McConnell v. Howard University
| Decision Date | 05 May 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 85-6115,85-6115 |
| Citation | 818 F.2d 58,260 U.S. App. D.C. 192 |
| Parties | , 107 Lab.Cas. P 55,785, 39 Ed. Law Rep. 502 Alan McCONNELL, Appellant, v. HOWARD UNIVERSITY. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (Civil Action No. 85-00298).
Gary Howard Simpson, Bethesda, Md., for appellant.
Francis S. Smith, Washington, D.C., for appellee.
Before EDWARDS, SILBERMAN and BUCKLEY, Circuit Judges.
Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge HARRY T. EDWARDS.
Alan McConnell brought an action in the District Court alleging that Howard University (the "University") breached certain clear contractual obligations when it terminated his appointment as a tenured faculty member without cause and without adhering to prescribed procedures. He also claimed that University officials had made certain defamatory statements about him. The District Court entered summary judgment in favor of Howard University. McConnell v. Howard Univ., 621 F.Supp. 327 (D.D.C.1985). We agree that the defamation claim is without merit, and affirm that portion of the judgment. However, because the District Court applied erroneous legal theories in deciding the appellant's contract claims, and because there exist several disputed questions of fact material to those claims, we vacate that portion of the judgment and remand the case to the District Court for further proceedings.
Dr. McConnell was appointed as an associate professor of mathematics at Howard University in 1971, and was granted an appointment with indefinite tenure in 1975. One of the courses he was assigned to teach during the Fall 1983 semester was a section of Elementary Functions I, a course similar in content to a course in Algebra II. About forty students were enrolled in the class, all of whom were black. Dr. McConnell is white. At the first class session, on August 23, 1983, Dr. McConnell informed the class that, over the past ten years, fewer than half of the students who enrolled in Elementary Functions I successfully completed the course. He advised class members to cut back on their other commitments, by taking a reduced course load and by limiting their obligations outside of school, so that they would have sufficient time to study and prepare for his course.
On September 1, the fourth session of the class, McConnell administered a one-question quiz to the class based on material he had presented the previous sessions. Only five students out of forty correctly answered the question. At the next class session, McConnell reiterated his advice that the students concentrate their efforts on his class and cut back on their other activities. He then told the class the fable about a monkey who put his hand in a cookie jar and was unable to get his hand out because he had tried to grab too many cookies and was unwilling to let some of the cookies go.
Later, during that same class session, Dr. McConnell became distracted by a conversation between two students. He asked the students to refrain from talking to each other. Apparently, one of the students, Janice McNeil, took some exception to Dr. McConnell's request. A colloquy ensued, culminating in a verbal statement by Ms. McNeil to the effect that Dr. McConnell was a "condescending, patronizing racist." Dr. McConnell demanded that Ms. McNeil apologize, which she refused to do. Dr. McConnell then taught the remainder of the class session without further incident.
At the conclusion of the class, Dr. McConnell asked Ms. McNeil to remain so that he could speak with her. She refused. Dr. McConnell tried to meet with Ms. McNeil immediately before the next class session, on September 8, and Ms. McNeil again refused to speak with him. He then raised the subject during the September 8 class. Ms. McNeil refused to apologize or explain her actions, but instead told McConnell to "go on and teach the course." McConnell asked her to leave the classroom, and, when she refused to do so, he called the Office for Security. On the instructions of Dean Austin Lane, Dean for Special Student Services, an officer escorted Ms. McNeil to Dean Lane's office. Dr. McConnell requested that appropriate actions be taken. Dean Lane asked Ms. McNeil to apologize to Dr. McConnell, but she refused to do so. Dean Lane advised Ms. McNeil that her conduct was unacceptable and that any further activity of this kind would result in disciplinary action.
At the next meeting of the class, on September 13, Dr. McConnell renewed his request that Ms. McNeil either apologize or leave the room. Ms. McNeil refused to do either. Thereupon, Dr. McConnell dismissed the entire class. Upon hearing of this development, Professor James D. Donaldson, Chairman of the Mathematics Department, advised Dr. McConnell that his actions could be considered by the University as neglect of his professional responsibilities. Dr. McConnell, however, emphasized that he would not return to the classroom until the "right atmosphere" was reestablished by having Ms. McNeil either apologize or remove herself from the class.
The next day, Dr. McConnell sent a letter to Dean Lane requesting that disciplinary action be taken against Ms. McNeil for her allegedly slanderous statement, and that she be removed from his class pending satisfactory resolution of the situation. On September 15, the day of the next session of the class, Professor Donaldson handed Dr. McConnell a letter directing him to resume teaching the Elementary Functions course. Professor Donaldson accompanied Dr. McConnell into the classroom. Dr. McConnell renewed his request to Ms McNeil to either apologize or leave the classroom. When she refused to do either, Dr. McConnell gave the following statement to the class:
It will be clear to most of you that a proper academic atmosphere conducive to teaching and learning is not possible in the presence of a person who persists in her right to slander the teacher. I have requested the administration of this University to restore conditions to this classroom in which you and I can resume our proper work. I remain hopeful that they will soon do this. We shall resume as soon as they do. 2
He then left the classroom, and Professor Donaldson proceeded to teach the class. That same day, Dean Lane sent Dr. McConnell a letter indicating that slander was not an offense under the University System of Judiciaries and Code of Conduct, and that no further action would be taken with regard to Ms. McNeil.
On September 19, Dr. McConnell met with Professor Donaldson and Dr. Michael R. Winston, the University's Vice President for Academic Affairs. Dr. Winston told Dr. McConnell that if McConnell persisted in his refusal to teach, further action would be taken against him. Dr. McConnell indicated that he was eager to return to the class, but felt that he could not do so until the proper teaching atmosphere was restored. After Dr. McConnell failed to appear at the next scheduled session of the class, September 20, Robert L. Owens, III, the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, instituted formal charges against Dr. McConnell, seeking the termination of Dr. McConnell's appointment at the University. Dr. McConnell was relieved of his duties to teach the Elementary Functions I class pending resolution of the case against him. He continued to teach his other assigned courses and to fulfill his other responsibilities as an associate professor.
A Grievance Committee, composed of five tenured faculty members outside the mathematics department, was convened to conduct a hearing and make findings and recommendations. The committee held a hearing on October 22 and 24, and on December 21 reported its findings and recommendations. It found that "Dr. McConnell did not neglect his professional responsibility." Report of the Liberal Arts Grievance Committee dated December 21, 1983 at 6, reprinted in Appendices to Brief for Appellant ("Appellant App.") 66. The Grievance Committee emphasized that, although failure to teach an assigned class might ordinarily justify termination, in this case "the mitigating circumstances are such that termination is not warranted." Id. at 7, reprinted in Appellant App. 67. It noted that the incident must be placed "within a broader context of professorial authority inherent in the teacher-student relationship," id., and that "[a] teacher has the right to expect the University to protect the professional authority in teacher-student relationships." Id. at 8, reprinted in Appellant App. 68. It viewed the failure of Dr. McConnell to teach the class "as being as much a consequence of attempts to restore what he believed to be standard teacher-student relationships as a neglect of his professional responsibilities." Id. The Committee also noted that "it is convincingly clear from the evidence presented that [Dr. McConnell's] departmental colleagues, including the Departmental Chairman, fail[ed] to view him as being professionally negligent." Id. In addition to exonerating Dr. McConnell's actions, the Grievance Committee pointed to the failure of the University to take adequate steps to support Dr. McConnell in the aftermath of the McNeil incident. Id. at 6-7, reprinted in Appellant App. 66-67.
The report and the record of the hearing were transmitted to Dr. James E. Cheek, President of the University. He then transmitted to the Board of Trustees the record and a two-page summary of the report. The Board referred the matter to a subcommittee composed of three Board members. The subcommittee requested further clarification of the Grievance Committee's findings, and, in response, the Grievance Committee issued a supplementary report. This report emphasized that Dr. McConnell was willing to teach the Elementary Functions I class "provided some efforts were made to resolve...
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