Two Brigham Young University professors plan to appeal their dismissal because they believe the decision was based on their controversial views and activities rather than their academic qualifications.
BYU officials say the decision not to renew the professors' contracts after next year came after a rigorous and thorough review focused on academic performance."This decision was made on the basis of nonperformance on the kind of level this university wants the professors to perform on. It is not a matter of academic freedom, it is a matter of academic performance," said BYU President Rex Lee.
But professors Cecilia Konchar Farr and David Knowlton believe academic freedom - the subject of tense debate at BYU for the past year - is at the heart of why they lost their jobs.
"BYU doesn't like feminism and people who do critical thinking about Mormonism," Knowlton said.
Farr said that if her appeal is turned down, she'll sue BYU.
"I'm so convinced they made a mistake, that they breached my academic freedom, that if it's not rectified, I have grounds for a lawsuit," she said.
Fifty BYU professors received third-year reviews in a seven-step process that began in their departments and ended with final approval from the Faculty Council on Rank and Status, college deans and university administrators. The third-year candidates began receiving letters notifying them of their status Thursday.
Five assistant professors, including Farr and Knowlton, were not given continuing status. University officials would not release names of the other candidates who failed the review.
The dismissals of Farr and Knowlton sparked a student protest Thursday afternoon, a rare spontaneous demonstration at the private university owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. About 50 people carrying banners and signs marched outside the administration building about 5 p.m. Using a bullhorn, the students read statements defending the professors and asking university officials to reconsider their decision.
The protest attracted a small crowd of onlookers, while people who work in the administration building peered down on the demonstrators from their offices. Some passers-by heckled the students.
There's been speculation for months that Farr and Knowlton would not pass their reviews. Some university professors considered Farr and Knowlton "test cases" whose treatment indicates how BYU plans to deal with controversial faculty members.
Knowlton, an assistant professor of anthropology, has received criticism from LDS Church authorities for his writings about terrorist attacks against the church and its missionaries in Latin America.
The letter informing Knowlton that he was not granted continuing status said he did not publish enough in mainstream, peer-reviewed journals and that some of his writings were "detrimental to the underlying purpose of the university."
"They've ignored articles accepted or published in peer-reviewed journals and made factual errors in terms of dates," Knowlton said.
Farr, an assistant English professor, has been criticized by university officials for her feminist views and her pro-choice stance on abortion.
"It's sad for the university because if the university can't embrace feminist scholarship it's going to have a hard time being a university in the '90s," Farr said.
Her letter did not specifically refer to her feminist views, but criticized the quality of her scholar-ship, teaching and her citizenship. The review committee also was disturbed by Farr's view that "the classroom is essentially political, a place to change the world."
"There are people who've had a lot less scholarship who've gotten tenure," Farr said.
BYU spokeswoman Margaret Smoot said the university is not anti-feminist.
"There are feminist professors that are tenured faculty. We have courses here on feminist literature and other feminist issues. Feminism was not the deciding factor in either of those cases," Smoot said.
University officials insist that the professors' political points of view weren't decisive factors in the Faculty Council's decision.
Lee said "no one was terminated for being too political. We do, however, expect that they teach certain things - not some political agenda."
The LDS Church leadership was not involved in the decision to not give someone continuing status, Lee said.