Tempers flared lTuesday when numerous members of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee accused President John B. Simpson and Provost Satish Tripathi of having a gender bias in hiring and tenure procedures.
Allegations were directed at Simpson after he delivered an address on the university's financial situation, causing the discussion to incorporate gender and the administration's promotion practices.
Paul Zarembka, North Campus grievance officer for United University Professions, a union for UB faculty and staff, said at the meeting that the situation has arisen due to instances where female faculty were denied promotion by Tripathi.
According to Zarembka, there have been five or six cases this year where female candidates were recommended for promotion, only to have the recommendations overturned at the last minute.
"The situation as I see it is that... we had five or six cases where the President's Review Board (PRB) voted in favor of a candidate," he said Wednesday, "but [Tripathi] denied tenure."
The PRB is an advisory board appointed by the president and provost to make recommendations on promotion and tenure issues.
"I don't know of any males for [whom] that happened," Zarembka said. "Part of the concern is what's happening in the provost's office, and...why does the president seem to always confirm what the provost does with regard to promotions?"
Simpson responded by saying that the president does not always agree with recommendations from boards or departments.
"It's something I think about often and something I take very seriously," Simpson said in response to the allegations. "My job is to be an independent evaluator...to use my very best judgment."
James Holstun, professor in the Department of English, raised the issue following some of the President's remarks.
"We've got to nurture assistant professors at UB, and the process for their promotion and tenure needs to be clear . . .it needs to be transparent," Holstun said. "I've already heard about people who are thinking about applying for jobs elsewhere because of these denials of tenure."
Professor David Shucard in the Department of Neurology at Buffalo General Hospital said that candidates go through a rigorous analysis of credentials, from their own department to several committees to be recommended for promotion.
"The provost usually never overturns the recommendation of the PRB, because the PRB spends hours looking at all this information... unless there's a split decision," Shucard explained at the meeting. "What this provost has been doing is making unilateral decisions based on his own take, and there seems to be reason to suspect he possesses a gender bias."
Another issue, Shucard said, is that decisions that do not make sense to those outside of the administration are not discussed after the fact.
"The process is not transparent... The provost doesn't go back to the PRB and... explain why he overturned 40 people that voted in favor of this individual," Shucard said. "What's the purpose of hiring those committees if the entire process can be overturned by a single individual?"
Some faculty members said that there was little basis for accusing the administration of discrimination.
"It's ridiculous to think [the president is] gender discriminating," said Diane Christian, a Distinguished Professor in the Department of English.
According to Lucinda M. Finley, vice provost for Faculty Affairs from 2000 to 2008, 96 percent of cases for promotion that came to the provost's office resulted in a positive decision.
"I think that the statistics should be pretty reassuring," she said, explaining that the number of tenure denials has not changed from the previous administration.
Finley asked that faculty and staff "transcend strong feelings" about individual cases, and take a "look at the larger picture."
According to Zarembka, faculty who feel they have been wrongfully denied promotion have a contractual ability to undergo a grievance process, where those rejected for promotion have the option of taking their case to the Faculty Senate.
"But if it's a member of a protected class - a woman, minority or someone who is 40 or over - it can go to either state or federal courts," he said.
Zarembka said that from his perspective, Tripathi is the one making the decisions to deny promotion.
"Then the president seems to always support that one individual's decision," Zarembka said. "The recommendations that come up are positive, sometimes extremely positive, but [Tripathi] goes in the other direction. He has this enormous unchecked power - that's the problem."
Shucard said that the process of being denied tenure is so intimidating to faculty members that a lot of those affected in the past have not come forward.
President John B. Simpson and Provost Satish K. Tripathi was unable to be reached for comment prior to the press time for this issue.
Look for additional coverage in coming issues of The Spectrum.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
