The trials of academe : the new era of campus litigation / Amy Gajda.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gajda, Amy.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Universities and colleges--Law and legislation--United States.

Universities and colleges.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 334 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This title explores the origins and causes of the litigation trend, its implication for academic freedom, and what lawyers, judges, and academics themselves can do to limit the potential damage. Once upon a time, virtually no one in the academy thought to sue over campus disputes, and, if they dared, judges bounced the case on grounds that it was no business of the courts. Tenure decisions, grading curves, course content, and committee assignments were the stuff of faculty meetings, not lawsuits. Not so today. As Amy Gajda shows in this witty yet troubling book, litigation is now common on campus, and perhaps even more commonly feared. Professors sue each other for defamation based on assertions in research articles or tenure review letters; students sue professors for breach of contract when an F prevents them from graduating; professors threaten to sue students for unfairly criticizing their teaching. Gajda's lively account introduces the new duo driving the changes: the litigious academic who sees academic prerogative as a matter of legal entitlement and the skeptical judge who is increasingly willing to set aside decades of academic deference to pronounce campus rights and responsibilities. This turn to the courts is changing campus life, eroding traditional notions of academic autonomy and confidentiality, and encouraging courts to micromanage course content, admissions standards, exam policies, graduation requirements, and peer review. This book explores the origins and causes of the litigation trend, its implications for academic freedom, and what lawyers, judges, and academics themselves can do to limit the potential damage.

Contents:

An introduction

A world apart : a short history of the rise of academic deference

Battles over bias : anti-discrimination law on campus

Free speech free-for-all : the First Amendment on campus

Prerogative and profit : battles over intellectual property

Privacy in peril : peer review meets judicial review

War of the words : the rise of academic defamation

Of injuries and insults : tort law on campus

Promises, promises : contracts on campus

Looking forward.

Notes:

Formerly CIP.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780674263680

0674263685

9780674053861

0674053869

OCLC:

648760638