Two law profs sue William Mitchell over proposed changes to tenure policy as law school merger looms
Two law professors have sued William Mitchell College of Law, contending that proposed changes to its tenure policy making it easier to terminate faculty are a breach of contract.
Filed Friday in Ramsey County District Court, the complaint by professors Carl Moy and John Radsan follows a February announcement that William Mitchell would merge with Hamline University School of Law to form Mitchell|Hamline School of Law.
As part of the merger process, some faculty and staff cuts are expected, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. However, William Mitchell President and Dean Eric Janus said in February that he hoped to make reductions via voluntary attrition rather than layoffs.
A law school spokeswoman declined the newspaper’s request for comment, citing a policy against discussing pending litigation.
Radson told the Star Tribune on Friday that the school’s board of trustees isn’t following a standard practice of laying off non-tenured faculty before tenured faculty. “They are keeping us in the dark to be able to scare people into taking voluntary buyouts,” he said.
