Plan would create 'U' legal firm

University President Lee Bollinger addressed faculty tenure concerns yesterday, when he met with the faculty's governing body. He also detailed a plan to form a central legal "firm" for the University.

The plan, which Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs chair Louis D'Alecy described as, "well on its way," would consolidate the University's legal staff into one collective unit. Although each individual school at the University currently has its own legal representatives, the new plan is designed to facilitate interaction between the staffs.

"We need to increase the amount of legal services here at the University," said Bollinger, an expert in School.

Bollinger recently made the University's post of general counsel an executive position. This vice president will oversee all the University's legal activities.

If Bollinger's new plan is approved, the executive and a staff would be in charge of linking each of the University's different legal functions.

Bollinger also spoke briefly about the state of the two affirmative action lawsuits filed against the University last semester.

"The lawsuits are just entering the discovery phase," he said.

The cases should begin to unfold in about six months, Bollinger said. The University community should remain actively involved throughout every phase of the lawsuit, he said.

"This is a national issue and we must take the opportunity of being in the spotlight and be aggressive," Bollinger said.

Bollinger said he plans to develop public support for affirmative action policies, both on campus and across the nation. Bollinger has made several trips to Washington to discuss the issue with political and academic leaders.

While there are two separate cases, one against the University's Law School and the other against LSA, Bollinger said the possibility of the consolidation of both cases down the road is not out of the question. Bollinger said unifying departmental legal staffs would help the University defend itself against both suits.

Another concern of the faculty members at the meeting was the University's tenure review policy.

Bollinger defended the current tenure system, stating that current "rigorous" annual reviews of tenured faculty members did more harm than good.

"I am against a post-tenure review," Bollinger said. "It is a step towards eliminating the whole system, which is a very important part of this University."

The number of tenured faculty members also was brought into question. While faculty members said the exact number of clinical teachers, a position that is one step below full-fledged tenured professors, is unknown, some consider this number to be increasing.

Using clinical teachers gives the University a chance to offer these faculty members a contract for about five to seven years. These short-term contracts can allow University administrators to avoid reviewing clinical teachers for tenure altogether, Bollinger said.

Bollinger said clinical teachers are important, especially for seminars, but that tenured faculty members will continue to be the majority of the University faculty.

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