University Can’t Tell Professor How to Teach

An appeals court has ruled that a tenured Cal State Chico professor cannot be told how to teach.

Suleman A. Moosa made news when it was discovered he was being paid to teach classes in which no students were enrolled. Students and faculty claimed no one took Moosa’s classes because his manner was caustic and his approach was unusual.

After giving Moosa a performance review, Cal State Chico President Manuel Esteban demoted him to associate professor, and Moosa filed suit in Butte County.

The appeals court, however, ruled the demotion was illegal because the contract between Moosa’s union and the university doesn’t allow administrators to give orders to faculty.