only told of support by my chair is unacceptable to me. Part of my disabilities have been new mental health issues coupled with existing that have made concentrating on sustained tasks like writing much more problematic, so I hope this message made some sense.

[clean]

Perhaps you make an appointment with the dean and ask. If that fails, perhaps a formal Freedom of Information Request. 

[mcj1218]

Perhaps you make an appointment with the dean and ask. If that fails, perhaps a formal Freedom of Information Request.

I have asked for the information several times, and do not get responses. I am considering a FOIA request with or without contacting an attorney.

[mcj1218]

BTW, thanks to everyone offering advice...

[JCu16]

My first thought would be are you at a publicly funded university? If so you can FOI the emails to find who it was strictly who did not support your application. If you don't have an FA, or a supportive senior colleague, I would definitely go the legal route and force them to release it - is there nothing in your personal contract/or faculty policies that allows you to request the information that is held at the university (at most state schools you are able to request it but they keep that quiet)?

If you can't get access to this, I would suggest consulting a lawyer, and launching the FOI request or seeking discovery of the emails and letter that lead to your request being denied. If there is any prejudice there for reasons not related to the current situation, this will likely reveal it and allow you to decide how to precede. If they are hiding it and related information, there is likely a reason.