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SOU faculty evaluations called into question Panel finds fault with administrative procedures By Sara Murphy ASHLAND � Two unrelated grievances filed against Southern Oregon University administrators this summer may indicate a need for the school to tighten up its faculty evaluation procedures. In a report dated Aug. 14, a faculty hearing panel found that SOU administrators violated business professor Suad Cox�s right to due process when she was placed on paid leave following a personnel dispute. The committee also ruled that administrators failed to follow the school�s bylaws in handling Cox�s evaluation. In an unrelated case, a hearing panel ruled on July 25 that Spanish professor Silvia Gonzalez-Martinez received proper evaluations and was not the target of discrimination when her contract was not renewed. The committee did, however, express concern that the professor hadn�t received informal warnings between evaluation periods. Interim President Sara Hopkins-Powell declined to comment on the grievances Friday. Cox, who heads up the Hotel, Restaurant and Resort Management program at SOU, was placed on paid leave in May after telling police she had been assaulted by a coworker, who was also placed on leave. When Cox returned to work in June, administrators told her she is "coordinator" of the hospitality program and to cease using the title "director." Cox grieved that she was placed on leave without just cause or due process, and that she was "demoted" for discriminatory reasons. She also argued that supervisors violated the university�s bylaws in handling her evaluation. Though the hearing panel found no evidence of discrimination and did not view Cox�s title change as a demotion, the committee did find errors in the way her situation was handled. The committee agreed that Hopkins-Powell, then provost, and John Laughlin, dean of the business school, denied Cox due process when they did not explain why she was on leave. The panel sided with the administrators� explanation that Cox�s position always had been as a coordinator, but also "assign(ed) error" to Hopkins-Powell and Laughlin for allowing Cox to use the director title for four years. The committee also found that Laughlin, Hopkins-Powell and business department Chairman Curt Bacon failed to follow and enforce the SOU bylaws, which require the department chair to consult a personnel committee when conducting faculty evaluations. The panel recommended stricter adherence to the bylaws within all the university�s departments, particularly the school of business. For Cox, the on-paper victory means mixed success. She�s concerned that hospitality industry colleagues will view her title change as a demotion, as well as a sign of trouble within the SOU business department. "I need to reinstate my title," Cox said. "I accepted this job as a director. There is no reason that they should change it on me now." Cox said she�s pleased that her grievance may prompt change within the university�s evaluation practices. However, she still feels like her problems haven�t been remedied. "I�d like a public apology, that�s what I�d like to have," Cox said. "I�ve been a good teacher, a good administrator for the university. "My reputation is who I am and they ruined my reputation." Fighting for her job, Spanish professor Gonzalez-Martinez told a hearing committee in July that she had been "improperly and inadequately" evaluated and that her contract was not renewed due to discrimination. The hearing committee found no evidence of systematic discrimination and denied Gonzalez-Martinez�s request for reinstatement based on its findings that the foreign languages department followed proper evaluation procedures. The committee did, however, express concern that Gonzalez-Martinez did not receive informal progress reports prior to receiving poor evaluations in December 1998 and May 1999. "We recommend the department modify their normal practice to improve informal communication of strengths and weaknesses with new faculty members," the panel wrote. It also suggested that any letters of recommendation focus on Gonzalez-Martinez�s strengths and that they not "overemphasize the areas where she did not fit the current needs of the foreign languages department." In a letter addressed to Gonzalez-Martinez, Hopkins-Powell agreed to uphold the committee�s recommendations. Gonzalez-Martinez could not be reached for comment. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA