Dive Brief:
- An American Association of University Professors committee released a report Tuesday in which it found Northeastern Illinois University guilty of retaliation and in violation of academic freedom due to its denial of tenure for outspoken linguistics professor John Boyle.
- Boyle's tenure was denied after a faculty vote last year voiced no confidence in NEIU President Sharon Hahs. Linguistics faculty played a central role in the votes, expressing opposition to the school's president and provost.
- Boyle was the only professor among 16 up for tenure that year who didn't get it, and Hahs says she rejected his tenure because he didn't meet a filing deadline and wasn't cooperative enough with colleagues and students — and the AAUP said it found neither reason credible.
Dive Insight:
Boyle played a role in a dispute that led to a split between the department of linguistics and Teaching English as a Secod Language prior to the vote of no confidence, and the AAUP said Hahs retaliated against him for this. Boyle had allegedly guided students to study linguistics instead of TESL during his role as a student advisor. Still, his proposed tenure had the support of other linguistics faculty, the department head, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and a faculty personnel committee. Boyle left the university May 31.