University of Minnesota v. Goodkind, C3-86-1172
| Decision Date | 20 January 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. C3-86-1172,C3-86-1172 |
| Citation | 399 N.W.2d 585 |
| Parties | 37 Ed. Law Rep. 345 The UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA and the Board of Regents, et al., Appellants, v. Richard J. GOODKIND, D.M.D., M.S., Respondent. |
| Court | Minnesota Court of Appeals |
Syllabus by the Court
1. Trial court correctly determined that tenured professor's employment agreement with the University includes provisions of Dental School Constitution, but incorrectly determined that the agreement excludes provisions of Administrative Policy 15 (hiring policy).
2. University breached employment contract by failing to follow procedures of Administrative Policy 15.
3. Professor is entitled to augmentation damages as a result of the University's failure to follow its policies, but is not entitled to attorney's fees, punitive damages, or outright appointment to the position.
William P. Donohue, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, for appellants.
Stephen M. Goldfarb, George Roberts, Stephen Goldfarb, P.A., Minneapolis, for respondent.
Heard, considered and decided by HUSPENI, P.J., and SEDGWICK and LANSING, JJ.
The University of Minnesota appeals from an order granting summary judgment to a tenured professor on a breach of contract claim. The University contends the trial court erred in incorporating the Dental School Constitution into the employment agreement, erred in refusing to incorporate the Dental School Administrative Policy 15 (hiring policy), and improperly directed the University to appoint the professor chair of the Department of Fixed Prosthodontics. We affirm, as modified, the trial court's award of summary judgment to the professor.
Dr. Richard Goodkind has been a faculty member of the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry since 1966. He is currently a member of the Department of Removable Prosthodontics. In September 1982 the Dean of the Dental School, Dr. Richard Oliver, appointed a search committee to screen and recommend candidates for the position of chairperson of the Department of Fixed Prosthodontics. That position was to be vacant due to retirement at the end of the 1982-83 academic year. Dr. Goodkind applied for the position. In May 1983 the search committee recommended Dr. Goodkind as the only candidate. Between May and September 1983, Dean Oliver decided not to recommend Goodkind to the president of the University. Dean Oliver listed four reasons for his decision:
1. Dr. Goodkind had limited experience in teaching prosthodontics to predoctoral students.
2. There were differences in educational goals between Drs. Oliver and Goodkind with respect to the predoctoral program in Fixed Prosthodontics and the assessment of the relative capabilities of predoctoral students and graduate dentists.
3. Dr. Goodkind lacked administrative experience in budget and personnel management.
4. Dr. Oliver had significant doubt that he and Dr. Goodkind could work together smoothly and constructively.
Dean Oliver then appointed Dr. Harvey Colman as "acting" department chairperson. Dr. Colman had been an applicant for the position, but his application was rejected by the screening committee. Although Dr. Colman's appointment was temporary, it was not until early 1985 that Dean Oliver appointed another search committee to screen candidates for the permanent appointment. 1
In September 1983 Dr. Goodkind filed a formal grievance with the dental school. The grievance was referred to the Academic Freedom and Responsibility Appeals Committee of the University. The committee reviewed the complaint and concluded that it did not have jurisdiction to hear it. Dr. Goodkind then filed suit in federal court in January 1984 (Goodkind v. University of Minnesota, et al., Civ. No. 3-84-15). In January 1985 the federal district court dismissed Dr. Goodkind's breach of contract suit, without prejudice, for lack of jurisdiction.
Goodkind then filed this suit in January 1985 in Hennepin County District Court. The University moved for summary judgment in August 1985. That motion was denied in October 1985. A settlement conference was scheduled for November and later continued to December 1985. The conference was unsuccessful, and both parties subsequently filed motions for summary judgment. Those motions were heard and judgment entered in favor of Goodkind in June 1986.
The district court found that the language of the Dental School Constitution met the unilateral contract formation criteria set out by the Minnesota Supreme Court in Pine River v. Mettille, 333 N.W.2d 622 (Minn.1983). The constitution contained specific procedures for hiring department chairpersons which the court found "directly related to plaintiff's employment as professor in the Dental School." Specifically, the constitution directed that "heads or chairpersons of a department shall be selected" (emphasis supplied) from those recommended by the search committee. The court found that by failing to appoint Dr. Goodkind, the only person recommended by the search committee, Dean Oliver (and the University) breached this contract.
The court rejected the University's claim that Administrative Policy 15 also applied to the employment contract. That policy provides, "[i]n the event that the Dean does not find the recommended candidates acceptable, a request may be made that the search be broadened or extended, or that a new search committee be appointed." The policy also provides that temporary appointments may be made by the Dean for one, two, or three years following the recommendations of a search committee, but "[i]n no case shall such a position be filled for more than one (1) year without filing a hiring plan and conducting the required search for the position."
The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Dr. Goodkind. It also awarded him back pay based on the augmentation he would have received as department chair and ordered the University to appoint him chair of the Department of Fixed Prosthodontics.
1. Did the trial court err in including the Dental School Constitution and excluding Administrative Policy 15 as part of Dr. Goodkind's contract with the University?
2. Did the trial court err in finding the University breached its contract with Dr. Goodkind?
3. What is the appropriate remedy for Dr. Goodkind?
Dr. Goodkind is a tenured faculty member at the University of Minnesota. As a tenured faculty member, he has a contract with the University which is governed by the tenure code. The University characterizes this contract as a written bilateral document. However, they also acknowledge that it does not contain all of the conditions which make up the employment agreement. 2
Courts have recognized that where faculty tenure agreements do not set forth the full terms and conditions of employment, employment policies, rules and regulations of the college or university become part of the employment contract between the college and the faculty member. See Brady v. Board of Trustees of the Nebraska State Colleges, 196 Neb. 226, 242 N.W.2d 616 (1976). Similarly, a university policy of nondiscrimination has been found to be a part of the contract between a professor and a university. Adler v. John Carroll University, 549 F.Supp. 652, 654 (N.D.Ohio 1982). And, "a university's policies, rules and regulations relating to faculty members are a part of the employment contract, as a matter of law." Rehor v. Case Western Reserve University, 43 Ohio St.2d 224, 228-30, 331 N.E.2d 416, 420-22 (1975). See also Zimmerman v. Minot State College, 198 N.W.2d 108 (N.D.1972) (); Collins v. Parsons College, 203 N.W.2d 594 (Iowa 1973) (); Greene v. Howard University, 412 F.2d 1128, 134 U.S.App.D.C. 81 (D.C.Cir.1969) ().
The process by which the policies, rules and regulations are incorporated in the employment agreement is similar to the basic legal principles of contract formation and modification. See Restatement (Second) of Contracts, Sec. 24; Day v. Amax, Inc., 701 F.2d 1258, 1263 (8th Cir.1983) (). The trial court found the principles in Pine River State Bank v. Mettille, 333 N.W.2d 622 (Minn.1983), to control Dr. Goodkind's employment relationship with the University. Pine River is factually dissimilar in that it dealt with the discharge procedure in an employment manual given to an at-will employee. However, Pine River does create a structure for applying contract modification principles which can be applied in analyzing the effect of the Dental School Constitution and Administrative Policy 15 on Dr. Goodkind's employment agreement.
The constitution was approved by the Board of Regents in June 1979. It sets forth the purpose and powers of the Dental School. It also established the authority, duties and responsibilities of the Dean, the faculty and the various departments and councils of the Dental School.
Administrative Policy 15 was adopted by the Dental School Council on Administration in August 1980 to comply with the Rajender Consent Decree. The Rajender Consent Decree was entered in federal court in 1980 as the result of a discrimination in hiring suit. Under the settlement agreement, each department of the University promulgated a policy which would ensure faculty and staff hiring practices which would not discriminate against women. However, the policy is acknowledged not only to prevent discrimination, but as the general hiring policy for the University. Administrative Policy 15 is the hiring policy for the Dental School.
Pine River establishes a four-part test for...
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