Stetson Departure | Dean's at-will status not the norm for admins

From the dean of the School of Arts and Sciences to the dean of the Law School, job security is virtually guaranteed.

The same could be said for any of the deans of Penn's 12 schools, as well as the four undergraduate deans.

Former Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson didn't have that same luxury.

Unlike Stetson, other top-ranking deans are all tenured faculty members, enjoying protection from summary dismissal at the hands of administrators for taking unpopular stances or criticizing the University.

Even President Amy Gutmann and Provost Ron Daniels have tenured academic appointments - Gutmann's is in the Political Science department, and Daniels is a Law professor.

Stetson, on the other hand, spent 29 years as Penn's dean of admissions as an at-will employee, meaning he could be fired for almost any reason and could leave any time he wished.

Employees in most professions are typically hired on an at-will basis as well.

But in academia, professors are granted tenure to protect them from being forced to leave by the University - a right not enjoyed by at-will employees.

As stated in the University's faculty handbook: The "system of tenure is the preeminent means of fostering and protecting academic freedom of the faculty in teaching and in scholarly inquiry."

Though it is possible to fire a tenured professor, a formal process must be followed in order to do that. Charges must be presented before a tribunal of fellow academics, and the professor at risk of dismissal has the right to legal counsel and to contest any charges.

"Anything you say or do within the classroom . would not lead to even the beginning of [this] process," said Larry Gladney, a Physics and Astronomy professor and chairman of the Faculty Senate.

Even former Marketing professor Scott Ward was only fired after his 2006 arrest for child pornography because he had officially retired but was teaching on an annual appointment and thus did not have tenure.

He was, however, allowed to stay on in 1999 when he was still a tenured faculty member, even after entering an Alford plea in his trial for child sex crimes that acknowledged sufficient evidence for conviction but did not constitute a confession of guilt.

The situation for an at-will employee is totally different.

Barring certain discrimination restrictions - people can't be fired on account of their race or age, for example - an employer is free to lay off an at-will employee at any time and without any reason.

"You can call them at-risk employees," said Dennis Kuhn, a Villanova professor of business law.

And for faculty members, Gladney says, there may be certain restrictions in professors' employment contracts that restrict their right to resign when they want.

Restrictions like that are found more often in schools like the Medical School, where professors, often associated with the Penn Health System or the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, can have responsibilities to their patients that they must fulfill.

Gutmann and University spokeswoman Lori Doyle have refused repeated requests for comment as to why Stetson abruptly left his position as dean of admissions at the beginning of the semester.

Gutmann would only say that it was "better for him to step down now," and she has refused repeated requests to elaborate.

Stetson and his family have also refused repeated requests for comment.

Doyle has also refused to comment as to the nature of any severance package that Stetson received on his departure.

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