Appeal from non-reappointment

A subset of the Faculty Hearings Panel—the Hearings Committee—reviews decisions of non-reappointment, suspension, discharge, or termination at the written request of the faculty member receiving such notice, in order to determine whether the decision was based upon any of the grounds stated to be impermissible. A decision not to reappoint may not be based upon:

1. the faculty member's exercise of rights guaranteed by either the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or Article I of the North Carolina Constitution;
2. discrimination based upon the faculty member's race, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, or honorable service in the armed services of the United States;
3. personal malice; or
4. material procedural irregularities.

Should the committee determine that the decision may have been based upon any of these impermissible grounds, it grants the faculty member a hearing and either confirms the previous decision or forwards a recommendation for corrective action to the appropriate academic officer.

The procedures and grounds for appealing a non-reappointment decision are described in Section 603 and Section 604 B of the Code of the University of North Carolina and in Section VI of Policies of Academic Freedom and Tenure.

See also the sections on appeals from termination or discharge.