Dear Loyola community,
On Wednesday of this week, I had the opportunity to meet with student leaders who organized a protest on campus in support of Professor Scott Heath. I was greatly inspired by their viewpoints, passion for Loyola, and commitment to diversity.
I, too, share many of the values espoused by the students including advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in our faculty. Loyola’s commitment to these principles remains strong – as is our commitment to African & African American Studies. We are conducting several searches with the goal of recruiting talented and diverse faculty and expanding the African & African American Studies program this fall.
I communicated to the students that the progress we need to make related to diversity requires partnership and collaboration among faculty, staff, and students. I remain committed to advancing this work and am tremendously grateful for the leadership of Dr. Kedrick Perry and colleagues who lead our priorities outlined in Loyola’s Plan for Inclusive Excellence.
Upon reflecting on my conversation with the students, I thought that it would be helpful to clarify a number of important facts regarding how faculty retention and hiring decisions are made within the university.
Loyola recognizes and respects the role of tenure and shared governance as basic foundational principles of higher education in the United States. Part of our commitment to shared governance includes delegating responsibility to the faculty of each department the ability to review and make recommendations about their colleagues’ tenure and contract renewals to the dean of their college. In this review process, Loyola adheres to its obligation to treat all faculty in accordance with established practices, principles, and processes, in a manner that is equitable and fair to all.
All faculty members have the right to appeal by requesting a review by the University Conciliation Committee, a committee made up of faculty from across the university. The committee conducts a review to confirm the process has been fair and may request reconsideration, indicating the ways in which they believe that the initial consideration may have been inadequate, or they may affirm the original decision. This process assures faculty members have recourse to an appeal process by an impartial faculty body of peers.
I am grateful to the members of the Loyola community who have been entrusted with roles relative to our shared governance. Without your contributions, we could not advance the mission of the university. My involvement with Professor Heath’s case is not intended to undermine our strong commitment to shared governance but is an extraordinary measure that should only occur in rare circumstances.
Out of respect for the privacy of our faculty and staff, the university does not disclose information related to personnel matters. So consistent with our practices, the university will not provide specific details related to Dr. Heath’s case, except to acknowledge that the decision is still under review.
I am at liberty to share that Dr. Heath has submitted an appeal directly to me in my role as interim president to review the decisions determined through shared governance. My goal in any review is to ensure that the faculty members involved are treated fairly and in an unbiased manner. I am currently reviewing the case including interviewing all key leaders involved in making the current recommendation. As part of that assessment, I am taking extensive steps and consulting with experts to ensure that we are acting in a manner that is true to our values and equity-minded.
I close by requesting your prayers for the Loyola community as we approach the end of the academic year.
Respectfully,
Justin Daffron, S.J.
Interim President
