UCI Acted Within Authority in Tenure Denial, Court Rules

An appeals court has reversed an Orange County Superior Court decision ordering UC Irvine to rehire an assistant mathematics professor who was denied tenure by the university.

The 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana ruled that UCI officials acted within their authority when they decided in 1992 to drop assistant professor Paul McGill from the faculty.

McGill, who came to UCI in 1987 after 14 years of teaching mathematics at European universities, appealed the mathematics department’s decision not to recommend tenure. A series of committees decided that his research and service to the university were insufficient for reappointment to the faculty.

But Superior Court Judge William F. McDonald ruled that McGill’s termination was unjustified, finding that the mathematics department based its decision “on the fact that Mr. McGill lacked the requisite congeniality” with other faculty members.

But the appellate panel disagreed.

An opinion written by Justice Edward J. Wallin held that the university’s decision to deny tenure was “not arbitrary or capricious” and that the school followed the proper procedures in reviewing McGill’s application.

Said Wallin: “The university may . . . have shown poor judgment in not granting McGill tenure. But nothing in the record suggests its decision was made for illegal or improper reasons. We cannot interfere with it.”

Eric K. Behrens, an attorney for the university, said the panel’s opinion was “well-reasoned.”

“If a university doesn’t have certain freedoms to make tenure decisions, that’s going to undermine one of the basic freedoms to chose who is qualified to teach,” Behrens said.

McGill has since taken a teaching appointment at a university in France, according to his attorney, Donald K. Hufstader, who declined comment on the court’s decision.