Below is the Defendant’s (Ashland University) Motion for Summary Judgement, in relation to the civil lawsuit brought forth by six former tenured Ashland University faculty members, who were essentially fired in August 2015 (with their employment ending in December 2016).

This document is essentially AU’s argument for why the university was in the right to terminate 14 tenured faculty members. Additionally, this is the first time I’ve seen the exact number of tenured faculty who were cut, as the university always hemmed and hawed and would never give a specific number, at least when reporters asked them questions.

One of the university’s main arguments is that simply terminating a tenured faculty member is in and of itself restructuring. According to Faculty Rules and Regulations, the university can indeed eliminate tenured faculty if there is a reorganization of a program or department. However, for the university to argue that the termination of a faculty member is a reorganization means that tenure at AU is meaningless.

Read the entire court document for yourself: AU lawsuit court document