IRVINE : 2 UCI Teachers May Protest Replacement

Two UC Irvine instructors of Chinese language are expected to file formal grievances this week to protest their replacement by three professors hired from outside the university.

Jennie Hu and Richard Liao, who were on year-to-year contracts, are upset over the hiring of three new instructors in the East Asian languages and literatures department, according to Daniel Tsang, a representative of Local 2226 of the American Federation of Teachers.

Tsang said Hu and Liao were not given fair warning before the university decided against renewing their contracts. He said they were notified March 27 that the university was interviewing applicants for the department, and both indicated their interest in the positions. However, neither was contacted nor interviewed, Tsang said.

“We’re saying they didn’t evaluate them (for reappointment) in the correct manner,” Tsang said. “To be fair, they should have interviewed the two people that were here.”

University spokeswoman Linda Granell disagreed. “They had the opportunity to apply,” she said.

Granell declined to comment specifically on the qualifications of those who were hired. But she said that one had a doctorate degree and that all were natives of China.

Liao, who taught at the university for five years, holds two master’s degrees in the area of Asian studies. Hu, who has taught at the university for three years, is a native of China and holds a bachelor’s degree in Chinese literature.

Granell was unable to give the names of the recently hired professors, saying that their names are kept confidential until they become employees of the university. She did say, however, that the candidates came from Cornell, the University of Vermont and the University of Utah.

The UCI student newspaper, the New University, reported that petitions were circulating on behalf of Hu and Liao.